Next week I will be able to post a direct link to donate to my project (I hope), but for now please wait until I post that link or check here (search for "Luck" or click "donate to volunteer projects" and search for projects in Ghana to see if they have put up the information: www.peacecorps.gov/donate
Hello again everyone! It has been awhile since I have updated the blog (as usual, sorry), but I have been hard at work getting a proposal ready to create a computer lab for the schools in Gwollu. There is a description of the project at the link above and an opportunity for you to donate safely, easily, and tax deductible-y online.
Here is a little bit about how the process works and some more details about the project:
I have applied to the Peace Corps Partnership Program for a total of $5,887.41 to help us create a computer lab in Gwollu to be used mostly by students and teachers, but also by the general public. The way the Peace Corps Partnership works is that it relies on a Peace Corps Volunteer’s (Me) family and friends (You!) to donate the complete amount requested before releasing the money to carry out the project. I was also able to submit names and addresses where they will send a copy of the complete proposal, so if I had your address there may be one on its way to your house (I submitted 77 addresses of individuals and organizations!). Of course, anyone else with an interest in supporting the project can donate as well.
So, I am humbly asking that you all donate to the best of your ability. For those who are students or in between jobs, if you could even spare $10 or $20 it would help us reach our goal. Whether you can donate a lot, a little, or nothing I would appreciate it if you share the link with your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors to give them a chance to learn about the project and donate. A friend of mine here made a similar appeal to his family, who then decided to hold a garage sale and donate all proceeds to his project… they raised over $2,000 in one garage sale! Thanks for the idea, Vainer Family!
After living in this community for 15 months I can honestly attest to this project’s worthiness and its potential to make a huge impact for the students, teachers, and residents of Gwollu. I will be here until November or December to see the project through to completion, train a staff member to operate it, and help to train teachers, students, and administrators on how to effectively utilize the facility. We will also set up a 5-member Management Board consisting of Ghana Education Service staff, District Assembly staff, the District Information Officer, an adult community member, and a student to oversee and manage the lab, which will make the project sustainable in my absence. This is truly a unique opportunity to donate to a project that you have a strong connection to, that you can see the results of (I will provide pictures and blog updates, I promise!), and that will take ZERO money for “administrative costs” or anything of the sort.
I thank you all in advance for your support… I know that whether you throw in $10, $1,000, or just share the project with your peers, you will have done the best you can to help the students in this seriously disadvantaged and underdeveloped part of the world. Remember, I can’t receive any funds until the complete budgeted amount is donated, so when (or if) I can begin and complete the project depends on everyone’s ability to pitch in! Also, the information at the link is just a short, 250-word summary of the project. If you would like more information, or the complete proposal (with detailed budget and more information about implementation and sustainability), I would be happy to email it to you. Just send me an email and let me know. Many of you (those for whom I had addresses) should be receiving the complete proposal in the mail.
World Map Project, etc…
Aside from getting the computer lab proposal ready I have also done a few other things worth mentioning since I last wrote.
Six other volunteers from the Upper West Region and I painted a huge world map on the wall of a library in a volunteer’s community. We had a lot of fun drawing and painting the map over 3 days and it came out great! The volunteer whose site we were at had done the project already at her school, so that made things a bit easier. The first day we just drew a huge grid on the wall, of which I forget the dimensions but it created many hundreds of squares. Then we each took portions of the grid and hand drew the entire world map with pencils following the World Map Project guidebook. Finally we painted and labeled all of the individual countries and bodies of water. It was quite a task, but there were a lot of us to do it (plus a few little Ghanaian kid helpers) and I was amazed at how awesome the final product looked. I hope to complete the project some time in Gwollu if I can save up enough money for the paint and supplies. I may try to do it with some teachers and students on one of the walls of our computer lab to be!
Earlier this month I went down to our office in Kumasi to do some paperwork and budgeting for the computer lab project and I was able to meet up with a few friends and have a fun time in the city. My friends were headed to Accra and since I still needed to price out some more equipment for the lab I joined them. We ended up being in Accra (the capital) for Ghana Independence Day and got to see a really cool concert on the street. That night we also tried to go to a nice nightclub, but I couldn’t get in because I was wearing shorts… even in the city I wasn’t thinking that we might go somewhere with a dress code! Not to worry, though, I was able to buy a VERY tight pair of used jeans from a man on a nearby street corner, who had been using them as his pillow. After I amazed myself, my friends, and a few other onlookers by actually getting them on (and buttoned!), we got right into the club. It was pretty difficult to dance in my new tight denim pants, but apparently they looked better than my khaki shorts and the rest of the night was a blast.
Last Wednesday we had some events in town for World TB (Tuberculosis) Day. Although the TB vaccine is available to newborns, infants, and adults in Ghana, a large proportion of the population is unvaccinated and at risk for contracting TB. Also, although diagnosis and treatment of TB is 100% free and very effective when done correctly, many (I think most in our area) cases go undiagnosed, which, sadly, eventually leads to death. Yesterday, the school children had a parade with banners about how to prevent and treat TB and we held a durbar (community event/meeting) at the school with health talks about TB. The events were on a smaller scale than our World AIDS Day events, but I think we got the basic message across to the students pretty well: if anyone experiences a cough for 2 weeks they need to go get tested for TB and if they are positive they need to take ALL medications given to them for the COMPLETE duration recommended by the health center!
During Easter weekend (this weekend) I will be traveling down to the Eastern Region to go to a paragliding festival! The festival is in a town with these awesome mountain/rock/cliff looking things that seem to just rise out of nowhere; it’s a really beautiful area (check it out at www.ghanaparagliding.com). I fully intend on doing a tandem paragliding “jump,” so if all goes as planned I should have some good pictures/stories to share next time I write! At the end of April, we also have a conference for all Peace Corps volunteers. My group didn’t attend the conference last year, but it included a talent show and Peace Corps Prom, which will surely be repeated this year… can’t wait!
The hottest time of the year where I live is almost over… it should start to rain for the first time in months sometime in April and cool things down a little bit. Lately it has been just been dead heat (I put a digital thermometer in the sun one day and it got up to 124 degrees). Everything is so dusty during this season… I’ll sweep, dust, and clean everything in my house and by the next day its all covered in dust/dirt again!
I think that’s all I’ve got for now. I imagine the weather must be getting really nice at home now too; I’ve heard there has been some good late season skiing in VT and I am sure the baseball tailgates at Clemson have already begun… I am jealous but I hope next year I may finally experience 4 seasons once again!
