Circum-Flash: Happy New Year, Sister Style

Posted by Jemila On Thursday, December 31, 2009 4 comments


Welcome to A New DECADE!
Happy New Year!!! I know, I know, I've been saying "happy new year" for the past two weeks or so, but isn't it just amazing?! Despite the struggles, the dark hours, the stress, and everything, we made it! Not only to a new year, but to a new decade!! If tonight is anything to go by, my 2010 will be spontaneous. There, I've declared it into existence. Growth, change and spontaneity, inshAllah!

Hmm, What To Do For The Countdown?
So I'd been making plans to be in N.Y. for a while, and then made other plans to be in D.C. instead, which ended up falling through. So I was like, really, what am I going to do for new year's? Anywho. I went on a limb, got online, and got a ticket to N.Y. So right this moment, I'm on the Bolt Bus, blogging away  and chugging along to spend new year's with some of the most amazing people I know. And no, the ball drop is not on my agenda. Did that last year and ended up on some random street shouting "happy new year" in the freezing cold. This year I want to be warm, thank you very much. LOL.

Sisterly Tradition at Its Best 
When I was in Ghana my sister Annatu and I had a special new year's tradition. Practically everyone in the house would fall asleep, but we always stayed up. We'd save up in the run-up to new year's, and the night before we'd go out with our stash of gold and buy soft drinks - usually coke, sprite, or fanta cocktail - and some cookies. We'd put the drinks in the fridge to freeze a bit, and then we'd stay up watching the late night movie and talk about the past year, "do you remember this-eh I can't believe they did that" kinda thing. Afterwards, we'd talk about our resolutions - standing outside on the porch and gazing at the stars. And I'd always wonder what would happen that year and if I'd ever look at the stars from another part of the world.

Well, tonight I'm in another part of the world, but I'm not looking at any stars since I'm on the bus. And surprisingly, skype wasn't as reliant as it usually is. So my sister and I are on facebook chatting away, just like old times. And I suppose virtually everyone else in the house is asleep lol. Although I'm miles away, my heart was right there in Ghana counting down with her, and I feel so blessed to have her, my family and friends.

My New Year Wish For You Wonderful Peeps!
So for 2010, I wish you all the very best! All the blessings and opportunities to make you become the grandest versions of yourselves. All the patience, strength and perseverance to overcome the trials that 2010 might bring. And above all, I pray that in every action and decision, you choose the action that is sponsored by love, instead of that instigated by fear. Happy New Year people!

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Photo Source: http://gipscorp.com/blog/2008/12/22/focus-is-everything/


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Interview: Andrew Garza on Titagya Schools & Early Education in Ghana

Posted by Jemila On Wednesday, December 30, 2009 1 comments

I stumbled across this great initiative on early education in Ghana through good ol' facebook. Titagya Schools is a new project started by Fatawu Abukari, Andrew Garza, and Habib Manzah and aims to provide high quality early education for children in Northern Ghana. What's interesting about this project is the fact that it's a partnership between Ghanaians and an American who never thought they'd be working on early education. As someone who's from northern Ghana and who believes that Ghana's educational system needs some fresh ideas, this was quite a happy find. Hope you guys are as inspired by Titagya (pronounced Ti-tahi-ya).
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Circumspect: Tell us about yourself.
Andrew Garza (A.G.): I graduated from Haverford College in 2008, majoring in sociology and minoring in economics. After that I worked for another organization that consults with small and medium enterprises in Ghana. Throughout college I’d done a number of internships with similar organizations that promote private sector development in Latin America, the U.S. and also in Ghana. So, about eight months after graduation I worked with some people that I had been in touch with since my internship in Ghana in 2006 and together we started Titagya schools.
[Photo: (R-L)Andrew Garza, Abdul-Fatawu Abukari, Manzah Iddi Habib - co-founders of Titagya schools]

Circumspect: How come you decided on Ghana specifically? Where did that interest come from? Was there a particular experience that made you want to start it?
A.G.: The initial reason why I went to Ghana in 2006 was because the previous summer I had read a book by Jeffery Sachs called The End of Poverty talking about how there are these clusters, there are these poverty traps essentially. And the region that had been slowest to eliminate extreme poverty had been sub-Saharan Africa. So that just got me interested in learning more in the region, and the next summer I wanted to go do an internship in some country in Africa. I had researched different possibilities and Ghana seemed like the best choice for a number of reasons. One, it was English-speaking. Two, it seemed like there was a lot of need. Three it is pretty stable politically , so there weren’t any concerns - it’s fairly peaceful - so no security concerns essentially. I guess lastly, it seemed like there were some organizations doing very interesting work there. So that’s why I originally went to Ghana. So I worked in northern Ghana for two months, and just stayed in touch with a couple of colleagues from that and we decided that northern Ghana would be a great place to start our organization since the income in northern Ghana is half to a third of that in southern Ghana. And literacy rates are far less than half that in southern Ghana, so we thought the need was really there to start our work there.

Circumspect: What made you think of schools? Were you always interested in early education? Was that something you always thought you would do?
A.G.: It’s interesting because I think our focus on schools really arose fairly organically. I have two co-founders; one of them is named Fatawu [Abukari] and one of them is named Habib [Manzah]. So Fatawu, for a number of years, about four years, has been working for an educational radio station based in the village where Titagya is also based; it’s a village called Dalun . So his radio station had done kind of an informal study in the nearest town with a good early education facility. So they were interviewing teachers at the secondary school there, and found that students in secondary school who had gone to kindergarten performed much better than those who didn’t, according to the teachers. So I think that is part of what spurred the initial interest. And at the same time, the community in Dalun - for a long time - had wanted to have a place for young children to go. And it was important culturally too, to them, so older girls in particular wouldn’t have to watch their younger siblings. That would free up the older girls also, to go to school. For these various reasons we saw a need for early education.



