My name is Katie West and I am a junior at the International School of the Americas.  I have recently been accepted into and received scholarship money for a service and leadership summer abroad trip to Legon, Ghana through the organization CIEE.  There, I will be working with two nonprofit organizations, the Kisseman Children’s Foundation that works to provide children with education, school supplies, and other resources, and the Future Leaders Underprivileged Children's Center that works to keep underprivileged children off the street and in the education system.  I will also be immersed in the local culture of Ghana and have the opportunity to interact with the local people.  I am very excited about this trip and what I will gain from it, and I hope that I will return with a broadened perspective as a global citizen, exposure to new cultures, and unique experiences working with children and serving others. I also hope to leave a positive mark on any of the children or people that I work with, come into contact with, and serve.
I am currently raising money in order to pay the remaining balance of the trip, purchase an airplane ticket, and accquire a passport, visa, and vaccinations that I need in order to make the trip.  I am very excited to have this opportunity to travel and serve others in another part of the world, and I am incredibly grateful for your help reaching my goal!

Here is the link to the CIEE program that I will be attending: Ghana-Children's Rights and Education