Congratulations to Rashid Hafisu!

One of Yo Ghana's most dedicated teachers is working his way toward becoming Ghana's Teacher of the Year!

I first met Mr. Hafisu a year and a half ago, where he teaches: Accra Girls Senior High School in Accra.  Although he was expecting a guest who would speak to a group of students about French, he and the students quickly adjusted to the fact that I was instead looking for students interested in exchanging letters with students in the U.S.  Mr. Hafisu has been a wonderful host on my several visits to his fine school and has done an exemplary job publicizing and supervising our letter exchanges.

Mr. Hafisu has already won the award for his district and is now being considered on the regional level.  (Ghana has ten regions, and of course Greater Accra is the most densely populated.)  He writes that: "The criteria includes the impact of the teacher on the community as well as other human voluntary services."  Ghanaian teachers work very long hours for modest pay, and Mr. Hafisu is one of the most inspiring and dedicated ones I have met.

Yo Ghana! at Africafest at PSU on Saturday Afternoon

Yo Ghana! will be at Africafest on the South Park Blocks at PSU on Saturday, July 20.  We'll be: talking to people about our projects; recruiting schools, teachers, and groups of students interesting in writing letters to and raising some money for schools in Ghana; selling t-shirts, bags, cards, and stickers to support that work.

Africafest will of course offer much more than vendors: good food, music, and company.  Portland has a large and growing community of people from Africa.  Occasions like Africafest offer them the opportunity to gather and the rest of us a chance to sample a bit of the continent's rich culture and warm friendship.

A special thank you goes to Dr. Kofi Agorsah of PSU, who among his many other duties finds time to help organize this festival.  Dr. Agorsah is also a Yo Ghana! board member and is working to link us to a school in the Volta Region, in the town where he spent so much of his young life.

Yo Ghana! at Delta Park July 12-14

We'll be at the PCU soccer tournament this week-end, starting bright and early Friday, selling t-shirts, posters, bags, and cards to support Purity Preparatory Schools first-ever library.  Some of their students are shown below, modeling the shirts created by Elizabeth Fosler Jones, co-founder of Yo Ghana! and the President of the group of students supporting the school.

Elizabeth also led the charge last night at Burgerville, where we made about $450 for the school.  Thanks to all of you who came out!  And if you happen to be in the vicinity of Delta Park in the next three days, please stop in--or check out our website's Paypal button:  http://yoghana.org.  I used to be uneasy asking people for money, but contrasting the extreme comfort in which most of in North America live with the lives of hard-working students who don't have regular access to books has helped me to overcome such reservations. . . .

Yo Ghana! at Burgerville on Thursday, July 11, 6-9 p.m.

The Burgerville on MLK near the Portland Convention Center has graciously offered to donate 10% of their receipts for next Thursday evening to Yo Ghana!

We'll be there from 6:00 to 9:00, serving good food, accepting donations, and talking about Yo Ghana's project to help Purity Preparatory School of Ghana build their first library.  Please stop by for high-quality fast food and a great cause.

Here's a photo of the school, taken during my visit of last September: