We'll again be celebrating at IRCO on a Saturday afternoon in May: May 19, 2-4 p.m. at 10301 NE Glisan Street in Portland.

Discounted tickets are available through Eventbrite or by e-mailing [email protected] or you can purchase them at the door.

This year the Obo Addy Legacy Project is returning for our music, and the Black Star Grill will be providing the food. And we'll have plenty of our students sharing their stories and the stories of their friends in Ghana.

​We hope to see you there!

Kwasi Agyapong is a Business Strategist with over twenty years’ experience in Market Analysis and Financial Management. Kwasi has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies in several capacities in the United States and Africa. During these periods, he managed important corporate initiatives focused on growing revenues, streamlining costs and making operations more efficient. Born in Ghana and educated in United States, Kwasi is currently the Market Analysis and Demand Planning Manager for Intel Corporation.

He attended Yale University and holds Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree in
Finance and Marketing Strategy from University of Connecticut and BA in Political Science
from University of Ghana. He is also a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and National Black MBA Association.

Dear Abe,

I am extremely delighted writing to you this letter. OK, I know that by the Grace of the Almighty God you are fine. I am very blissful that I have heard from you again. I want to ask you some questions. How did you celebrate your Christmas? Firstly, I celebrated Christmas with happiness. It was my younger sister’s birthday so we went to the National Cultural Centre which is located in the Garden City and capital of the Ashanti Region of Ghana, near the Okompo Anokye Hospital, and is indeed one of the top-most tourist sites in the area.

After we have finished visiting the National Culture Centere, suddenly my sister was building castles in the air, so she was more excited. Unknowingly, she got frail. But rapidly we purchased some medicine. I was very depressed at that moment. My sister was exhausted.

I was very happy that God helped my sister. It is very critical that my community is safe, . . . . My community is big and has no community hall. We have a river called River Pra, and a mount called Mountains Olivarest. In the wet season, most of our crops planted in Ghana are destroyed. So farmers find it very difficult because it rains cats and dogs. Mostly farmers try and look for an aid from the government.

In a nutshell, in Ghana, the sun glints in the dry season.

When I go to school I give my teacher reverence. . . . Every morning I often go to school with the bus. In my school we commenced our classes exactly at 6:00 in the morning. When I am at home I always do laundry every Saturday morning. I visit my cousins once in the blue moon. Sometimes out of the blue we visit the zoo. I want to ask you some questions.

How did you spend your Christmas holidays?
What is the name of your blue eyed?
What day is your red letter day?
What church do you attend?
What are the names of your siblings?
Do you have cousins, and what are their names?
Are you depressed when something bad happens to your family members?
What are the names of your grandparents, and what are their ages?

Yours Faithfully,

Christable Armah

Dear Rose:

I am very happy to write you this letter, I hope you are fine. By the grace of God I am also doing well. The reason why I am writing this letter to you is that I want to talk about myself and about my family. I was born in May 2001 in Kete Krachi in the Volta Region of Ghana. I am the fourth born and we are five in number. I started schooling on September 2010 in Kete Krachi. I completed primary 2016 and now am in J.H. Two at John Doeswijck Memorial School.

John Doeswijck Memorial J.H.S. is in Kete Krachi in the Volta Region of Ghana. The school is located at Krachi Lake Side. The name of the head teacher is Mr. Anan. The school is very beautiful. There are 14 teachers in the school and 350 students. The teachers are very intelligent. The actual time of coming to school is 7 AM. How does your school look like? How many teachers are in your school? Where is your school located? What is the name of your school and the name of your head teacher?

The name of my sister is Bio Najat. She is first before us or she is the first born. She lives at Accra, the capital of Ghana. She was born on November 1986.She completed primary, J.H.S. and S.H.S. at Kete Krachi and completed her university at Accra.

The second person is Promise who was born on July 1995 at Kete in the Volta Region of Ghana. He is now a nurse at Trafagah Hospital in Ho, capital of the Volta Region. The third person is Prince who was born on June 1999 at Kumasi. He is now attending Senior High School at Kete Krachi and he is in his first year. Our last born is Mark who is also born at Krachi. He is ten years old now and looks like someone who is above twelve years and he is in basic 4. My parents, siblings and I live at Kete Krachi. My parents are government workers. My mom is a teacher. She teaches at Krachi Senior High School. My dad is a bank manager at Krachi. My grandma and grandpa live at Kumasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Sometimes I do go to visit them at Kumasi. They sometimes also visit my parents and I at Krachi. My uncle I Evans. He lives at Krachi and Aunt Angelina lives at Kumasi. My nephew and other family members live at Kumasi. When a family member has his or her birthday, we all go there to celebrate it joyfully and happily.

