OUR STORY
From Passion to Purpose
Play and Learn (PAL) Foundation began in August 2013 on a dusty field at Ajax Park, where children gathered daily to play the simplest and most accessible way to pass time in a community where many parents, often street hawkers, had little space to guide or support them. For some children, hawking or engaging in risky activities seemed like the only alternative. Play became their refuge.
But we also saw the gap: while they enjoyed the game, without educational grounding their futures remained uncertain. Public schools, often overcrowded and under-resourced, left many of these children behind.
PAL stepped in as a support system, introducing after-school programs that combined academics with mentorship, arts, and structured sports. Here, sports were never just a pastime, but a model for building soft and hard skills: teamwork, discipline, resilience, and leadership. Most importantly, we placed education at the center helping children strengthen reading, writing, comprehension, and critical thinking, while discovering new passions and life paths.
What began with a handful of children has grown into a movement impacting over 5,000 young people across Ghana. Today, PAL is an after-school hub where children not only learn and play, but also dream, belong, and rise above the social challenges around them.
