This ROCKS!
I mentioned a friend of mine's project to get books to school children in Ghana. Here's an update.
Good Morning or Afternoon:
It is my pleasure to provide this short update of the activities of the Digital Literacy Alliance, Inc. Much of what has transpired during the past month has occurred due to the hard work and dedication of many tireless hands, and I just want to say THANK YOU!!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
The BOD has been expanded to 7 members with 2 alternates. The Board members are:
Dr. Kojo Arthur - Culture and Curriculum
Dr. Gregory Yawson - Research and Development
Dr. Pharra DeWindt - Executive Director/President
Mr. Rasul Murray - Yaa Nyarkoa Library
Mr. Eric Vosbergh - Technology
Mr. Kojo Yankah - Finance
Ms. Fai Walker - Administration
Alternates: Mr. Derrick DeBurr, Ms. Sherrie Byrnes (Fund raising)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Volunteers are currently being sought for positions on the new Executive Committee board. At this time the following members are Executive Committee leaders:
Ms. Stephanie Gadlin - Marketing and Advertising
Ms. Pittershawn Palmer - Yaa Nyarkoa Library and web design
Mr. Bernie Poole - Curriculum (Distance Learning)
Ms. Martina Scimeca - Publications (news releases)
Executive Committee leaders are still needed in the areas of finance, technology, and research and development. Please contact the Board member in charge of that area to volunteer.
DLA PROPOSAL:
A proposal is available to anyone who is interested. I must give my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Lawrence Spearman of the Spearman Group in Houston, Texas, for his support and assistance in crafting the DLA Proposal. THANK YOU!!
BOOK DRIVE:
The Ghana Book Trust has offered to provide a container to ship the books and make sure they pass through customs with as little difficulty as possible. We are still responsible for the shipping costs, which at this point is approximately 4,000.00. The GBT will bill us for the cost, therefore it is essential that we collect the "bucks" along with the books.
Ms. Patricia Hinds of Essence Magazine has donated 5-6 thousand ( yes I said THOUSAND) young children's books to give away this summer during the launching of the Yaa Nyarkoa Library through the Essence Books for Children division. The books will be delivered to Rasul Murray this week.
We have over 150 pledges of books to be donated from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The international book drive was not an original part of the plan, but we welcome the timely assistance of Mrs. Paula deRonde, of Belfountain, Ontario (retired Assistant Director of the Toronto Libraries) and Ms. Adele Robinson of the Black Artists organization of the United Kingdom, who is coordinating not only collections in the UK, but also in Ethiopia and the Netherlands.
With the number of donations expected, we should be able to ship more than 15,000 books to our library with our first shipment in July. IF YOU ARE IN THE NYC AREA AND CAN ASSIST RASUL MURRAY WITH PACKING AND LOADING THE CONTAINER FOR SHIPMENT, PLEASE CONTACT HIM AT [email protected]. HE IS IN NEED OF WILLING HANDS AND STRONG BACKS!
Our thanks go to Mr. Denton Taylor, Mr. Sekou Molefi Baako, Executive Director, Langston Hughes Library and Cultural Center, and Mr. Amiri Baraka of New York City as well as Ms. Iris Jones of Chicago, Ill. for their generous financial donations this month.
ALLIANCES:
I am pleased to announce the cooperation of two not for profit organizations in our efforts to forward literacy in Agona Duakwa. The Langston Hughes Institute of Buffalo New York, led by Mr. Michael Hill, and the National Council of Ghanaian Associations. Mr. Alhaji Mardah is our contact with that organization. We hope to enlist other not for profits in our cause in the near future.
DUAKWA VOCATIONAL AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE:
The following information is about the vocational school where the library is located. This news comes from Mr. Kojo Yankah:
We visited the DVTI site. They have cleaned up the compound and they are tending the flowers and plants. There are four classrooms and there is the Administration Block with three offices. There is the structure for a piggery and one for poultry.
I have asked a colleague to find out how much it will cost to wire-fence the 3 acre plot.
The next thing I am going to do is send a group of artisans there to fix the doors and windows and re-wire the building for electricity. In other words, I would like the compound to be ready by the time you come in July. What else do we need ? Computers, Connectivity, Books, and Students.
As soon as possible I am going to get Mrs Aidoo (Doris) to supervise work on the compound. I tell you that with a little support from NGOs here (Africa 2000, and Denise's group, KGINKS etc) we can get the school moving.
Anybody who has access to a Rotary Club might ask them to bear the shipping costs of our books. 'This is a regular support Rotary gives to sending books to Africa', says Robert Amoako of the Ghana Book Trust.
Secondly, I have secured the Competence Based syllabus for five subjects (Electrical Installation, Refrigeration and Air conditioning, Carpentry and
Joinery, Block-Laying and Concreting, and Dressmaking - all for apprentices) from the National Coordinating Committee for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACVET), Ghana. I will send it in my next mail.
PRESS RELEASES:
DLA SPONSORS BOOK DRIVE TO FURNISH NEW LIBRARY IN GHANA
NATIONWIDE-- In an effort to increase the literacy of thousands of rural
Ghanaian children and their parents, the Digital Literacy Alliance, Inc.(A Not For Profit Organization) is currently sponsoring "The Books and Bucks" drive.
Book donations will be collected to furnish the Yaa Nyarkoa Library and serve the 20,000 people of two towns, Agona Duakwa and Agona Nsaba. This is a grass-roots effort that needs your support.
To take part in this drive, simply collect books from your attic, basement, friends and neighbors and donate a dollar per book that will be used for shipping costs to Ghana.
Please send your book donations to:
Mr. Rasul Murray
Library Fund Coordinator
P.O. Box 05042, 4 Pratt Station
Brooklyn, NY 11205-050424
e-mail: [email protected]
Your tax deductible donation will help support our campaign to increase the access to literature and improve the literacy skills of all those who are eager to learn. Your generous contribution to education will ensure that the dream of book accessibility in these two villages becomes a reality.
These organizations have received press releases. If you know of anyone at one of these organizations, please give them a call to remind them of our cause.
New York Daily News
Fax: Newsroom 212 -643-7831
New York Observer
Fax: 212-688-4889
Cornell Daily Sun
[email protected]
Fax: 607-273-0746
Ithaca Ithacan
Fax 607-274-1565
Editor in Chief - Ph: 607-274-7010
Managing Editor - 607-274-3208
[email protected]
Ebony/ Jet (Johnson Publishing Inc. in Chicago)
Fax: 312-322-0957
Vibe
Fax: 212-448-7400
NYPL - Baychester Branch
Spoke with a branch librarian 4/27
Fax: 718-671-2836
Please continue to support our worthy cause!
Sincerely,
PHARRA
Pharra DeWindt, Ph.D
Executive Director
Digital Literacy Alliance
http://www.pharra.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he/she has overcome while trying to succeed." Booker T. Washington, Educator