Fatawu contacted me after that summer I worked in Ghana, saying that he wanted to start a day-care center in Dalun. So, I suggested that we research a little bit more [on] the importance of early education. And we did that. We saw that there are so many positive effects to early education. We saw that it helps develop social skills, motor skills; it prepares children academically with basic language skills – just how important it was. I think in a sense, I’ve always been interested in education, but I’ve kind of been a convert myself to the importance of early education. It’s not something I’ve always known I would be interested in, but kind of through a process of research and just seeing how effective it’s been in other areas, I’ve been a convert to that cause. And I think, it’s the same for Fatawu and Habib. That’s kind of how the idea started.
[Photo: A Titagya school facility in Dalun, northern Ghana]


Circumspect: How did you go about setting it up; with regards funding, staff, building the school structures and so on?
A.G.: In terms of raising money, we just recently opened our first pre-school for 50 students. And our model is going to be in villages throughout northern Ghana. We’re specifically focusing on villages rather than towns since that seems to be where the need is greater. We’re planning to start these clusters of schools; a cluster will entail one pre-school, one kindergarten and then a shared administrative center and computer center between the two. So the children are exposed to that kind of technology at a fairly young age. That’s kind of what we’re trying to pursue. We went about raising money mainly by reaching out to personal contacts; initially people in our networks. So Fatawu reaching out to people that he’d worked with in Denmark; he’s gone to Denmark a couple of times for training programs. Then I reached out to my network, and we got funding from a small non-profit called Hands on the World Global. 


We started small, and it’s really around now that we reaching the point where there’s really this increasing pressure to scale up, and we’re writing larger grants. For instance we recently submitted a grant application for $90,000. So yeah, I think that’s kind of part of the process so far. And it’s really been Habib and Fatawu managing the process on the ground in Ghana, and then I’ve been doing a lot of the institutional work here in the U.S. in terms of raising money. In the summer we got incorporated in New York State, and managing interns in the U.S., so those are some of the areas that I focus on.


Circumspect: Where did you go to find the information you needed to decide whether to set up or not. And how did that process go?
A.G.: It’s interesting. I would say, Dr. Google, and then - the most important source – I think we relied a lot on Google Scholars to find different reports that focused on the importance of an early education. And we found some great ones; we found a couple of reports by the U.N., we found a report by the Government of Ghana - I believe from 2003 or 2005 - that laid out a vision of how the government wanted to expand its early education program and have almost every primary school in the country have a kindergarten attached to it by 2015. So we thought that was very interesting, that the government was already trying to pursue some of that work. And then, we just found a variety of other studies; a key one that was supported by the University of Sussex in the U.K. So, we tried to look at a variety of sources and it seemed like there was just this general consensus that early education was strongly needed, that many times – and this is throughout a lot of the country in Ghana – that a lot of times children would arrive at primary school and secondary school, not really adequately prepared for the work.They might not be studying effectively because they were not ready for the educational level that they were in at the time. It was just a fascinating, eye-opening process for us. Yeah, there were some nights when I had a hard time going to sleep because it was just amazing reading all of these different reports.


Circumspect: What has the community’s reception of the school been? Do you get support from local agencies or the government?
A.G.: In terms of the local community, the reception has been extremely positive in Dalun. I think the opening of the school has been the buzz of the town for quite a while before the opening. At the opening itself, which took place in November [2009] we had more than 120 people come, and the Chief of Dalun came, and he strongly endorsed our strategy and was telling the community that they had a responsibility to help us keep up the school, that parents have to work closely with us, so that we can really offer a very effective education. So we had his strong personal support and that of local politicians, other officials, local head masters as well from other schools, community leadership as well. Most of our parents were there with the students and other community members. It seemed that most people were very excited to have this high quality option for their children. So that’s in Dalun.



In terms of working with the government; we’re collaborating fairly closely with the government; the government will be paying for three teachers at our school. Naturally, it’s an important part of our strategy. That really forces you to scale up what you’re doing more effectively, whereas if, I think, non-profits just work on their own in isolation in a country like Ghana - where you do have a fairly reasonable government that you can work with - I think that’s an ineffective strategy because you’re not really sharing your lessons learned as much as you could be, or gaining from the government’s experience in learning about what’s worked well in the area and what hasn't.


[Photo: Fatawu showing the Chief of Dalun (yellow gown) some of the books for the school during the opening ceremony of Titagya Schools.]


Circumspect: How many staff do you have and what are their focus areas? 
A.G.: We have two administrative staff in Ghana and we have three teachers. In the U.S., I’m the main full-time person and we have a number of people who have been advising us, volunteering for us, helping with fundraising, designing the website, designing marketing material, so really helping in all areas of the organization. So we’re fairly reliant on volunteers and their amazing work. I guess that’s part of our model.


Circumspect: What’s the financial commitment for individuals whose wards attend Titagya schools?
A.G.: We have a policy where 20 percent of our students don’t pay anything; and the 20 percent of students are people in the community whose families don’t have much money and otherwise would have a very difficult time affording an education at our school. For the other 80 percent, people pay approximately 5 Ghana cedis a month; right now that’s about $3.50 a month. We set that rate because it’s similar to a couple of other kindergartens in other towns that we enquired about. We thought it was at a level where the money would significantly help us with our operational costs, but it wouldn’t be overly burdensome to the families.


