Clean Water, Education & Opportunity - W. Africa
Donation protected
A Unified Mission …
Three communities in Ghana and Togo, West Africa need our help: (1) a rural town and middle school in Ghana’s Western Region (Fante) in need of potable water wells and school supplies, (2) a Togolese community struggling to combat poverty and child labor and keep students in school; and (3) an overcrowded, dilapidated primary school in Ghana’s Asante Region. This is why we started People For People, a collective formed in Washington, DC by a chance encounter of three volunteers.
Our motto is “Power in Oneness, Trust with Peace and Love.” We are three complete strangers who discovered one another - and a common goal - at a French Embassy networking event in January 2019. As individuals, each of us has formed a trust with the people of our respective hometowns in Ghana and Togo - and we have established a collective trust with one another. Aside from our shared Ghanaian ancestry, we share a greater purpose - to raise money and awareness in support and encouragement of the beautiful mothers, fathers and children in our communities. A brief bio of each People for People volunteer partner is provided at the bottom of our narrative (keep reading!).
Through this campaign we hope to raise USD 24,725 by December 31, 2019.
Funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign will be distributed to each project in accordance with need (i.e., in proportion to the costs illustrated below). Any discretionary funds (i.e., from donations exceeding the total fundraising goal) will be used to balance the benefit across the three projects. In other words, the project with the highest budget (Donyina) will receive less contingency/ discretionary funds toward future or unplanned expenses, while that with the lowest budget (Anomabo Pomase) will receive more contingency/ discretionary funds toward future or unplanned expenses.
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Three Community Development Projects in Ghana and Togo …
PROJECT 1:
Clean Water Wells & Middle School Repairs (Anomabo Pomase, Ghana)
Lead Volunteer: Nana Nazeeha Howard (Nana Apabah VI)
Water is life, and more potable water is needed in Anomabo Pomase, Ghana. A shortage of potable water in the area has caused water-borne diseases such as blindness, various skin disorders and distended bellies in adults and children forced to drink contaminated water. The addition of 2 potable water wells will support farming and everyday life in the community. The wells will provide additional drinking water for a community of approximately 1,000 people. In addition, water from the wells will be used to irrigate fruits and vegetables grown and traded locally when there is a shortage of collected rainwater.
Local farming is the lifeblood of Anomabu Pomase. The entire community is sustained by local produce, and at least a third of the workforce is in farming. To support Anomabo Pomase’s farming economy, we need your help in raising USD 3,000. The funds will be used to purchase water pumps for 2 boreholes that have already been excavated, (shown below).
If food, water and shelter are the foundation of human sustenance, then education fuels prosperity. Recognizing this, Nana Nazeeha, Queen Mother of Development for the people of Anomabo Pomase, has provided equipment and supplies to Pomase Middle School. The 5 laptops she purchased for them in 2015 are being used by approximately 100 students to write papers in various courses. Students use flash drives to save their work and print the papers at Internet cafes in other towns. To alleviate the tedious process of traveling to print school papers, we seek to provide a commercial grade printer and printing supplies for the school’s computer room, costing USD 1,000. In addition, the laptops require system upgrades, costing USD 500, and 2 additional used laptops will be purchased for USD 500.
A school’s infrastructure is as important as the equipment and supplies it contains. Yet, the middle school is also in dire need of structural repairs. With no proper flooring, clay dust has polluted the interior air and covered the walls, furniture, students and teachers. Work is already underway to lay cement flooring in the school (shown below). With your support, we can complete the flooring in time for students to return to school in August. Repairs to the school building will cost USD 1,725. In total, we aim to raise USD 3,725 to improve the facilities and computing equipment for these enthusiastic students and teachers.
To promote accountability, Nana Nazeeha Howard will serve as field officer for this project. She will return to Anomabo Pomase in 2020 to distribute the funds and oversee both projects. Her trip will also include site visits of the sister projects in Agotimé Batoumé, Togo and Donyina, Ghana.
The grand total for this project is USD 6,725. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@1people4people) to see our progress!
--------------
PROJECT 2:
Combat Poverty and Child Labor through Education (Agotimé Batoumé, Togo)
Lead Volunteer: Marcel Tetteh Apaloo
We believe children everywhere deserve equal access to a quality education and opportunities for a thriving future. Yet, Togo's rural schools of Kpetoe, Agbadjanake, Agodeke, Kokloviakope and Agotimé Batoumé struggle to provide basic educational resources to disadvantaged children and young adults. Abject poverty is forcing a rising number of children to drop out of school - and into child labor.