When it is time for Christmas, all my family members from different places come to Krachi. We celebrate it by enjoying meals and helping the poor and the needy by giving them food and clothes. We also go to the lake side. At the lake side we also meet different friends there and we all enjoy together. When it is Christmas, Krachi is always busy because a lot of people have been there to celebrate the Christmas with their friends and family. How do you celebrate your Christmas? Where do you go when it is Christmas? Please tell me some story about your city and other things that happen during Christmas.
​
I enjoyed reading your letter last week. Now please answer the following questions. How is your school? How are studies organized in the school? Mention some of the subjects of your study over there. Do you have a nice looking face? Are your parents government workers as my parents are? Thank you very much for doing such a wonderful job. I look forward to your letter. Thank you very much.

​Yo Ghana! is proud to announce that one of our leading volunteers, Ibrahim Ibrahim, has accepted a scholarship to attend Harvard University next fall. Ibrahim started our photography and identity project and often speaks and facilitates at our events. He is a senior at the Oregon Muslim Academy and the child of immigrants from Sudan. Yo Ghana! President David Peterson del Mar remarks that "Ibrahim is one of the most mature and generous persons you could hope to meet. He is a humble leader and inspiring example who has already transformed many lives."

Ibrahim writes: "I am excited to be among a group of students who have expressed a passion for changing the world and will translate that into their college years. I hope to learn from the international student body of Harvard and use the tools that I will learn from both in and outside the classroom to get closer to my goals of bridging the education gap and making this country more open to ethnic, racial, religious, and any other sort of inclusivity. I hope one day that the American people will be a people blind to the differences of each other but rather a country embracing of each others differences; I hope that Harvard will help me work towards that vision."

Hi, Chris,
​
My name is Abdul-Malik Habiba and I’m going to be our penpal. I’m from Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana.

I’m a girl of 15 years old. I was born on the 28th of July, 2002. I’m dark in complexion. I’m about 1.3 meters tall. I’m slim and smart. I have a pointed nose and a set of white teeth which I proudly display whenever I smile.

I am attending Kamina Barracks J.H.S. and I’m in my final year. The student population of my class is 41. The number of girls is greater than the number of boys.

I study nine subject and my favorite subjects are English Language and Integrated Science. I usually come first in these two subjects whenever we take our examinations. My class teacher is Mr. Osman Abdul-Fatawu.

I participate in a number of games, some of them are table tennis, Volleyball, basketball and soccer. Out of all these games, the one I like best is soccer. It is my favorite game because not only is it the most popular game in the world but also I have the greatest flair for it.

I’m a staunch Muslim. The food I like best is T.Z. with dry okro soup due to the fact that I have a very strong appetite for this food, I eat it daily. My favorite hobby is reading novels. I have read a great deal of novels and this has remarkably improved both the way I speak and write the English Language.

In my typical day, I wake up at 4:00 am and prepare for school, then I leave for school at 6:00 and it’s about a 300 meter walk to my school. IU get home at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon and I usually do my home work when I get home.

I admire my sister, because she is hardworking. Anyway, I’ll be curious to know more about you.
​
Here is a list of questions I have for you:

• What holidays do you celebrate there in the USA?
• Do you study French in school?
• Do you speak any other language than English?
• How old are you?
• This is embarrassing, but I don’t know whether your name is a boy name or a girl name.
• What are your favorite subjects?
• When and where were you born?
• Are you fat or slim?
• What is the student population of your class?
• Which food is our favorite food?

Well, what ever your answers are I’ll still be your friend, no matter who you are. I will be excited to hear your responses.

Your New Penpal,

Abdul-Malik Habiba

​2nd November, 2017
 
Dear Angel:

               I am very glad to write at this time of the year. I received your letter and I was very happy. I hope you are doing well? My name is Kamasa Esther and I will tell you some things about me. I am a girl and I am thirteen (13) years old. My school is DACE Demonstration Junior High School. My favorite game is skipping. I like sport but I don’t like to play. I have two younger brothers, a mom, a dad and a sister. I don’t have any pet and I also don’t like pets. I love to sing. I only like to listen to gospel songs. I am a Christian and a quiet girl. I like to share my experience with people. I want to become a newscaster in future. My school is pretty and all the teachers are disciplines.