Circumspect: What’s an average day at Titagya like?
A.G: My average day would probably include some kind of meeting with Fatawu. Until recently we’ve been using phone cards. But that’s quite expensive so we’re trying to shift over to Skype, and there’s been a little bit of a challenge with that because the reception isn’t that clear yet. But, we’re trying a couple of different things to make that work better. So it would include a meeting with Fatawu and likely, some kind of fundraising meeting during the day or in the evening. Meeting with a potential funder or meeting with someone who might be interested in helping us to raise money. At the moment one of our key priorities is to get our 501(c)(3) status. So it involves, right now, a fair amount of research into what we need to do, and working on the paperwork for that. Also getting our financial statements into the form that they need to be with to submit properly for 501(c)(3).


In Ghana, the focus recently has been on making sure our first school runs very well. I think that’s our top priority. Yeah, the quality has to be very high and I think with any new organization, when you’re establishing a model you have to anticipate that there are going to be challenges and be kind of be open to troubleshooting them. So we’re really trying to keep our eyes wide open and make sure the quality is very high. So Fatawu spends a lot of time at the school right now in making sure things are going very well. In the near future we’re going to be looking at other villages where it would make sense to expand our program in the future. So that’s also going to take a fair amount of his time.



Circumspect: Have you had any challenges? Culturally- related to the people you work it? Do speak Dagbani? How does that go?
A.G.: I think that’s been one of the most interesting parts of the experience so far. There has been – I don’t know if challenge would be the right word – I think certainly that adds an interesting layer to what we do; that there is this element of cross-cultural communication between Habib, Fatawu and I, and others. But it’s really been an enriching process for, most importantly, for the school. Because I think when you come from different countries you question one another’s assumptions. So there might be, for instance, a certain policy that I think we should have in the school. But Fatawu would say, ‘Wow, I don’t know if that would work there. Gee, I don’t know if that would be culturally appropriate.’ There might be other areas where there’s something that I suggest we might do, that’s not necessarily the norm in the educational system in Ghana - which works well in other areas - and might work well there too. For instance, I think with a number of schools in Ghana – and a couple that we visited – the education, even at an early level, is fairly top-down and almost based on a university style lecture model in some sense; even if it’s very young children who can’t learn most effectively that way. So part of our model is going to be having a very interactive classroom experience, where there are lots of stories and role-playing games and small group activities to really get the children thinking and excited, and developing their different thinking capabilities. I think that’s an instance where it’s helpful having people from different areas working on this project because it really helps to germinate new ideas.
[Photo: Andrew Garza giving a speech - with a translator- during the opening of Titagya Schools.]


I speak a few words of Dagbani. And I’ve asked Fatawu to send me a list of more words so that I can become more proficient in Dagbani. So I speak a little bit, but I think it’s important that I learn more.



Circumspect: Can you tell me about one experience that resonated deeply with you?
A.G.: One experience that was especially strong for me was at the opening of the school when we had most of our first 50 children actually sitting in chairs with their parents, in their uniforms, excited, smiling, running around before the ceremony started. I think that really hit it home for me; how amazing it is that we’re starting this up and that this is going to be starting soon at that point. How real it is. A lot of my personal work has taken place from the U.S.; getting ideas for the curriculum, incorporating that with the town’s curriculum, raising money, marketing and all of these things. But I think being on the ground and meeting some of the children and seeing them in their uniforms; that was pretty impactful for me.
[Photo: School pupils, parents, and Dalun community members at the opening ceremony.]


Circumspect: What exactly does “Titagya” mean? Where did that name come from?
A.G.: “Titagya” means “we have changed” in Dagbani. It was Fatawu’s idea to take that name. It’s interesting because I think in Dagbani it has slightly different connotations than in English. In Dagbani it has very positive connotations, more along the lines of “we have grown”. We thought that was a great name to talk about how education can really transform someone’s life opportunities.


Circumspect: Where do you see Titagya in the next five to ten years?
A.G.: With Titagya, I see us expanding fairly progressively throughout northern Ghana. I think initially in the northern region and the total Kumbungu district; but eventually in many other areas. I expect, within five years, to have schools in a number of parts in Northern Ghana. We’re planning to have three schools in 2010; three more schools. In addition to that, we are planning to start a scholarship program for children who need assistance to pay their school fees and buy their books for primary and secondary school. And a third component of what we’re doing , that we’re weighing at the moment – kind of a strategic decision -  is deciding how we’re going to ensure that children who go to our school and finish well and have this great head start, how we continue that momentum.


I think the direction that we’re leaning with that is to have a program where we work with other local primary and secondary schools to help refurbish the physical structures. For instance, in schools where they need help to put things like fans so children can focus better in the very hot dry season. So items like that. And also helping in areas where it’s desired, to incorporate more interactive exercises in the curricula; to really strengthen the academic foundation of the children going forward. Lastly, just partnering with the government; especially to get their feedback on what we’re doing and see suggestions they might have for improvement. And where appropriate, offering our suggestions on ways that public schools might be strengthened based on our experience.



Circumspect: What about Ghana’s educational system?
A.G: I think what we’re really hoping to be a part of – we’ve seen that spending on schools had increased towards the final years of the Kuffour administration in northern Ghana, certainly continues under the new administration, although it’s not clear to us exactly how much. We’re hoping to be an important partner with the government as it tries to scale up early education and the government has already identified that as a priority early. Yeah, we’re hoping to be a useful partner in that area. I’m certainly hoping and expecting that Ghana will have success in instituting a greater quantity of very high quality early education facilities.
[Photo: Fatawu speaking during the opening ceremony. Chief of Dalun (yellow) and head of Ghanaian Danish Community Program (blue) were among some of the dignitaries present.]



