There were related organizations that sprang up in Scandinavia, Holland and the USA. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. We must not lose sight of the fact that the colonial government in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa relied on the activities of the missionaries to help them achieve the objectives of colonial rule. Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1933, Vincent Burke was the third of Walter and Eleanor (nee McGoff) Burkes four sons. Andrew Foster (educator) - Wikipedia Another valuable contribution of the Christian missionaries in West Africa was the development of literature in the local vernaculars, this included the translation of the Bible into some of the important local languages. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. 4>Ofv}TMdQ! faceless characters In regions where a denomination felt threatened by another denomination, the denominations were more likely to establish more schools in an attempt to gain more converts than their rival, while in regions such as northern Nigeria, where colonial policy prevented too much rivalry, schools were scarce (Bassey 1991:45). It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. One Liberian student recalls that we were taught to dress properly, to eat properly, to speak properly. Then lets begin straightaway. DISCLOSURE. The training college later became part of Achimota College. Education (2002), the latest committee to work on education reforms in Ghana, recommended a critical review and approach to making teacher education relevant to the devel-opment of the country. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. It is interesting to note that this project is not a new concept. As churches of the Volta Region begin reproducing, ABWE wants to reach out to Ghanas unreached people groups in its eight other regions. From the second half of the eighteenth century, a fervent wave of evangelical spirit developed in the United Kingdom, Europe and the New World which inspired men and women with the missionary fervour to found religious societies whose members would go out to Africa and the other lands. Indeed, the quality of the education could be so poor that the colonial governments complained, as in the case of the Nigerian government, which complained that the secondary school graduates provided by the missions were illiterate and ignorant and therefore poorly suited to fill the lower levels of the administration (Ayandele 1966:294-5). church were founded in south-eastern Nigeria, the chief centres being Bonny and Brass. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of privately owned higher education institutions in Nigeria, including those owned by religious bodies and even by their individual members. Study for free with our range of university lectures! That there are parallels between contemporary Christian organizations efforts and the missionary efforts of the mid-nineteenth to mid- twentieth centuries is a reason for concern, considering the similar impact of missionaries of all Christian denominations on the education of Africans in the British and Italian colonies in Africa. T. Nelson. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. Lets now take a closer look at both the positive and negative impacts of the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana and the rest of Africa. Furthermore, missionaries, believing in the civilizing mission, attempted to disintegrate traditional society through education by choosing academic subjects, such as the histories of the Western colonial powers, that illustrated the superiority of the Western culture, as well as by teaching about the superiority of the West in non-academic matters such as hygiene. Again, the missionaries helped to pacify Africans while their rich natural resources were being plundered by the colonial government. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. Buchi Emecheta A large percentage of Ghanas 30 million people are nominally Christian (more than 70% as of the last census), and 28% consider themselves evangelical believers. C.M.S. The missionary impact on education would have far-reaching consequences, as their creation of a weak basis of education would slow down the political and educational development of many former colonies in Africa. The missionaries opened schools further inland, and by 1880, the Wesleyan Mission had eighty -three schools. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. In addition to promoting a monogamous lifestyle in their schools, missionaries often insisted on divorces before polygamists or their children could even enrol. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. Given their priorities, it should thus come as little surprise that missions often provided poor education to the African pupils. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Although it can be said that Christian missionaries benefitted Africans by bringing in the more advanced Western education to the European colonies in Africa, it is believed that the mission schools in fact had a negative impact on the native peoples. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! The Christian missionaries of different missionary societies made a tremendous contribution to education in South Africa. After a time the idea becomes ingrained -it is heathen and unchristian to be an African culturally (Awori cited in Berman 1974:536). Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. Several missionaries died at a youthful age due to the unfriendly tropical climate. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. *You can also browse our support articles here >. The reservation of high-level positions in the colonial administrations for Europeans and the corresponding mission education that provided education fit only for lower positions meant that the withdrawal of European rule could cause serious political instability in the newly independent colonies. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. His funeral Mass was Sept. 27, followed by burial at St. Mary Cemetery at Techny. In Sierra Leone, the Church Missionary Society (CMS), offshoot of the Anglican Church, was the first to become firmly established chiefly among the freed captive and freed slave settlers from Britain, Nova Scotia and other parts of the New World. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. How to Get Involved in Church Missions: The Ultimate Guide, 16 Causes of Crime Essay (with Solutions), Justify the Title of the Novel Second Class Citizen, The Role of Ghana in the Formation of the OAU, Economic Developments in Ghana Before Independence, 11 Causes of the Rise of Nationalism in Africa, Importance of the Odwira Festival in Ghana. Besides being an online tutor, Ralph is an author and expert digital marketer with proven skills in SEO content writing. Within a short time the missionaries spread their activities inland. James Fieldhouse, produced a Wolof Grammar in 1876. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king, Otumfour Nana Kweku Duah I who reigned between 25th August 1834 to 27th April 1867). Series CLS. Father Burke became director of the Divine Word Language and Cultural Centre in Ghana. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. They even considered traditional drumming and African clothing as practices that were not worthy in the sight of the Lord. Almost all the missions in West Africa faced financial problems in the early stages of their missionary work. New team members can be part of establishing a biblical foundation for the next generation of believers, the growth of nationally-led churches, and church planting in Ghana. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. In 1858 ten years after the founding of the first college, the Presbyterians opened a sister college at Aburi for the training of women teachers. As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. Email: henrydonsco@gmail.com Ekechi, Felix K. Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case, 19001915. The Journal of African History 12, no. Operating from Whydah in what is today the Peoples Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey), Father Berghero, in 1860, visited Abeokuta and Lagos where freed Catholic slaves from Brazil welcomed him warmly. A member of the CMS, Henry Venn, boasted that the mission schools of Nigeria would produce an educated African elite that could form an intelligent and influential class of society and become the founders of a Kingdom which shall render incalculable benefits to Africa (Venn cited in Bassey 1991:37). Kalu, Ogbu. In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone. Africa Christian Press, 1996. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. Teacher training colleges in Ghana did not expand as fast as the secondary schools. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. Series CLR. In such situations, the message sometimes appealed to the local people depending on the efficiency of the interpreter. This hymn sums up the reasons why the Christian missionaries came to Africa and other parts of the world. Teaching in the vernacular had an additional use as it further strengthened colonial rule, of which missionaries were often agents, for as the Kikuyu people of Kenya were aware, [the] inability to communicate in English would be a crucial factor in the perpetuation of their subordinate status in the colony (Berman 1974:531). In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. Missionaries travelled through dense evergreen forests, crossed rivers and climbed mountains to bring the Gospel to as many Ghanaians as they could. Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. J. G. Christaller produced a Twi Grammar and Dictionary. This involved learning to read in the vernacular (Hadfield cited in Bone 1969:7). hR]0+^$%K{_"/HevgV+bH6L %)`\ #\E*63Z_TsxlRZj:[/\IL-1b-i In fact in 1966, Father Burke led students to a victory in a national educational contest called the Ghana TV Cup. Prior to the advent of western education, Ghana's traditional social structures had inbuilt opportunities for mobility. They did a lot to impact the social and economic lives of Africans. S.J. Some of these effects are still with us today. The Roman Catholics established their first secondary school, St Augustines, at Cape Coast in 1936. Website design and development by Americaneagle.com, Inc, Society of the Divine Word- Western Province, Society of the Divine Word- Southern Province. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. Although Lokoja had a small C.M.S. Another important missionary doctor was J. R. Stephen who for many years headed a missionary hospital at Ilesha. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. Crampton, Edmund Patrick Thurman. senior high school crs Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. Within ten years of Father Bergheros visit, the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria had become so well established that it ceased to be under administration from Dahomey. Properly meant by Anglo-Saxon standards. In 1892, the Church Missionary Society opened the Iyi Enu Hospital in Onitsha which is today a leading hospital in Anambra state. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. Senior High School Literature The Scottish Missionary Society had been working in Calabar, Nigeria, also a British colony adjacent to the Gold Coast and it was from the Calabar Presbyterian Church in Nigeria that a missionary was sent to take charge of the Presbyterian work in the Gold Coast after the deportations. Africa and the Winder World 3. Please click this link to download the chapter. 1931. Request Permissions. The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. Christianity in Ghana - Wikipedia In 1910, a prominent report of the World Missionary Conference concluded: [T]here can be no question of polygamy. endstream endobj startxref The Committee for Women's Work was responsible for the education of native girls. About us | Ghana Education Service - GES All rights reserved. Already have a license? It started first among the Yoruba recaptives who had embraced the Christian faith while in Sierra Leone (freed from slave trading ships by the British Royal Naval Squadron), and who returned home between 1839 and 1845. Discipleship and leadership development are needed in order to support local churches and their growth in Ghana. While colonial administration in colonies such as Kenya attempted to some degree to provide training for Kenyans to fill the high-level positions (Sheffield 1973:86), the attempts in many cases fell short, and when the European administration left, Kenya, for instance, had few sufficiently educated replacements (Sheffield 1973:88). Bamgboye & Company Press, 1976. John G. Christaller (described as the Father of Twi Literature) produced a Twi grammar and dictionary, a collection of Twi proverbs, a Twi translation of the Bible as well as prayers and hymns. 3 (2002): 555-584. But Annor (1989) writes that before Europeans came to colonize Africa, Africans had a way of producing artifacts.
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