               There is no wild animals here. We don’t also have zoos. It is sunny here.

              Now back to you, I want to ask you some questions and they are as follows:
What religion to you belong to?
Do you like studying? Do you use phones in your research works?
What are the things you like to do in your leisure time?
What are your favorite colours?
What is the colour of your school uniform?
Do you disobey your parents and teachers anytime they ask you to do something?
               
           Down here is a memory verse I would like to share with you. I am very happy to have you as a friend. I hope to hear from you next time.

               Yours sincerely,
               Esther
​
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. Amen.

​My name is Donald Stephens, I am 12 years old, I was born January 12, 2005 and I was born in Portland Oregon at OHSU “the hospital on the hill.” The name Donald is a Scottish baby name, which means “Great chief, World might.” I was named after my father Donald Stephens Sr.

My heritage is African American and so are my parents. I have 4 siblings, three brothers Tiahntae, Demetrius, and Jeffery, and one sister Deonica. As far as hospitals I don’t know exactly where they were born, but Portland is where we’re from.

Not only my siblings I can’t forget about my mother April and my father Donald Sr. I can’t choose between Thanksgiving and Christmas on being my favorite family traditions, but I like both of these holidays because I get to have a relaxing, loving and bonding time with my family. As you can see from what colors I always wear to school, red is my favorite. My favorite sport is basketball, which I really excel in, and my favorite subject in school is probably Math and P.E. In my further years of life I can see myself playing professional basketball in the NBA.

I know this may be unusual, but I really value and cherish my shoes. Like if somebody steps on my shoes or if my shoes may have the smallest little smudge, I’m quick to clean it off. One thing that really bothers me is probably horror, best believe if you catching me watching some movie or show it will not be nothing involving horror.

Sincerely,
Donald Stephens.

​2nd November, 2017
 
Dear Angel:

I am very glad to write at this time of the year. I received your letter and I was very happy. I hope you are doing well? My name is Kamasa Esther and I will tell you some things about me. I am a girl and I am thirteen (13) years old. My school is DACE Demonstration Junior High School. My favorite game is skipping. I like sport but I don’t like to play. I have two younger brothers, a mom, a dad and a sister. I don’t have any pet and I also don’t like pets. I love to sing. I only like to listen to gospel songs. I am a Christian and a quiet girl. I like to share my experience with people. I want to become a newscaster in future. My school is pretty and all the teachers are disciplines.

There is no wild animals here. We don’t also have zoos. It is sunny here. Now back to you, I want to ask you some questions and they are as follows:
What religion to you belong to?
Do you like studying? Do you use phones in your research works?
What are the things you like to do in your leisure time?
What are your favorite colours?
What is the colour of your school uniform?

Do you disobey your parents and teachers anytime they ask you to do something?

Down here is a memory verse I would like to share with you. I am very happy to have you as a friend. I hope to hear from you next time.

Yours sincerely,

Esther
​
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. Amen.

​Hi, friend,
               The brightness of this lovely day has given this shining and beautiful hour to write to you this letter. To be more serious, I am in greatest pleasure and gratitude having you as a pen-friend. How are you jumping over there? I hope you are drinking from the pool of good health. As for me I am fine and kicking well here in Sampa, Brong Ahafo Region, West Africa.
               Guess what! I am Felicity Abena Takyiwaa of which Felicty is my first name, Abena my day of birth thus Tuesday and Takyiwaa my surname. I am a noble, respectful and patriotic citizen of Ghana by birth and a proud member of the Sampa Community. I am a girl of 14 years of age, dark in complexion, . . . with a pointed nose and black eyes.
               Oh, yes my favourite food is “fufu” with groundnut soup and playing motor race on my father’s Ipad. Not forgetting the subject I prefer most. I enjoy English language, Mathematics and Social Studies. During my leisure time, I like to listen from news from my favourite journalists not exclusively Gifty Anty a newscaster on GTV and Nana Yaa Brefo a lovely and admirable news presenter on Adom TV.
               Yes unless I forget, do you enjoy listening to news? Who is your role model, and do you love to read story books? As for me Gifty Aunty is my role model. I want to become a journalist who would be well known in Brong Ahafo, Ghana, Africa and the world at large. I almost forgot to tell you the name of my school: Nipaba-Brew School is the name of my school, a very renowned, respected and admirable school in the whole of Ghana and the world at large. I am in the ninth grade in my final year in Junior high school.