Circumspect: What words of advice do you have for young people who are interested in pursuing projects like yours?
A.G.: If people are still in college - or high school even - I would certainly suggest taking relevant classes. Taking classes in a variety of areas: economics, sociology, political science. I think they come to mind for just being, kind of, an institutional sense of how change happens. And then, things like writing classes, English classes, other languages – they’re also important for how you can convey your ideas. And I would say, even technical classes like accounting, corporate finance, statistics; I think those could be very useful for some of the nuts and bolts activities of running an organization. I guess I would suggest taking a variety of classes in the areas that people are interested in. Also, going out of their comfort area a little bit to take some of these other classes. Meet speakers; reach out to alumni in areas that people are interested in. That’s kind of in an academic and networking sense.

[Photo: Some of Titagya's students at Dalun]
Aside from that, I would also definitely suggest trying to get some great relevant internship experience in a variety of fields, especially concentrating on areas that the person is interested in. Maybe one or two summers where it’s something that’s a different experience that you think you’ll be interested in. So for instance if you’re planning to go into healthcare and do that from the non-profit sector, maybe spending one sector working in the private sector so you have that experience as well. Yes, I think I would definitely suggest taking advantage of the internships for all that you can.


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Photo Credit: Andrew Garza


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Circum-Alert: Featured on Live Unchained

Posted by Jemila On Comments


Hi Everyone,

I was recently contacted by Kathryn Buford, one of the creators of Live Unchained. She and her co-creator Miriam Moore have set up a virtual community and are developing a multi-media anthology for and by black women across the African Diaspora.

I feel so honored and humbled to be profiled alongside some of the most phenomenal women on their site like Nigerian author and professor Nnedi Okorafor and would like to share my interview and Live Unchained's amazing project with you guys!

You can access my interview with Live Unchained here. And you can check out other interesting profiles and works on the Live Unchained Blog. I hope you guys find their project as amazing as I have, and please share with interested individuals!

Much love,
Jemila

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Photo Source: Live Unchained Website


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Interview: Maame Sampah, Emmanuel Lamptey, REACH Ghana

Posted by Jemila On Tuesday, December 29, 2009 6 comments


Circumspect interviews Maame Sampah and Emmanuel Lamptey, Executive Board Members of the Representatives for Equal Access to Community Healthcare (REACH) Ghana to find out how they got started, what projects they're currently working on, and what they're looking forward to.
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Circumspect: Tell us about yourselves.

Maame Sampah (M.S.): I’m currently a graduate student. I’m with an HIV group right now, and so I basically do HIV research. Before then, I did undergrad in biochemistry and French at Grinnell College. I’m doing grad school at [Johns] Hopkins now. I went through the Ghana education system - Wesley Girls, Bishop Bowers before then. I can give you the name of my nursery school. And yeah, so here I am. I’m going to be in school for a while, and basically I’m going to end up in a career in clinical and research medicine. I have a huge family, I have four siblings. My parents both live in Ghana. My siblings however are kind of scattered in the U.K and here [U.S.] and in Ghana. And, I guess my interest in healthcare probably came from my mum who is a nurse. I grew up playing with medicine at home. I don’t know how it happened. I mean I actually didn’t set out; I went to college thinking physics major, chemistry. It was always something “sciencish” but I didn’t really head out towards healthcare until I did some college internships in hospitals and I loved them.


Emmanuel Lamptey (E.L.): My name is Emmanuel Lamptey, I’m also a graduate student right now. I have a masters already in diplomacy and international relations; specialization in global health and human security. So that’s my interest. Specifically my research areas have been in OVCs (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) and HIV/AIDS. Right now I work for a non-profit in D.C. in the programs department on a USAID funded project. I was born and raised in Ghana, came to the US for my undergrad and grad school. I have two younger brothers and my parents are both in Ghana. My interest in health, and I think that’s what I want to do, I see myself with a career in public health and global health. My interest peaked – because when I was younger I was more interested in international relations and politics. But in grad school, my thinking and my formative ideas about what I wanted to do with health started with the breakout of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. For me it was linking health with politics and the politics of health. So that’s what spread my thinking, so that’s why I’ve been interested in health stuff.
[Photo Insert: REACH Board Members Emmanuel Lamptey & Martha Sampah]
  
Circumspect: Where did the idea for REACH come from?

M.S.: The idea for REACH came from BarCamp. We basically went for BarCamp [July 2009]. I had actually attempted to go to BarCamp in Ghana before; it didn’t work out. But we went to BarCamp not really sure what to expect, and we went and basically started a breakout session on healthcare in Ghana. And it turned out a lot of people were interested in that. We spent about an hour or maybe a little bit over an hour bashing the healthcare system in Ghana hardcore. And yeah, there was a lot that people had to say about what was going wrong, but people also noted there are all these improvements being made. In the end what it came to was everybody chipped in at the end about what we could do specifically to help. I mean there was a long list of suggestions about specific things that we could do at our stage to help somehow. After BarCamp, a couple people who had been in the discussion got to emailing back and forth. We also had other contacts that we knew were very interested in the cause, and that ended up with a group of nine of us who have since then been planning this from the get-go.


Circumspect: Can you tell me a bit about REACH – what your aims are, where you see yourself within the next two to five years?
E.L.: Well, there are several things. I think our overarching goal is to be a part of the discussion and be a part of the solution. So, our idea is to influence, contribute and assist in the Ghana government’s effort to improve access to healthcare and quality of healthcare for Ghanaians. So we work through various engines. One of them is being a forum for networking of ideas and programs, of organizations that are interested in health projects. That’s one thing that we do. Education is another part, and not just focusing on the macro level; from the micro level to linking individual students - here in the U.S. and in Ghana - to network and bridge and bring ideas together.



Thirdly, it’s through programs and initiatives; be it a book drive, be it an HIV/AIDS project, be it research opportunities. So people, professionals who have ideas about how to improve the healthcare system, if they have ideas about how to do research, the government of Ghana wants to implement a research opportunity or research into a specific area. Being able to be a source or an organization that can either help facilitate that process or take part in that process. To actually do that research, so that we can bring out sustainable results. That’s our big thing. Our big thing is working with individuals, working with governments, and creating sustainable projects that lead to our overall access to care and improved access to care.

