My name is Matthew Volfson. I am based in Washington DC but set up an event in Kokrobite, Ghana, which I seek funds to replicate with a Ghana-based steering committee. After having worked with the Kokrobitey Institute once on a successful self-funded event, our steering committee seeks support to host another event of a larger size, with 500 participants. We believe that, because of likely support from MPs, chiefs, and institutions in the village, this second event has great potential to be much more successful than the last. If the goal for this GoFundMe is reached, we will easily be able to organize the event in December or January. Every $20 supports lunch for 10 students, $50 supports gloves for 265 people , and $100 provides water for the entire community.

With support from Members of Parliament, chiefs, churches, and schools, we brought together 350-400 youth and community members for a cleanup of Kokrobite, Ghana, more than our expected attendance of 200. We also set up a youth entrepreneurship contest where kids would get the opportunity to pitch their ideas of upcycling water bottles and sachets to investors. Finally, we set up an investor-entrepreneur conference where informal entrepreneurs who upcycle waste are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to investors.

Our ultimate goal is to develop a sustainable, locally supported upcycling ecosystem in Ghana. In order to accomplish this goal, we aim to expand pre-existing buyback centers in Kokrobite and other towns in Ghana through fundraising for these events. We also seek to establish long-lasting connections between these centers and informal entrepreneurs who turn waste into value, like lamps, shelves, and flower pots. We would also develop conference areas where informal entrepreneurs would get the opportunity to meet with investors. Finally, we would sell excess waste to larger companies in order to maintain long-term profit for our social enterprise.