In January 2026, Divine Chocolate’s Managing Director, Ruth Harding, travelled to Ghana to attend Kuapa Kokoo’s Adult Literacy and Numeracy Graduation Ceremony. During her visit, she joined programme officers, partners and graduates to celebrate the achievements of the latest cohort and see first-hand the impact the programme is having for farmers in cocoa-growing communities.

Here, Ruth reflects on the experience of attending the ceremony and the powerful reminder it offers that it’s never too late to learn.

It's never too late to learn

We were invited to attend the 2025 Literacy and Numeracy Graduation Ceremony and having never attended one, it was an opportunity that my colleagues at Ludwig Weinrich and I could not refuse. The Programme has been running since a 2014 pilot and although not exclusive to women has always had a focus on female engagement and empowerment. The Programme is farmer led and has several integrated feedback cycles which means it evolves each year to be more farmer centric and ‘useful’ from a farming perspective. For example, any case study used throughout the syllabus focuses upon Good Agricultural Practices such as the use of approved agrochemicals and their application, importance of pruning and thinning out and fermentation techniques.

2025 witnessed two special milestones for the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Programme. Firstly, this was the first time the classes were held in English. Up until now the courses had been delivered in Twi (the national dialect of Ghana) however, continued feedback from participants to run the classes in English combined with the fact that most farming related instructions are in English made the change seem a natural progression.

Secondly, we were able to respond to sight related issues. The beginning of the year was marked by an initial pilot campaign led by Kuapa Kokoo which delivered 80 pairs of glasses to participants who needed them. The second, delivered by non-profit Vision Spring, delivered 352 pairs of eyeglasses and for all recipients this was their first-ever pair! The obvious impact of combining eyeglasses to a literacy programme is that the participants can more easily see the materials they are being taught. However, we have learned that outside of this, farmers saw immediate improvements in farm work for example being able to spot unwanted beans during drying or removing rotten cocoa pods from the trees.

Attending the Ceremony was a perfect way to conclude the many achievements of 2025. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a wave of song, dance and celebration. 220 graduates had made the hour a week commitment under the Programme’s mantra ‘It’s never too late to learn’. I tried to embody this lesson as part of my 2026 resolutions but instead my admiration of the graduates only increased as I realised the difficulty of such a commitment. When coming from the privilege of a literate background it is easy to not recognise the practical difficulties of not being able to read or write. Being unable to read the weighing scale when you send your cocoa to the recorder or purchasing clerk, not understanding farming manuals or even to safely administer your child’s medicine can be extremely isolating and undermine your confidence. We heard of women who were able to take the position of treasurer, open small businesses to subsidise their cocoa income and help their children with their homework. We also heard a remarkable poem performed by Mantebea Stella and Vida Konadu Tetteh and after this I can say no more…

Breaking Barriers

The future is bright with positivity wide

But here we are, across long time, language barriers, a challenge to fight

Learning English, a journey of life, where we found our voice in a new tongue

From reading to writing, to speaking with fluency

From which at Divine Chocolate, in collaboration with Kuapa Kokoo, on earth itself

Words flow like rivers, as our confidence grew

We have laughed and cried, we have grown and we have learned

We have broke the barriers, which were obstacles to us

Today, we stand so proud and strong

Our literacy skills a lifelong song

We’ve opened doors to a new possibilities wide

We have our literacy, it’s never too late to learn

With our greetings, barriers are broken

So let’s celebrate this memorable day in a brighter way

We’ll use our skills, to make a difference too

And our voices will be heard loud, and clear anew

We have broken barriers, we rise above with literacy

We rise and share about with every step we take

We have our literacy, it’s never too late to learn.

A special thanks to the Programme Officers at Kuapa Kokoo who coordinate and run these Programmes - Felicia Anane-Frimpong, Kingsley Boadi and Prempeh Agyemang.

 And a thank you to you, the shopper. By buying Divine Chocolate you are helping us fund life changing programmes like this one or the labour rights work done to protect farmers and tenant workers. So why not browse our range of delicious, ethical chocolate that feels as good as it tastes and is Made To Matter?