M.S.: You mentioned in two years, where do we see ourselves? I guess, part of the whole premise of REACH was really to bring people together. I mean, I can’t believe how much we’ve gotten done in the past six months just by virtue of the fact that there was a bunch of us who were working towards the same thing. None of us individually could have accomplished any of this on our own. That’s the point, you know, to create all of these opportunities. Basically what we see in two years, hopefully, will be that REACH will be a place where people interested in healthcare and doing a project in Ghana, will come, you know, just to get other people to help them on those projects. Be it in the planning, finding funding, the execution, program assessment, and whatever it is that they need. Basically, the point is, we’re pulling together all these resources so you can go to one place and not have to be running all over the place.


Another thing that we talked about is the fact that volunteerism is such a big thing in the U.S. That’s what we’ve all learned from being here. Going to a liberal arts college, Emmanuel and I both went to liberal arts college, it’s just such a big thing; public service. Everybody does it. It doesn’t happen in Ghana. I mean, the only thing that I can think about is National service, which is almost mandatory, you have to do it. People only do it because, well, I don’t know what people’s individual motives are, but it’s almost as if everybody does it because you have to do it. Here’s the case where people from the time you’re in middle school, high school, you know [about] service. That’s what we’re trying to encourage as well.


E.L.: Yes, creating service-oriented communities.


M.S.: So that at the end of the day, a high school based in Cape Coast is taking care of the Cape Coast community. We’re hoping that’s what’s going to happen. That REACH is going to be an organization that’s really run mostly by volunteers. We understand that there are going to have to be paid people to facilitate the whole process, but really, mostly run by volunteers. Be it volunteers from Ghana or study abroad kids from the U.S., whatever it takes; just people who are willing to put in something. And that’s how we’re planning on cutting costs.


E.L.: One of the things that we [the executive board of REACH] actually talked about when it came to our programs is building communities to be sustainable in giving them the capacity-building skills and techniques to be sustainable. A lot of the commentary on health care, not just in Ghana, but in developing countries is, what can the government do? What is the government doing? What about – what are the communities doing? And what kind of skills can the communities have so they can be sustainable so it’s not the government of Ghana building a university or a hospital in Swedru, but organizations in that community having the skills, the know-how, to raise money to build that hospital. A lot of the hospitals in the U.S. are not controlled by the government. They’re hospitals that were built to feed the need of the communities and are thriving based on the income tax, the kind of money you raise. So we’re trying to create the self-help part of it. So every program that we do, or will do, has a capacity-building sustainability part of it that is integral to our mission.



M.S.: Yeah. Actually an example is right in my own backyard. Hopkins, where I go to school, is purely the product, and it’s easily ranked one of the best hospitals in America. It was the product of one merchant. I mean it came from somebody’s foundation. But it was basically somebody in the Baltimore community who started Hopkins. There was a hospital that was built for African-American kids who didn’t have access to regular hospitals, and that’s kind of how it started. And then, after that, more funds were donated. But then it was people in the community who really, pretty much built it up. I understand, you do need a huge funding source for such a large scale project, but at the end of the day, I haven’t seen it in Ghana. I haven’t seen an individual or a group of people come together. Korle-Bu is government-owned, from Kwame Nkrumah’s time. And that’s what everybody depends on. Okomfo Anokye, same thing. All the major hospitals in Ghana, somehow, are just the result of the government. I mean, the point is that it’s time for us to step up and do something for ourselves.
[Photo Insert: Martha and fellow board member Aida Nana Ama Manu with REACH Advisory Board Member Dr. Ana Hitri.]


E.L: There are not enough Nyaho clinics; there should be more Nyaho clinics, more individuals. And it’s not so much that people don’t have the skill set or the money to do it, it’s sometimes, they don’t have the vision or there’s not the right atmosphere and maybe infrastructure, legal rights and privileges that are given by the government. Those are some of the things that REACH is more interested in as well. We’re not just talking about building those projects, but also advising and creating opportunities, and encouraging the government to provide the legal framework for people to be innovative.


Circumspect: Where did the name REACH come from?
M.S.: Oh, REACH. Ha! Brainstorming. Hardcore brainstorming. It was hard. We thought about it. We knew we wanted some kind of an acronym. We wanted something that people could remember easily. And, I guess it ended up being, we knew it was going to be REACH almost, just the whole concept of reaching out, which is what it’s all about. And then, we were thinking letters, and we were thinking community, healthcare, advocacy, excellence, excellent healthcare. I mean, we were thinking all kinds of words. And somehow it just kind of came together. You know, this is what we are: representatives of this cause that we’re committed towards. It just strung together, and it was just, ah, perfect, that’s what it was meant to be from the beginning. Yeah, we were really excited about that when we figured it out. The whole concept of reaching out and it standing for essentially what we are and what we represent.


E.L.: And reaching out from both ends. That was the big thing. It was not just us reaching out to communities in Ghana, but communities in Ghana also reaching out back to us and to themselves. The idea was creating an area for connection, where people with like-minds or visions can come together.





