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Yesterday Edwin and I filmed at Ankaful Nurses Training College where psychiatric nursing is taught. The conditions that these students learn and live in are horrible. Classrooms do not have enough desks, there is not enough equipment to provide each student with vital hands-on training, and dorm rooms that should only fit 2 students house 4 or more. This institution is considered one of the most important tertiary institutions in the Central Region and its graduates provide a huge service to public health. Mental disorders carry a huge stigma here and many believe that they are caused by a curse, bad "juju," or alcohol. When those with mental disorders are sent to hospitals, they will most likely never see their families again or be accepted back into their communities. The fact that this school gets so little funding is a crime, but unfortunately it is not the only one. 40% of residents of the Central Region are illiterate and only 11% of those who actually go to school will make it to a tertiary institution. Even then many who graduate choose to leave the country in search of greater success. These are all huge problems for Ghanaian people and school systems and I'm really excited to be able to document them. I'm hoping that the documentary I'm working on can shed light on these issues and hopefully lead to some help for schools in need. As one of our interviewees said: education is not a privilege, it's a right.
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