You are cordially invited to the launch of our first ever anthology, Transformations: Letters and Other Exchanges Between Students in Ghana and the Pacific Northwest, 2016-2017, which will feature student readings, food and beverages, and the opportunity to learn more about our work. Register by clicking here.

This book’s title, Transformations, reflects Yo Ghana!’s purpose, to put thousands of diverse students to work at “making the world a smaller place”—and a better one, too. Yo Ghana! is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that fosters transformative exchanges between students in Ghana and the Pacific Northwest through the power of the written word.

The works published in this book were selected over the school year by several judges on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. They are organized into four categories:

• Getting to Know Each Other;
• Sharing Stories;
• Overcoming Challenges; and
• Improving Our Communities.

A few of our schools chose additional options from our growing menu:

• poetry;
• photography and identity;
• oral history; and
• memoir.

We hope you will join us for this special showcase of student work, and support the next generation of young writers.
Suggested donation is $6-25 which covers the cost of a book and helps us meet our goal of raising $3,000 in matching funds.

Karen Lefere, a Yo Ghana! teacher at Beaumont Middle School, and her family (husband Ted, children Maddie, Luke, and Levi) recently returned from two weeks of volunteering at ECG School in Tamale, one of Yo Ghana!'s strongest Ghana schools.

"We experienced gracious hospitality every day," Karen says, and adds that ECG's students "taught me about quality human relationships."

"The staff and students of ECG school appreciated the family with their readiness to help Africa in learning and teaching," remarks Joseph Abdulai. "Madam Karen helped us understand more about American people and their culture."

Yo Ghana! is grateful to Karen, Ted, Maddie, Luke, and Levi for representing Yo Ghana!, Portland, and the U.S. so well, to ECG School for so warmly welcoming them, and to Niihad and Dominic and their family for their matchless hospitality. You all "made the world a smaller place."

Our Ghana conference has finally arrived here in the year of 2017!  Here are some awesome things that have been going on!

June 30th:  "Karen [pictured above] had a busy Thursday between teaching a Spanish lesson at St. Paul and scrimmaging with the Winneba Soccer Club."

July 1st:  "What a great day at our Annual Conference! Teachers explored and discussed innovation teaching methods, students worked on learning and writing each others' stories, and much more!"

July 1st:  "About a dozen of our students with guidance from two teachers put together a wonderful short play on a classroom lesson in less than 24 hours that they performed for us!  The level of creativity is amazing!"

July 2nd:  "More workshops on innovative teaching today for the teachers and maths, poetry, and oral history for the students. And lots of awards and hugs and love. We are excited for next year already!"  

July 5th:  "Karen and I [David del Mar] got to do an oral-history workshop today for about 100 students at Dahin-Sheli, teaming up with Mr. Nantoma and Madam Hani. Then it was off to ECG to present exercise books to our letter writers.  Great fun, and the dedication of Ghana teachers is inspiring!"

July 6th:  "Thursday we had a wonderful time visiting and dancing with the staff at Kamina Barracks.Mr. Nantogma again hosted us at Savelegu Senior High School, and his wife provided a delicious lunch. Then Karen taught some U.S. dance at ECG."

July 7th:  "Friday we returned to Dahin-Sheli School as a dozen students presented what they had learned from elders about how they, the elders, had learned traditions and the challenges in the modern day to passing them down. Well done! We hope they will pursue the oral histories much further in the coming school year."

​Onwards to more fun!!  (Seems like that fun is resonating based on the photo below!)

