I live in Millbrae, California, and I am a 23 year old graduate of UC Santa Cruz with a BA in theatre arts. I leave for Cameroon with the US Peace Corps on September 22. I will be a Community Health Educator there for two years.
Last year, not through the Peace Corps, I taught English in a small town called Kumawu in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, West Africa. While I was there, I created a small library for the children and teachers at the school. They are all English Language Learners (English is the official language of Ghana, but many Ghanaians can't speak it). Now that I am back in the USA, I send books to the school where I used to teach to replenish the library I left behind. The school is called Otuo Acheampong, and has about 700 students from nursery school to 9th grade. The children are such avid readers, they finish the books almost as fast as I can send them! Many of them have never had the chance to borrow books from a library, much less own their own books. Reading books has opened up a whole new world to them of imagination and opportunity. So far I have sent about seven hundred pounds of books, magazines, clothing, and school and medical supplies overseas. Please email me for more information.
I would like to say a big thank you to Dave Murphy of the SF Chronicle who stumbled upon my bike and wrote a beautiful article about my work in Ghana. In response to that article, I have received many generous donations for BFG. Thank you to everyone who has contacted me and donated books and monetary funds. I couldn't do what I do without you!
