Comedian, Michael Blackson, has opened his free school, Michael Blackson Academy, in his village in Ghana.
On Jan. 3, Blackson held the ribbon-cutting ceremony in his home in the Agona-Nsaba central region.
“Today is the greatest day of my life because I’ve finally accomplished what I always wanted to do which is giving these kids a chance to be great,” Blackson tweeted. “Greatness starts with education and foundational education shouldn’t come with financial barriers.”
https://twitter.com/MichaelBlackson/status/1610523704684863490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1610523704684863490%7Ctwgr%5Ee1b17205e3e40d0c21fdf478f3c305ad6875b0ab%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fafrotech.com%2Fmichael-blackson-free-school-ghana
In addition to running a school, Blackson is behind the Michael Blackson Foundation. According to him, he launched the non-profit organization after being inspired to create change due to what he witnessed during his upbringing.
“Growing up I always envisioned myself giving back to the community and my country,” he wrote on the foundation’s website. “I haven’t traveled back home in a long while but as soon as I did, there were certain things that was so beautiful and touched my heart. There were so many children wandering in the streets during school hours which had caused for me to become curious as to why they weren’t in school.”
He continued: “I found out that the children were so eager to learn but couldn’t attend schools because of their economic conditions. That struck a cord in me telling me this is what I need to do for my country. I need to figure out a way to provide families with a quality education regardless of economic status and that is when the Michael Blackson Foundation was formed.”
Prioritizing the power of education, Blackson’s foundation provides scholarships to youth who can’t afford a quality education.