Circumspect: Would you like to give an update on what you’ve done so far?
M.S.: Okay, so far we’ve filed an article of incorporation which is just to say we’re an organization that exists in [Washington] D.C. and we’re in the process of applying for NGO status in D.C. and in Ghana. So that’s basically what allows us to take grants and donations, and it being tax-exempt. So we’ve been basically getting out organization together, trying to recruit members, trying to set up little committees, getting our first couple of projects going. December is the month that we chose for our launch. We started out with an HIV/AIDS project mostly because that was a common interest a lot of us on the board had. We were also in touch with Benedicata [Osafo-Darko ] who comes from an HIV background who was very excited about doing an HIV project. So that’s what we started with.  We chose December for our launch because that’s when we felt we were about ready to start the nitty-gritty of getting things done. And that coincided with World AIDS Day on Dec. 1st, and we thought, perfect, let’s do that. So far, we have two projects going, that is mostly being run by the executive board. We’re looking for people. So far we have members who have expressed interest in starting their own projects. Yeah, as many projects as is within our control, we’re ready to take on at this point. And hopefully our launch this whole month over here, and in Ghana and the U.K. will bring some results where we should have a couple more going. As of now, REACH has its executive board of nine, an advisory board of eight members - all this information is on our website - and we have a general membership of approximately 35 to 40, right about now. That was before tonight [Dec. 11], and tonight has been really great. Good stuff.


E.L.: And we have a book drive project. The books have actually been sent to Ghana. It was work by a couple of our executive board members, who already had this plan going before we officially formed REACH. So the idea was, they were able to get donations, and raised money to get textbooks to send to the medical school in Ghana.



M.S.: There are some books that are already in Ghana, we’re still soliciting for more. The point is there are certain books that you just can’t do without. Reference books for example, you can’t have reference books be outdated. And that’s what you see in a couple of the universities in Ghana. It’s not that they’re no good if they haven’t been updated, but if a book is ten years old, there’s so much information, I mean, just coming from a research background, you find out so much in a year in one field, that in ten years you’re missing so much. We thought that that would be an easy contribution.


E.L.: Yea, adding to the catalogue of materials that we already have. We’re not saying that Ghana doesn’t have any books; we’re saying that the more access, the larger access and a wider range of access to textbooks and research is better. More is better, that’s the idea.


M.S.: Related to this book drive project is also a web portal project that we’re planning, where it’s going to be basically a portal where health students and professionals in Ghana and over here, will have access to different kinds of information. So for example, students in Ghana should be able to access, you know, all the basic scientific journals and databases available. If somebody is a medical student in America and has a question about a tropical disease such as malaria, that is not known about as much, they can easily send a message to this portal, and a student in Legon [University of Ghana] should be able to pick that up and say, hey, this is what we know about malaria here. Same here, if there is a question about rheumatoid arthritis, which people might not know much about in Ghana, then they’ll do that. We’re thinking that should apply to not just medicine, nursing, psychology, public policy, whatever it is, basically making use of technology to make the exchange of information that much easier.  
[Photo Insert: REACH prospective member holding the REACH membership Form.]

Circumspect: What do you think Ghana’s key health issues are, and what recommendations or hopes do you have for overcoming them?
M.S.: Ooh, that is a hard question. I mean I can tell you what some of the key health issues are, but recommendations; that would take a textbook. Okay, malaria is still a serious issue, which is sad almost. Because, I mean, people can’t even afford malaria medication, or if they have malaria, if you’re in a really rural area, you don’t even know what it is you have. You can’t even go to a hospital because there is no hospital right there. Yeah, malaria is one of the big killers in Ghana. And it’s getting more complicated because the more this problem goes on, there are strains of malaria that are becoming more resistant to the medications that are available. So, the more people are getting infected by malaria that can’t be treated, the more of a killer it’s becoming. HIV is another problem, I mean; it’s not as bad in Ghana as other areas in Africa.


E.L.: But that has been because there’s been a saturation of, and an influx of money, sponsors and donors in education on HIV/AIDS. So that’s a success area of showing that if you have the infrastructure, the commitment, the money and the education, you can have success. Those four things are very important. If you generalize that to the Ghanaian healthcare system, I think that’s the big issue: commitment, the money, the education, and competent people running the system.


M.S.: I agree.


E.L.: You should be fine, because you’re providing the groundwork for people to be innovative. Healthcare should not just be a top-down approach, it can also be a bottom-up approach, but if there’s no infrastructure to allow that to happen, there’s no money to allow that to happen, there’s no competency for that to happen, and there’s no commitment for that to happen, it’s just a recipe for disaster.



M.S.: Yeah. And I mean, of course, that’s part of the reason for REACH. We’re still trying to put our heads together to think. There are models that have worked in other parts of the world, but what’s going to happen is that we’re going to have to come up with our own way for how healthcare is going to work in Ghana. And that’s why we’re together; we’re all still learning from each other, learning from our older advisory board people, whoever it is. It’s good, it’s a learning process for all of us, and hopefully we come up with something great in the end.


E.L.: We’re definitely not claiming to be the know-all, be-all of everything. What we’re doing is presenting our self as an instrument for use for contact and an instrument where people with like-minded ideas and visions can come together.
[Photo Insert: REACH executives and members at the organization's happy hour networking event on Dec. 11.]


M.S.: We’re basically saying, everybody come. Let’s brainstorm, let’s figure this thing out, let’s get it down.


Circumspect: Any last words?
M.S.: Join REACH. And it doesn’t matter; you don’t have to be from a healthcare background. Actually on this executive board, there are only some of us that have healthcare backgrounds. Obviously you need technology, like we said we’re trying to make all of these projects sustainable. You need marketing tools, you need all kinds of different things. I mean, I can’t think of what discipline I can say is not relevant to what we’re doing. Bennie is a sociologist, that’s part of what we’re doing on this HIV project; trying to figure out what the social premise behind higher HIV prevalence in Agomanya is.


E.L: What are some of socio-cultural characteristics that affect or influence whether a program can be successful in this area as opposed to another area.


M.S.: So don’t be turned off just by thinking, oh healthcare. No, that’s not what it is. We need everybody on board.



