Pathway to Education: Breaking Ground in Ghana
May 2024
In 2010, BYU-Pathway Worldwide opened its first international location, in Ghana, with 20 students. By 2023, nearly two-thirds of BYU-Pathway students lived outside the United States and Canada, and Ghana had 2,849 students, the third-largest international enrollment.
In 2024, four journalism students from BYU—Sydni Merrill, Derek VanBuskirk, Ethan Porter, and Joel Leighton—traveled to Ghana to film a documentary about the impact that BYU-Pathway is having in the country. The video, titled “Pathway to Education: Breaking Ground in Ghana,” features several students whose lives were greatly blessed by BYU-Pathway.
“I was so impressed with the people of Ghana and the students that we interviewed,” said one of the journalism students. “They’re so resilient. After they started their online education, their lives were totally transformed. We expected to see a difference, but to hear their stories firsthand—it changes you.”
An estimated 34 percent of BYU-Pathway students struggle to find at least two meals a day, and about 60 percent experience unstable housing. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to focus on long-term educational goals when immediate physical needs aren’t met.
That is why 71 percent of BYU-Pathway students receive donor-funded tuition discounts to help them complete their education. We invite you to help support BYU-Pathway students like the ones feature in this video. Your support can remove barriers, reduce hardships, and put self-reliance within their reach.