I Need Some Help Here

"I wish i could solve this myself, but it is beyond my capability"

The above quote is from an email I received today. And I'd really like to reply with some gung ho cheerleader speech about how gosh darn it, we are all capable of everything if we just put our minds to it.

Sadly, I knew the deep truth behind the words, and it caused me great upset.

The words came from a very decent young man I met in Ghana. His name is Toufic, and I count him among my friends. He lives in Larabanga, a small village that I visited in Northern Ghana. I have lent some small support to building a school there, and Toufic spent the summer in his village, working as a volunteer teaching english to the children of his village. He is beyond his years, the kind of person for whom "giving back " is instinctive.

His father has passed, so his uncle has become his patriarchal figure. Remarkably, Toufic was among the first of his people to have attended high school, (he walked 8km each way every day, I know this cos I drove the road) chased by elephants and harassed by baboons. Even more remarkably, he managed to pass the very stringent Ghana University Entrance Exams, so that he could study in Tamale. Seriously, these exams are very difficult, especially given the varying quality of high school education.

He completed his first year of post secondary education, thanks to support from his uncle. Tragically, his uncles farm was struck by disasterous floods which means that there is no crop and therefore no money to pay for Toufic to go to school.

So this is my appeal to you. We need to raise $750 cdn so that Toufic can attend school for this semester. He is currently in attendance, but he will get kicked out if he doesen't pony up, so there is some urgency here. This money includes textbooks, classes and living quarters.

While I am championing microprojects, I also want to champion the idea of microgiving.

The maximum donation that will be accepted is $5 US. Any donations in excess of this amount will be returned. Exceptions will be made when one donation is made on behalf of multiple givers.

Where I really need help to make this work, is for you to tap into your networks to help spread the word. I simply do not have enough people on my network to make this work. It is beyond my capability. A repost with a recommendation is more important than a donation at this point.

Rest assured that every dollar raised will go directly to Toufic and I will pay the first 20% plus money transfer costs, so we really only need to cough up $600 cdn. 120 times five dollars.

Toufic has worked very hard to create opportunity for himself, and while this situation may be beyond his capability, it is most certainly not beyond ours.

You can microgive with the security of PayPal at www.goyestoeverything.com

UPDATE: Toufic is attending school in Tamale, Ghana. Thank you for your support.

Moving along in Larabanga

Here are some more pics from Larabanga, Ghana. It is really gratifying to see progress, though I cannot take any credit for the progress you see, as this part of the project was planned before I became involved. There is still going to be a lot of work ahead, as the school will need the most basic of resources to get going. I really have to give a lot of credit to the people of Larabanga for stepping up to the plate.

http://goyestoeverything.com

Progress at Larabanga

Things are moving forward nicely in Larabanga. Money problems seem to be solved and I have some pics of the old school being torn down so the new school can be built. I am truly amazed by what people can accomplish when they stay focused and work together. This project is quickly gaining momentum with support from The Netherlands and Toufic leading the charge in Larabanga. Still a long way to go, but there is a tremendous energy in the right direction. Awesome!

http://goyestoeverything.com

Money problem, any ideas?

So I got word from Toufic today that the money I sent has arrived. I sent it in the form of a US $ money order. The problem is that the name of the organization that I made it out to was so long that we had to seriously abbreviate it so that it could fit on the money order and now he is having difficulty depositing it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

http://goyestoeverything.com

Larabanga Pictures

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The Larabanga Project

During my travels to Mole National Park, I was fortunate to meet Toufic. Toufic is a young man studying business in Tamale. He also happens to be from the village of Larabanga, just outside Mole National Park. He was kind enough to share his hometown with me.

Larabanga is a Muslim village with a population of about four thousand. Generally speaking, most of the people in Larabanga are farmers or hunters or both. When Mole National Park was created it meant that the people of Larabanga had to relinquesh a huge swath of their traditional hunting ground. In exchange, the people were promised that all of the tourist trade that would flock to Mole would also prove a boon to Larabanga. Of course, this is yet another example of people being ripped off by the concept of "trickle down economics".

So the people of Larabanga languish, having lost their hunting ground in exchange for a handful of magic beans.

However, there is some hope. Toufic, now in his early twenties, was a member of the first generation of Larabanga that went to school. Unfortunately, he had to go to Mole on foot, some 8km away. He regaled me with stories about being chased by elephants and having his schoolbooks being ripped up by baboons.

As Toufic showed me around his village, he spoke about the need to have a school in Larabanga, and the efforts being made to support the fledgling school. Given the fact that there are 4000 people in Larabanga, there is surely a need. While the school is up and running, it is nowhere near capable of meeting the needs of the village. Yet.

The story is similiar to Omenako, but has different needs. The infrastructure is good, but there is a lack of supplies and teachers. Security is not an issue here, unlike Omenako. Larabanga also lacks the leadership on the ground that Omenako has.

I am hoping that Toufic can become this person. He is smart, ambitious and has great leadership qualities. I am confident that he will be a leader in his community. The problem is that he is twenty-two and is busy with his own studies.

This one is going to take some time, but there is something about helping a Christian and Muslim school in the same country that appeals to my sense of synchronicity.

http://goyestoeverything.com