Village of Dompoase Education Project (VODEP)
Kumasi, Ghana
 
About Dompoase
Dompoase, a suburb of Kumasi, is a small village of approximately 30,000 people. Dompoase is in the heart of the Ashanti region, the richest and most powerful ethnic group in Ghana. The Ashanti region is situated in the centre of the country, and most of Ghana's cocoa is cultivated here. The region's capital, Kumasi, is the second largest city in Ghana and due to its beautiful vegetation is nicknamed "the garden city". Considered to be the cultural centre of the Ashanti people, it is the home of the golden stool, a small throne considered to hold the spiritual heart of the nation. The Ashanti are headed by a king and, at the village level, the chief and his elders are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the community.
 
The people of Ghana are known as the people of smiles. They are extremely friendly and hospitable and proud of their culture. English is the official national language of Ghana because it was a former British colony. There are, however, over 75 different Ghanaian languages and dialects in the country; the most common is Twi.
 
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"It is my wish that the voice of the storyteller will never die in Africa, that all children in the world may experience the wonder of books, and that they will never lose the capacity to enlarge their earthly dwelling place with the magic of stories." - Nelson Mandela