Our Story

SamSalo started as an Early Childhood Development Centre at Odumase Krobo in 1989 by Mrs. Salome Tekpetey, a retired school teacher and principal. After retirement in 1972, Mrs. Tekpetey settled at her hometown in the Eastern Region of Ghana where there were many very poor or orphaned children whose families were unable to send them to school. Touched by their plight, she started to invite a few children to her house for meals. As a teacher and a Christian, she taught them to read and write, shared her faith and fed them. Word went through the neighborhood and more families started to send their children. Mrs. Tekpetey consulted with the local  Presbyterian Church where she was an elder for assistance.
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At that time the church had started a new building project and therefore was unable to provide the financial assistance needed to help the children. However, the Women’s Fellowship supported her for a while as the number of children grew. She named the school The Christian Women’s Day Care. With the HIV epidemic at its highest in that area of Ghana, the need became even greater. She worked with the children until she fell sick at the age of 92. Mrs. Tekpetey did her best for the school although she was faced with several challenges. To keep her dream alive, her daughter Veronica Goka,  a retired principal of New York City Public Schools has decided to take over the challenge to continue this great task. It is her hope to give back to her community and country which has given her so much.
SamSalo Preparatory School was established in September 2015 by Veronica Goka, as a continuation of the Samsalo Nursery School which was founded in 1989 by her mother Salome DolerTekpetey. Veronica started her journey into education in Ghana after she graduated from Wesley College. She left Ghana after a few years of teaching and taught in Liberia before finally joining the New York City Department of Education. Despite the challenges she faced, Veronica’s faith in God ignited a belief that all things are possible. She pursued advanced degrees which led her into administration and supervision. She supported her mother by supplying school materials and offering guidance. After she retired from the New York City Public Schools as a Principal she realized the need to continue her mother’s work and a great legacy. 
The initial need was to pull down the old structure and put up a new building to house children from nursery through Grade 6. This daunting task was the reason for the establishment of the SAVETT Christian Foundation. The plan to raise funds included a GoFundMe account which yielded a fraction of what was needed for the project.  
Veronica decided to work as a consultant to support the construction of the school. Phase 1 of the project was completed in September 2015 in time for the nursery to reopen. The work continued through 2016. Today, there are 10 classrooms with about 200 children through Grade 3. To school plans to continue to Grade 6. 
We continue to strive to maintain a nurturing environment, provide 21st-century education which includes technology and highly trained teachers. We believe our goals will be realized through our fundraising activities through the SAVETT Christian Foundation.