With mothers and fathers struggling to make ends meet, the cost of school fees, books and supplies has become an insurmountable obstacle for many families in Togo. As underfunded schools and underpaid teachers struggle to supplement these costs, many students are forced out of school; some drop out to help support their families. To combat child labor in Togo and keep kids in school, we need to raise USD 6,000 to provide teachers and students with books, equipment and supplies for the 2019-2020 school year.
Since 2013, Global Learning Initiatives (GLI), a nonprofit organization registered in Washington, DC, has organized an Annual Summer Award Ceremony for the middle school students (shown below). This event serves various purposes and benefits: (1) to distribute books and supplies to the student body, (2) to encourage and boost morale of students and teachers; (3) to reward academic, artistic and athletic excellence; (4) to promote awareness of the many challenges facing the school and community at large; (5) to foster community, government and global engagement. In support of this important initiative - and GLI’s efforts to empower children and young adults with a strong socioeconomic future - we will donate USD 2,000 of raised funds to GLI for advertising, media coverage and live entertainment for this event. For more information: http://global-li.org/.
To ensure accountability and integrity of these initiatives, GLI partners with ALLIANCE - a sister organization based in Togo. Tete Mawuli Apaloo, President of ALLIANCE, has successfully managed the execution of these projects for the past seven years. Mr. Apaloo will continue to be entrusted with this responsibility and will report on progress. For additional oversight, Marcel Tetteh Apaloo, co-founder of People for People and GLI, will travel to Togo in 2020 to assess and report on progress. His trip to West Africa will also include site visits of the sister projects in Anomabo Pomase and Donyina, Ghana.
The grand total for this project is USD 8,000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@1people4people) to see our progress!
--------------
PROJECT 3:
End Overcrowding at Donyina Methodist Educational Academy (Donyina, Ghana)
Lead Volunteer: Nana Dufie Kufuor
Donyina Methodist Educational Academy, near Kumasi, Ghana, is the heart and soul of its community. The church-sponsored school provides preschool and primary education, up to the 3rd grade, for over 150 children. Mamaa Ode Kufuor, mother of People for People co-founder Nana Dufie Kufuor, first visited the school with her cousin Yaa Nyarko, a preschool facilitator. Mamaa immediately fell in love with the cheerful children and passionate teachers who are fueled by their school motto, “Perseverance.”
Mamaa also witnessed the shortage of facilities, equipment and supplies. There are no windows to protect the children and teachers from the torrential rains during the rainy season. As a result, school is often closed to protect students from flooded classrooms. When storms descend without warning, preschoolers, students and teachers are often drenched.
Still, they persevere…
The children’s tiny legs once swung from the makeshift furniture made for adults - unhealthy conditions for children in their formative years. When Mamaa asked the facilitators how she could help, instead of asking for money to supplement their very low wages, they requested help in obtaining furniture to accommodate their small but growing students. To supplement the lack of resources, Mamaa, a retiree, secured funds to purchase new furniture for the student body and pay off an outstanding loan balance of USD 1,500 for the van that transports students to and from school. The following year, she surprised 8 teachers with a USD 50 Christmas bonus for their hard work and selflessness. Sadly, the bonus is approximately half of their monthly pay.
The most urgent of the Academy’s many needs is to transplant 2nd and 3rd graders displaced due to overcrowding. Teachers, facilitators, parents and local supporters have spent years raising funds on their own - bit by bit - to construct a new, much larger school building. Gethsemane Methodist Church, right next door to the current schoolhouse, has helped tremendously by temporarily housing the 2nd and 3rd graders and funding the new school construction from church offerings. In total, USD 3,000 has been raised to begin construction (shown below), but the funds have dried up and construction has grinded to a halt. Ghana’s government does not fund this school; without support, there is a long way to go before the 2nd and 3rd graders will have their permanent home.
Inspired by her mother’s efforts, Nana Dufie, along with People for People, has joined Mamaa in support of the amazing teachers and students of Donyina Methodist Academy. On their behalf, we need to raise USD 10,000 by December 31, 2019 to complete Phase I of the new school construction. Additional project phases will add classrooms, equipment and supplies for the remaining students until all students and teachers are relocated to the bigger, better school building!
Mamaa Ode Kufuor will serve as field officer for this project to foster efficiency, quality and accountability. She will return to Donyina in early 2020 to purchase construction material and supplies and oversee the Phase I construction with funds raised through this campaign.
