Africana Children’s Education Fund began in 1994, when Peter and Anna Osei-Kwame decided that it was time to return to their home country of Ghana and help make a difference for at-risk children and their families in the Ashanti region. After completing their education and careers in the U.S., they decided to pour their time and resources into Ghanaian villages and offer financial sponsorships for the education of orphans, abandoned, homeless children, and school dropouts. In Ghana, free and compulsory education is offered up to age 14, but families must still pay school fees for books, testing, uniforms, chairs, desks, health insurance and school building funds. For families who are trying to survive on less than $2 a day, paying these school fees becomes impossible. ACEF offers sponsorships that provide families the funds needed to pay for these school fees so they can give their children an education. The scope of ACEF educational sponsorship has widened over the past 18 years, from the initial 15 sponsored children to the current 40 children in various schools and universities. ACEF has improved local village schools by providing them with resources for the construction of basic facilities such as new classrooms, libraries, computer labs, and electricity.

Beginning in January 2013, ACEF will start a new apprenticeship program which provides funding for vocational training and sustainability projects for young village mothers, who are often heads of households, but lacking the financial means to support themselves and their school-age children.