Projects in the works currently include:
PAINTING POSSIBLITIES
We are actively preparing for our trip to Ghana leaving April 16th. 11 Volunteers from the Philadelphia and Boston areas are going to work with students and teachers at our sponsored school (Bishop Forson School Complex).
This year each child's unique voice/story will be explored and heard through creative writing, music and visual arts. In conjunction with this program, the theme ‘what makes me happy’ is currently being explored by 90 eighth graders in Virginia who will send their two dimensional artwork and a written piece with us to Ghana. This work will be shared with students at BFSC and they will be invited to exchange work that they make for one of these pieces. This project will foster understanding of each other's cultures and will be an ongoing program.
This is our 2nd year Painting Possibilities. Last year we made a wonderful start with our workshop that was designed to nurture creativity and to bridge cultural differences. The program had a profound impact on all involved. It was a transformational week - the African teachers got to see their students in a new light. They learned what a ‘well rounded’ education means and are incorporating this new idea into their school curriculum this year.
For our teachers it was a trip that opened their hearts and minds in ways that they never could have expected.
We have a list of supplies that we will need for this yea's workshop. If you want to help, this is an excellent way to support the project! Please see our Wish List or Contact Us for more information.
EDUCATION THROUGH SPONSORSHIPS
This is our third year of sponsoring children to attend the Bishop Forson School in Kpando, in Ghana's Volta Region. We currently sponsor over 80 children. 15 of these children are orphaned or in dire need and are taking temporary shelter at the school.
- Sponsorships can transform a community. Sponsorships cost $250 per year and sponsors get regular reports about their child.
Click here to read more about the school and sponsorships
SUPPORT OF BISHOP FORSON SCHOOL - ONGOING
In addition to sponsoring children for school we keep a fund for medical needs and gifts for teachers at Christmas (last year we gave a bag of rice and oil to cook with). We recently were able to send a school bus which provides transportation for students and teachers.
15 orphans have taken up residence at the school and are living in Costco tents we sent. They need a permanent structure before the next rainy season. A boarding facility will provide a home for these children and others who want to attend the school but live too far away. We are working to help provide funding for this very important facility.
The Airfield School is meant to serve children from 25 rural villages East of Ho in grades K-4, but the conditions are deplorable. The school has been asking the government to build them a proper structure for 10 years but so far has only received promises. The school has asked numerous NGOs but so far, none has been able to help. We think we can. Please read more.
COLLECTION/SHIPMENT OF SCHOOL AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES
This past year we shipped two containers with medical and school supplies to the Volta Region of Ghana. Included in the shipment were two vans -one to transport the children and teachers to school, the other to help us in our farming and other projects. Items intended for the hospital in Kpando are already in use and doing the intended good. While so much of what we sent is in use, our books and computers are in storage until the library and computer lab are completed.
We still have a short wish list that we encourage you to look at, as we have a volunteers going over from time to time that carry needed items. Many people ask us if we will be doing this again, and the answer is - we hope so (the need is certainly there...). To make that happen will depend largely on the availability of warehouse space and the continued generosity of individual donors and companies like Hapag-Lloyd. To read more about this project, click here.
FIRST AID FOR SCHOOLS
We built 20 sturdy first aid boxes and stocked and distributed them to local schools. We are keeping those boxes supplied and adding new schools as resources allow.
Moving Towards Sustainability:
This is our 3rd year farming okra in the dry season. 2007 profits helped pay for drip irrigation equipment which will conserve water and fuel. The Okra Project Benefits include:
- Provides employment and meals for 35+ young men and women.
- Generates income for poverty reduction projects that is self-earned and sustainable (not charity).Click here to see pictures of this project
MODEL PIG FARM
We are establishing a pig farm in the village of Kudzra. The project benefits the nearby communities in the following ways:
- Pigs will provide low-cost high-protein food source.
- Pigs convert agricultural by-products and food residues from local food stands (chop shops) into edible protein.
- Provides employment
- Once the model is established (within 2 years) and providing sufficient revenue, targeted organizations would be invited to apply for help (including training, funding, piglets and general oversight) in order to start a similar venture in their community. This is a self-perpetuating project whose impact will grow yearly. Profits may also allow Pagus be somewhat self-sustaining.
Cost for this project is estimated at $12,000. We currently have half of that, which is enough to begin. The farm structures are now being built.
Students at the Bishop Forson School will soon be learning how to raise a small animal in the guinea pig and porcupine family called 'grasscutter'. Raising grasscutter at the school will prove educational and also provide food for the children. As the program grows, it may become a sustainable income source for the school.
PROJECTS IN PLANNING
PLANTING FRUIT TREES - Planting fruit trees and plants in rural schools helps prevent and heal malnutrition. Watermelon provides short term food. Coconut, mango, paw paw and other trees will be planted for a long term solution.
CLEAN WATER - Obtaining clean water sources for villages and schools now relying on dirty streams that cause sickness and disease. We are currently working with our sister organization in Ireland to accomplish this for different areas. There are several solutions we employ such as drilling boreholes, digging wells and providing systems to purify existing water sources.
Our mission is to strengthen poor rural communities in Ghana, W. Africa through targeted projects in education, health and poverty reduction. We believe the most effective ways to facilitate long term sustainable change is through education of children and through direct help and advice to local responsible non-profit organizations. We seek to empower communities to improve their schools, water sources and health conditions. 100% of donated funds goes directly to our projects - no salaries or rents are deducted. If you want to know how your donation will be spent contact us or let us know to which project you would like it directed.
To MAKE A DONATION by Credit Card
click here