The grand total for this project is USD 10,000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@1people4people) to see our progress!
--------
We are deeply grateful for your time, interest and generosity. If you’ve read this far, part of our mission - to inform and inspire - has been fulfilled.
Remember: Every bit of monetary support - big or small - counts toward the elevation of the disadvantaged communities we serve. There is strength in numbers, so even the smallest donation will help the beautiful people of Ghana and Togo!
If you are unable to give financially, we still offer a BIG THANK YOU - and encourage you to help in other ways - by spreading the word about the People for People GoFundMe campaign to your friends, family and associates through Facebook , Instagram , email, word of mouth and any other medium.
Again, we humbly thank you so very much for your kindness and support.
--------
Three Volunteer Partners (People for People Bios) …
Nana Nazeeha Howard, a Howard University alumnus, is an accomplished musician, music therapist and healing arts practitioner. The founder of Howard’s Music Therapy & Healing Arts Services, Nana Nazeeha has been a successful entrepreneur for over 20 years. She has performed around the world and is a member of the American Music Therapy Association and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. A happy mother of three, Nana Nazeeha is a native Washingtonian and Queen Mother of Development in her father’s hometown of Anomabo Pomase, Ghana.
Marcel Tetteh Apaloo has a passion for working alongside children and youth through education, sports and community health development. He is founder of Global Learning Initiatives, a Washington, DC nonprofit organization supporting youth education in Togo and Ghana. As Senior Finance Officer with WorldVision, Marcel manages seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Marcel is bilingual and earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in Project Management from The George Washington University. Born in Togo and raised in Ghana, Marcel appreciates his dual nationality and likes playing soccer during his free time.
Nana Dufie Kufuor has worked as a project manager in the for-profit and nonprofit world for nearly 20 years. She is currently a finance project manager for an industry association in the Washington, DC area. Nana Dufie was born and raised on US Army bases in Germany. After a year in Ghana working as a business consultant, she returned to the US to pursue her passion for music and earned a second bachelor’s degree in Audio Production in 2014. She now spends her free time as an audio engineer and enjoys producing music and multimedia projects.
Three communities in Ghana and Togo, West Africa need our help: (1) a rural town and middle school in Ghana’s Western Region (Fante) in need of potable water wells and school supplies, (2) a Togolese community struggling to combat poverty and child labor and keep students in school; and (3) an overcrowded, dilapidated primary school in Ghana’s Asante Region. This is why we started People For People, a collective formed in Washington, DC by a chance encounter of three volunteers.
Our motto is “Power in Oneness, Trust with Peace and Love.” We are three complete strangers who discovered one another - and a common goal - at a French Embassy networking event in January 2019. As individuals, each of us has formed a trust with the people of our respective hometowns in Ghana and Togo - and we have established a collective trust with one another. Aside from our shared Ghanaian ancestry, we share a greater purpose - to raise money and awareness in support and encouragement of the beautiful mothers, fathers and children in our communities. A brief bio of each People for People volunteer partner is provided at the bottom of our narrative (keep reading!).
Through this campaign we hope to raise USD 24,725 by December 31, 2019.
Funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign will be distributed to each project in accordance with need (i.e., in proportion to the costs illustrated below). Any discretionary funds (i.e., from donations exceeding the total fundraising goal) will be used to balance the benefit across the three projects. In other words, the project with the highest budget (Donyina) will receive less contingency/ discretionary funds toward future or unplanned expenses, while that with the lowest budget (Anomabo Pomase) will receive more contingency/ discretionary funds toward future or unplanned expenses.
---------
Three Community Development Projects in Ghana and Togo …
PROJECT 1:
Clean Water Wells & Middle School Repairs (Anomabo Pomase, Ghana)
Lead Volunteer: Nana Nazeeha Howard (Nana Apabah VI)
Water is life, and more potable water is needed in Anomabo Pomase, Ghana. A shortage of potable water in the area has caused water-borne diseases such as blindness, various skin disorders and distended bellies in adults and children forced to drink contaminated water. The addition of 2 potable water wells will support farming and everyday life in the community. The wells will provide additional drinking water for a community of approximately 1,000 people. In addition, water from the wells will be used to irrigate fruits and vegetables grown and traded locally when there is a shortage of collected rainwater.
