My mission in Africa

Before coming to Ghana for the first time 4 years ago, I had a skewed perspective about Africa. I thought it was all savannas and elephants like the lion king. I thought everyone lived in huts or were parts of nomadic tribes. While this is the case in some parts of Africa (East Africa particularly) my view of Africa in its entirity being extremely primitive is for the most part a false perception. But I would never have learned about how incorrect my perceptions were if I had not had a first-hand experience in Africa. It is one thing to read from a textbook about another country's culture and ecological problems, or to have a teacher tell you that all the rain forests in Africa are disappearing. It is an entirely different - and more powerful- experience to see a desolate field bare of trees with your own eyes, or to read about polluted water in a village of our sister school from a child living there. It makes the problems in the world more real when we can see them first-hand, or through the pictures and letters of our friends or teachers. Interacting with Africa completely changed my view of what Africa is. I want the same eye-opening experience for my students.

I would like to thank FUND FOR TEACHERS for making my first trip to Odumase, Ghana possible. It is with the funds that they have given me that I will lay the foundation for a strong connection between my Brooklyn high school and our sister school, Kodjonya Millinium Presby School here in Ghana.