E.L.: Some organizations have been successful in linking social marketing and profit making to healthcare. Some organizations have been able to link already profitable programs to healthcare. For example, the Grameen Bank. Known for small-scale finance, but now they’ve realized that they’re working in countries that have healthcare issues, and they’ve been able to tailor their programs to fit the need. So there’s room for everybody at the table, and people need to realize that. My parting message is join REACH, but also realize that there’s room for everybody. It’s just a question of getting involved. Building that spirit of volunteerism, spirit of innovation, and just realizing that it’s all about coming together, working together as a group; because unity is very important.
[Photo Insert: Participant at REACH's Bukom Happy Hour in D.C. signing up as a REACH member.]


I think that, there’s a quote, I can’t remember, about what Kwame Nkrumah said when he was addressing parliament, less than a year after coming into power. He basically said, that we will be judged as a country by how our healthcare, our education, our children, - are they able to wake up in the morning and eat? Are they able to go to school? Those are the things that a country and a government should be judged on. I think that’s very important. Mandela has another quote that says that the measurement of a society is how they treat the children, and we’re thinking about the future. So I think that the mark of Ghana should be how we help each other out, and how our country progresses, for better healthcare, and even to other things. Healthcare is just one aspect of development.


M.S.: There are people who have said, oh, why Ghana? People in America are struggling with access to healthcare as well. Well, Ghana because there are people who have to travel two hours just to get to a basic healthcare centre. It’s not the same in America. You have an emergency, you can call 911 and someone will get to you in five minutes; in most areas of America. I mean, it’s a different question altogether, it’s not even about who can pay to go, it’s about is it even there. And it’s not there in Ghana, most of the time.


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Photo Source: REACH Ghana Facebook Page and Website



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Circum-Vlog: How To Blog (Part 1)

Posted by Jemila On Friday, December 25, 2009 4 comments


Happy holidays to everyone and Merry Christmas! I hope you all got some family-time in, or if you went at it solo, that you had a great time eitherways! I got some much needed down-time, and then I spent the rest of the day working on this! The first vlog (video blog) on 'how to blog.' I know many of you have been waiting for this, so without further ado, here goes! Part one of the Circumspect "How to blog" series!




Photo Source: http://lawinquebec.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/how-to-blog-blackboard-classroom1.jpg?w=300&h=228


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The Element of Freedom: Fast Track to Natural

Posted by Jemila On Wednesday, December 23, 2009 7 comments


Alicia Keys: "And the day came when the risk it took to remain tightly closed in a bud, was more painful than the risk it took to bloom."


Original quote by Anais Nin (BTW, she has the most amazing quotes!): "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

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I get bored really easily. And not just that, boredom is painful for me, as it usually results in migraines (weird init?). So I like to keep busy and I'm usually on the lookout for new experiences. When I did the post on my new year resolutions, I noted that I would "experiment" and "continue this love thing". Deciding to go natural falls under those categories, and coincidentally, under "let my hair down" as well, in a literal sense. Alors, if you want a short version of why I decided to go natural, it's because it's a new year, I'm trying new(or rather old?) things, and I'm taking an extra step to understanding & taking care of myself.

At this point, you can a) Skip to photo of my new cut  b) Read on for the nitty gritty details of my hair journey.

My Hair History
Going through w/ the big chop(BC) has been quite a surprise for some of my friends. Especially since I was always a "I want long hair" kinda girl. Why I wanted long hair? Well. Because for the greater part of my life I've had short hair; like really low cut short hair. Cetirus Paribus, being denied long hair led to a greater thirst for long hair. (The law of scarcity) So when I finally finished high school in Ghana, I jumped right into relaxing, no questions asked. As the fates would have it, my quest for "long hair" has been thwarted many-a-time.

By the end of the first winter in the US, I had a gaping hole near the nape of my neck, where my hair had literally broken off. I got a cut. And I hated it. Factor in the price differentials for hair care in the U.S. in comparison to Ghana, I couldn't afford to go to the salon as frequently as I should have, poor college student that I was. More hair breakage. Good thing though, I love braids, so those were my fall-backs. Until France. Along with sumptuous French pastries came Adjoa. A Ghanaian woman residing in France, and an awesome hair specialist. Under her gentle care, my hair blossomed. Needless to say, I was happy. Throughout this entire time, I've had friends who've gone natural, and I've thought about it myself, but my desire for "long hair" was too strong.lol. So I resisted.

Long story short. For the reasons below - and a couple I've probably forgotten to add - I'm officially and absolutely natural (Dec. 23). The goal is to keep it natural. But you know how we always make excuses lol.

Why Now? [in no particular order of importance]
1. I got bored. It's a new year (well, soon), time to spice things up

2. Meeting amazing and extremely beautiful women w/ short haircuts gave me the helping hand I needed

3. Realizing that I actually have a lot of friends who are natural and talking to them about the pros and cons

4. My frustration w/ my last weave. Gosh, disentangling the stuff took hours each day!!!

5. Realizing that if one is indebted to someone else, and keeps his or her income in the bank, it doesn't change the fact that he/she still owes that person. In other words: Ignoring the fact that my hair needed a break, and that I wasn't taking care of it the way I should, didn't make my hair situation any better

6. Identity: I'm embracing myself as many things, and this is simply who I choose to be now

7. It's much easier to fulfill my religious obligations w/o having to worry about messing up/damaging my hair (God knows best!)

8. Choice!!!! In the past, having low natural haircuts was a requirement for school. This decision was made entirely of my own free will. Hence "the element of freedom" lol.

9. Music: India Arie, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Asa etc

10. Time & Money: I don't have much of either these days, so might as well use what I have efficiently

11. The blues: I think missing home, family and friends subconsciously prompted me to return to familiar terrain? lol

12. I love my eyes & I absolutely love earrings. Short hair allows me to accentuate both.

And in case you're wondering, the movie Good Hair, had nothing to do w/ it. Haven't watched it...yet. I just might lol.

