Graduation season is upon us. It's a special time for CommonBond. Some of our members, who will be future leaders in business, engineering, healthcare, law, and science, are graduating. They all want to make an impact. And by choosing CommonBond as their lender, they’ve already made a difference. Why? Because for every loan we fund, we fund the education of a child in need. We call it our Social Promise.

We work with Pencils of Promise to fulfill that Social Promise. Pencils of Promise (PoP) builds primary schools, trains teachers, and provides innovative classroom programming to improve student literacy in Ghana, Guatemala, and Laos. The organization has built 350 schools and served more than 33,000 students to date.

This summer, many 6th graders who attend PoP schools in Ghana will graduate, including students that CommonBond’s Social Promise helped support. Less than 75% of children in Ghana attend primary school and less than 45% of those student go on to secondary school, which starts in the 7th grade in Ghana, according to UNICEF.

Meet five amazing students in Ghana who are graduating this summer because of your support:

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Confidence Adadevoh

Age: 12 years old 

Community: Dzelukope

What do you like to do outside of school? 

Outside of school I like to play with my friends. 

Why do you love going to school? 

I like going to school because it helps me to acquire knowledge. 

What is your favorite subject in school? 

I am enjoying math the best. I like to solve the problems. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? 

I want to be a doctor so that I can advise people on the best way to live and can help the sick people. 

What does an education mean to you? Why is it important? 

Education is important because it will help me to become someone great, who can help other people.

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Gregory Dravie

Age: 14 years old 

Community: Dzelukope 

What do you like to do outside of school? 

My favorite thing is to see my friends. Whenever I don’t have housework or homework to do, I like to spend my time chatting with my friends. 

Why do you love going to school? 

I really like my teacher, he is very knowledgeable and he is a good teacher. 

What is your favorite subject in school? 

I really enjoy science because I am interested in the human body. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? 

I want to be a doctor so that I can take care of the sick and make my community better. 

What does an education mean to you? Why is it important? 

It is the way that we can achieve a meaningful life.

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Josephine Dzasimatu

Age: 12 years old 

Community: Leklebi Duga D/A 

What do you like to do outside of school? 

I like to do house chores for my parents. I fetch water, wash bowls, eat and prepare food for the evening, and after that I do my homework. 

Why do you love going to school? 

Because it will help me to achieve my dreams, and I am looking towards the future. 

What is your favorite subject in school? 

I like science and information and communications technology. I like learning about technology. We don’t have any of the things yet so we are just learning from textbooks and pictures at the moment, but I really enjoy it. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? 

I want to be a pilot so I can travel the world and see lots of different places. 

What does an education mean to you? Why is it important? 

If you do not attend school, then you cannot do any meaningful job. Education makes the difference.

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Lucas Kofiadu

Age: 11 years old 

Community: Leklebi Duga D/A 

What do you like to do outside of school? 

I love to read. Whenever I have finished my chores, if I get time, I always like to read books. 

Why do you love going to school? 

Because I want to learn and become someone great in future, and school will let me do this. 

What is your favorite subject in school? 

Mathematics. I like finding the answers to the problems. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? 

I want to be a soldier, because I want to defend my country against external and internal aggressors. 

What does an education mean to you? Why is it important? 

It means the ability to learn, and to be a good person in the future.

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Justine Sodzi

Age: 13 years old 

Community: Hohoe Presby 

What do you like to do outside of school? 

I love to help my parents in the house chores. After that I learn or do my homework. 

Why do you love going to school? 

I love to learn new things, and to make myself smarter. 

What is your favourite subject in school? 

I love studying science because I like learning how the human body works. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? 

I want to become a medical doctor, because I like helping the sick and I really admire doctors when they are taking care of sick people. 

What does an education mean to you? Why is it important? 

To me, it is important to educate yourself so that you can become something in the future. Also, if you did not go to school, then you cannot achieve your future dreams.

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The CommonBond community supports these five students and thousands of others because we believe education transforms lives and provides unlimited opportunities. We’re proud to play a role in helping give those in need the necessary skills to succeed.

Last year, three members and three CommonBond employees (including CommonBond CEO and Co-Founder David Klein) went to Ghana to see our Social Promise in action. The trip changed their lives.

That’s why we’re going back again to Ghana this year – and inviting CommonBond members to join us on the 2nd annual CommonBond Impact in Action Trip! To apply, send a video (2 minutes or less) to ghana2016@commonbond.co and tell us how your education has changed your life. The application deadline is July 15, 2016. Learn more.