Wednesday, February 7, 2001
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Wednesday, February 7, 2001 |
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Books for Ghana, hats for Georgia
In a country where every child has the right to attend school in grades K-12, it is hard for Americans to imagine that there are schools in the world where teachers and children do not have adequate learning resources, such as books. Students at Kedron Elementary School have teamed up with students in Ghana, Africa to do an exchange that will help both sets of pupils enhance their educational experiences. Kedron will be collecting books for Ghana students Feb. 12 and 14. Students in all grade levels will collect new and used books, which will later be distributed to schools throughout Ghana. Achievers International classes are coordinating the donation. While students at Kedron are helping others in Ghana learn about the world through books, the African pupils also are enhancing the cultural knowledge of their American counterparts. In exchange for the books, students in Ghana are making straw hats a hat will be given to each student who donates a book. In northern Ghana, straw craft is a deep-rooted cultural tradition that is passed from generation to generation. The hats are made from hallow stalks of grain and dyed various colors. Each hat donated under the Books for Ghana project has been handcrafted by students ages 6-16 with the supervision of parents and teachers. According to George Kuntu-Blankson, a representative from Ghana, and the Ghana Literacy Project, production of these products usually takes place during after-school programs. "The purest essence for creating these straw products by the student is to raise educational funds to support the enhancement of quality education in the northern Ghana region," he says. "The students, together with their supervising parents, sincerely believe it is incumbent upon them to cultivate their inherited craft into funding for quality education." Kuntu-Blankson will be present at Kedron Feb. 15 at 9 a.m. to accept the donated books and to deliver the straw hats to students.
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