Okay, enough talk, the photos! But first.

Appreciation (also a resolution): Freda, Pearlyn, Yvonne (REACH crew ;D ), Abby, Chisom, Moiyattu, Trish, Yaba, Annatu, Charles, Philippe, Mummy, Daddy (for having a convo on hair w/ me even though it's "women talk" lol), Mae, All my "natural" friends (you're too many to be listed, but you know yourselves), Youtube, and of course, Allah.

Now to the grand finale (I sound like an ad lol)

Unveiling...

The "new" me (until I get bored again, jk lol)




Needless to say... I'm happy :), and it's not an exaggeration. You really do feel renewed. Not to be cliche or anything, enjoy India's "I'm not my hair" Peace out peeps!





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Photo Source: http://www.keithmallett.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/amira1.53181647_std.jpg



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A Short Script: Good Cop-Bad Cop

Posted by Jemila On Monday, December 21, 2009 7 comments


[I always found this kind of writing fascinating. So I decided to try my hands at one. Would be interesting to see what peeps make of it. Enjoy! ]


Good Cop: Don’t click on it .
Bad Cop: Oh, why ever not, you know you want to.
Good Cop: Just don’t! You’re setting yourself back.
Bad Cop: C’mon, it’s just a photo, geez Mother Theresa.
Good Cop: Don’t, don’t…please.


Too late. The page was loaded, and she succumbed herself to the painful pangs that slashed at her heart. He looked so happy. So dashing. So…without her.


Good Cop: Why do you do this to me? To yourself? To Us? Why?

She didn’t know why. But she kept coming back to this place. This no-man’s land. Where she saw everything she ever wanted, but never achieved.


Bad Cop: You need this. You need to see the reality of the situation, and deal with it. And maybe, just maybe, after seeing it so many times, one day you’ll take a look and be numb to it all.


But that day hadn’t yet come. So instead, she kept going back to that no-man’s land, hoping to one day come upon a beautiful mirror, gaze into it, and see herself looking back. Such poetry. 


Click. 


She looks just like me! He actually went for someone who looks just like me! Maybe one day, he’ll realize it was me he wanted all along, not her.


Bad Cop: Really? Is that the best you can come up with?


Sigh. It really happened didn’t it?


Good Cop: Yep, without a doubt.


But why???


Bad Cop: Why not? You and your notions about being untouchable.That’s the irony of it all. You all think you’re untouchable. Oh, this could never happen to me, that could never happen to me…until it actually does. And you’re left sitting up late into the night, joining in the chorus of your ancestors as you contemplate the silent question. “Why?”


Click.


Good Cop: C’mon, sign out, turn off the computer, and go do something else. Call someone, read a book, go for a walk. Anything. Please.


Yea, you’re right, that’s exactly what I should do.


Bad Cop: Are you kidding me? So you go read a book, call someone, go for a walk. At the end of the day none of those are gonna help you get over him. The only one who can do that is you. And you have to do this actively. Let’s look at the next one.


Click. 


Oh wow, look at her goggling at him. That’s definitely a serious case of love’ims. But how can she look at him like that? What does she see in him? He’s supposed to be mine.


Good Cop: Ummm. Let’s not go there.


Go where?


Bad Cop: Leave her be! She’s dealing with it. You go right ahead girl. The truth shall set you free.


What are you two talking about? All I want is…all I want is him.


Good Cop: Now, you’ve definitely gone overboard. Shut down and let’s leave.


But why? Is it so bad for me to acknowledge what I feel.


Bad Cop: Acknowledging is not bad. It’s good actually. It’s the wanting, that’s bad.


Bad Cop! You? I never expected you to say something like that! You’re supposed to be on my side!


Bad Cop: And I am, just as Good Cop is. We just take different approaches to it.


Different Approaches? You’re both telling me that wanting him is bad. Even though it’s want I feel in the depths of my heart. What’s so wrong with that?


Good Cop: Umm. He’s not yours.


I know that. That’s what’s gotten me in this position in the first place.


Bad Cop: Yea, so technically, you shouldn’t want him. You should try to curb that want at all costs.


But that doesn’t make sense. What I feel, is what I feel, there’s nothing I can do about it.


Bad Cop: Well, in another instance, that might be true.


Are you saying I’m having misguided feelings?


Bad Cop: No, quite the contrary. You’re targeting exactly who you want to target with your feelings. But that’s the no-no.


Whatever do you mean Bad Cop? Just lay it out for me.


Good Cop: Go Ahead. You’ve been pushing the entire deal with this head-on thing.


So?


Bad Cop: Here’s the deal. Before, when he wasn’t umm…attached. You could target him with your feelings and it’d be ok. But now. That he’s someone else’s…you’re coveting.


*Blank stare*


Good Cop: Umm, do you need some tissue?


How can I possibly be coveting? I knew him before she did. We shared something special, that she probably has no idea about.


Good Cop: That’s true. But the Lord delivered him unto her for a reason. And he stipulates that you shouldn’t covet.


Bad Cop?


Bad Cop: Sorry partner, I have to agree with Good Cop on this one.


Coveting him? Seriously? Me?


Bad Cop: There you go again thinking you’re untouchable! 


Sigh. I knew I should have bidded on him when I had the chance! Now it's too late. 


The package has already been delivered, and that...that...woman, has already uploaded photos on Facebook with him in tow. 


How am I ever gonna find another like him? Especially on Ebay? Sigh. He really was the most fabulous pair of Jimmy Choos ever!






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Photo Source: http://kharsley97.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/alterego1_r1_c2.gif?w=300&h=201


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