Local farming is the lifeblood of Anomabu Pomase. The entire community is sustained by local produce, and at least a third of the workforce is in farming. To support Anomabo Pomase’s farming economy, we need your help in raising USD 3,000. The funds will be used to purchase water pumps for 2 boreholes that have already been excavated, (shown below).
If food, water and shelter are the foundation of human sustenance, then education fuels prosperity. Recognizing this, Nana Nazeeha, Queen Mother of Development for the people of Anomabo Pomase, has provided equipment and supplies to Pomase Middle School. The 5 laptops she purchased for them in 2015 are being used by approximately 100 students to write papers in various courses. Students use flash drives to save their work and print the papers at Internet cafes in other towns. To alleviate the tedious process of traveling to print school papers, we seek to provide a commercial grade printer and printing supplies for the school’s computer room, costing USD 1,000. In addition, the laptops require system upgrades, costing USD 500, and 2 additional used laptops will be purchased for USD 500.
A school’s infrastructure is as important as the equipment and supplies it contains. Yet, the middle school is also in dire need of structural repairs. With no proper flooring, clay dust has polluted the interior air and covered the walls, furniture, students and teachers. Work is already underway to lay cement flooring in the school (shown below). With your support, we can complete the flooring in time for students to return to school in August. Repairs to the school building will cost USD 1,725. In total, we aim to raise USD 3,725 to improve the facilities and computing equipment for these enthusiastic students and teachers.
To promote accountability, Nana Nazeeha Howard will serve as field officer for this project. She will return to Anomabo Pomase in 2020 to distribute the funds and oversee both projects. Her trip will also include site visits of the sister projects in Agotimé Batoumé, Togo and Donyina, Ghana.
The grand total for this project is USD 6,725. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@1people4people) to see our progress!
--------------
PROJECT 2:
Combat Poverty and Child Labor through Education (Agotimé Batoumé, Togo)
Lead Volunteer: Marcel Tetteh Apaloo
We believe children everywhere deserve equal access to a quality education and opportunities for a thriving future. Yet, Togo's rural schools of Kpetoe, Agbadjanake, Agodeke, Kokloviakope and Agotimé Batoumé struggle to provide basic educational resources to disadvantaged children and young adults. Abject poverty is forcing a rising number of children to drop out of school - and into child labor.
With mothers and fathers struggling to make ends meet, the cost of school fees, books and supplies has become an insurmountable obstacle for many families in Togo. As underfunded schools and underpaid teachers struggle to supplement these costs, many students are forced out of school; some drop out to help support their families. To combat child labor in Togo and keep kids in school, we need to raise USD 6,000 to provide teachers and students with books, equipment and supplies for the 2019-2020 school year.
Since 2013, Global Learning Initiatives (GLI), a nonprofit organization registered in Washington, DC, has organized an Annual Summer Award Ceremony for the middle school students (shown below). This event serves various purposes and benefits: (1) to distribute books and supplies to the student body, (2) to encourage and boost morale of students and teachers; (3) to reward academic, artistic and athletic excellence; (4) to promote awareness of the many challenges facing the school and community at large; (5) to foster community, government and global engagement. In support of this important initiative - and GLI’s efforts to empower children and young adults with a strong socioeconomic future - we will donate USD 2,000 of raised funds to GLI for advertising, media coverage and live entertainment for this event. For more information: http://global-li.org/.
To ensure accountability and integrity of these initiatives, GLI partners with ALLIANCE - a sister organization based in Togo. Tete Mawuli Apaloo, President of ALLIANCE, has successfully managed the execution of these projects for the past seven years. Mr. Apaloo will continue to be entrusted with this responsibility and will report on progress. For additional oversight, Marcel Tetteh Apaloo, co-founder of People for People and GLI, will travel to Togo in 2020 to assess and report on progress. His trip to West Africa will also include site visits of the sister projects in Anomabo Pomase and Donyina, Ghana.
The grand total for this project is USD 8,000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@1people4people) to see our progress!
--------------
PROJECT 3:
End Overcrowding at Donyina Methodist Educational Academy (Donyina, Ghana)
Lead Volunteer: Nana Dufie Kufuor
Donyina Methodist Educational Academy, near Kumasi, Ghana, is the heart and soul of its community. The church-sponsored school provides preschool and primary education, up to the 3rd grade, for over 150 children. Mamaa Ode Kufuor, mother of People for People co-founder Nana Dufie Kufuor, first visited the school with her cousin Yaa Nyarko, a preschool facilitator. Mamaa immediately fell in love with the cheerful children and passionate teachers who are fueled by their school motto, “Perseverance.”
Mamaa also witnessed the shortage of facilities, equipment and supplies. There are no windows to protect the children and teachers from the torrential rains during the rainy season. As a result, school is often closed to protect students from flooded classrooms. When storms descend without warning, preschoolers, students and teachers are often drenched.
Still, they persevere…
The children’s tiny legs once swung from the makeshift furniture made for adults - unhealthy conditions for children in their formative years. When Mamaa asked the facilitators how she could help, instead of asking for money to supplement their very low wages, they requested help in obtaining furniture to accommodate their small but growing students. To supplement the lack of resources, Mamaa, a retiree, secured funds to purchase new furniture for the student body and pay off an outstanding loan balance of USD 1,500 for the van that transports students to and from school. The following year, she surprised 8 teachers with a USD 50 Christmas bonus for their hard work and selflessness. Sadly, the bonus is approximately half of their monthly pay.
The most urgent of the Academy’s many needs is to transplant 2nd and 3rd graders displaced due to overcrowding. Teachers, facilitators, parents and local supporters have spent years raising funds on their own - bit by bit - to construct a new, much larger school building. Gethsemane Methodist Church, right next door to the current schoolhouse, has helped tremendously by temporarily housing the 2nd and 3rd graders and funding the new school construction from church offerings. In total, USD 3,000 has been raised to begin construction (shown below), but the funds have dried up and construction has grinded to a halt. Ghana’s government does not fund this school; without support, there is a long way to go before the 2nd and 3rd graders will have their permanent home.
Inspired by her mother’s efforts, Nana Dufie, along with People for People, has joined Mamaa in support of the amazing teachers and students of Donyina Methodist Academy. On their behalf, we need to raise USD 10,000 by December 31, 2019 to complete Phase I of the new school construction. Additional project phases will add classrooms, equipment and supplies for the remaining students until all students and teachers are relocated to the bigger, better school building!
Mamaa Ode Kufuor will serve as field officer for this project to foster efficiency, quality and accountability. She will return to Donyina in early 2020 to purchase construction material and supplies and oversee the Phase I construction with funds raised through this campaign.
The grand total for this project is USD 10,000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@1people4people) to see our progress!
--------
We are deeply grateful for your time, interest and generosity. If you’ve read this far, part of our mission - to inform and inspire - has been fulfilled.
Remember: Every bit of monetary support - big or small - counts toward the elevation of the disadvantaged communities we serve. There is strength in numbers, so even the smallest donation will help the beautiful people of Ghana and Togo!
If you are unable to give financially, we still offer a BIG THANK YOU - and encourage you to help in other ways - by spreading the word about the People for People GoFundMe campaign to your friends, family and associates through Facebook , Instagram , email, word of mouth and any other medium.
Again, we humbly thank you so very much for your kindness and support.
--------
Three Volunteer Partners (People for People Bios) …
Nana Nazeeha Howard, a Howard University alumnus, is an accomplished musician, music therapist and healing arts practitioner. The founder of Howard’s Music Therapy & Healing Arts Services, Nana Nazeeha has been a successful entrepreneur for over 20 years. She has performed around the world and is a member of the American Music Therapy Association and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. A happy mother of three, Nana Nazeeha is a native Washingtonian and Queen Mother of Development in her father’s hometown of Anomabo Pomase, Ghana.
Marcel Tetteh Apaloo has a passion for working alongside children and youth through education, sports and community health development. He is founder of Global Learning Initiatives, a Washington, DC nonprofit organization supporting youth education in Togo and Ghana. As Senior Finance Officer with WorldVision, Marcel manages seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Marcel is bilingual and earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in Project Management from The George Washington University. Born in Togo and raised in Ghana, Marcel appreciates his dual nationality and likes playing soccer during his free time.
Nana Dufie Kufuor has worked as a project manager in the for-profit and nonprofit world for nearly 20 years. She is currently a finance project manager for an industry association in the Washington, DC area. Nana Dufie was born and raised on US Army bases in Germany. After a year in Ghana working as a business consultant, she returned to the US to pursue her passion for music and earned a second bachelor’s degree in Audio Production in 2014. She now spends her free time as an audio engineer and enjoys producing music and multimedia projects.
Fundraising team: People For People (5)
Nana Kufuor
Organizer
Sterling, VA
Nazeeha Howard
Team member
Mamaa Kufuor
Team member
Serwah Kufuor
Team member
Sylviane Richomme
Team member