One of our amazing volunteers, Sarah Florig, had an article done on her in the WestLinnTidings paper outlet!  This article concerns her journey to Ghana and her goal of improving cultural awareness all over our globe (especially Ghana!).  Thank you Sarah for your amazing and tireless work!!  See the link to the article below:

http://pamplinmedia.com/wlt/95-news/363184-242809-in-yo-ghana-program-wl-resident-finds-something-to-call-her-own

Mr. Adbulai Joseph teaches at the Evangelical Church of God School in Tamale. He has been one of Yo Ghana!'s mainstays in organizing, sending, and receiving letters from and for his own students, but also for several other schools, work that can consume many hours at all hours of the day or night. He also helps his school to identify hard-working students whose families need some help with book, uniforms, and other fees. The school has a fund for such uses that Yo Ghana! contributed to.

He was one of the stars of our first conference in Ghana, the Winneba "Sharing Our Stories Conference." He presented a paper and then organized the participants into a WhatsApp group so that they could stay in touch!

​Yo Ghana! is blessed to have you in the family, Mr. Joseph!

​Yo Ghana! Board Member Dorcas Mensah spoke in April at the SKOLL World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University on the “Kindness of Strangers.” She explored how people of privilege might approach deep inequalities and prejudices, not only binaries of black and white, rich and poor, male and female, but labels such as “refugee” and “migrant.”

​“What label have you given someone,” she asks, “that has deprived them of your kindness, your empathy, and your love?” Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7bRNEgLIno.

Mr. Noah Christopher Kurzenhauser joined the Yo Ghana! family a little less than a year ago. He was a Young Leader in Action with the World Affairs Council in Oregon and has been recognized multiple times for his work bringing Iraqi and American youth together.

Noah has taken that experience and put it to use directing our very first Skype program, which links L & A Academy and Martin Luther King School. Despite many challenges such as a substantial time difference and technological hurdles, the project has been a great success at helping dozens of students feel a much deeper sense of connection to each other. He is also a Coordinator and has taken over our social media program, expanding our Facebook page by about 50% in just a few weeks.
​
Noah is one of our most effective and relentless engines. Thank you for your hard work!

Mrs. Debra Tavares, a teacher at Reynolds High School, started working with Yo Ghana! in September 2016. When asked which of our projects she would like her students to participate in, she basically said, "all of the above," and then added some more. Her students, immigrants and the children of immigrants, have exchanged letters, written poetry, and taken photographs and done journaling around their complex cultural identities. As the photograph suggests, she loves nothing better than helping a student to find her voice.

Deb also welcomed a group of Portland State University students into her classroom and has treated them like colleagues, even attended the class at Portland State Monday nights to help them debrief and plan. She is passionately committed to helping her students to succeed and to collaborating with anyone who shares that commitment.

Our third Yo Ghana! Star Winner this year is Mr. Gilbert Nipaba Brew, founder and proprietor of Nipaba Brew School in Sampa.
He may be the most hospitable person in Ghana, which is hard to do, as Ghanaians are known for their hospitality! His school does an outstanding job of teaching literacy at a young age, and more than 150 of his students are exchanging fine letters.

He has also been essential in assisting St. Ann's Senior High School with sending and receiving letters and was a big part of our very first Sharing Our Stories Conference last year in Winneba. He did a fine presentation on teaching literacy through music and movement and brought one of the largest contingents to the conference.

​ Thank you for your hard work!

Mr. Kankam Mensah Felix is one of our Yo Ghana! Star Awardees for 2017.

Kankam has probably sent more letters from Ghana than anyone else. He has been at it for nearly six years now, working with Yo Ghana! before we were even called Yo Ghana!  He sleeps at his school when he sleeps at all, and this year has stayed after school with dedicated students to participate in our very first Skype program, a pilot project that has gone very well thanks in large part to his dedication.

As you can see, his students love him!

Email [email protected] or go here for reservations.

The Catholic Sentinel just published a wonderful article on Yo Ghana! Check it out here.  

​The extensive piece by Katie Scott draws on interviews with co-founders Elizabeth Fosler-Jones and David del Mar as well as teacher Bryce Driscoll, student Elizabeth Temple, and supporter Matthew Essieh. Thank you, Katie, for capturing so eloquently our attempt to, as you put it, "deepen cross-cultural understanding and build relationships through the art of letter exchange."

We are also delighted to announce that Yo Ghana! Project Coordinator Noah Kurzenhauser, one of our volunteers who seems to never say "no" and always has a smile and a word of encouragement, has been selected to be part of the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program offered by World Learning Inc.! Noah will spend four weeks in Washington, D.C. and two other states working with youth from across Iraq and the U.S. to facilitate cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.

World Learning works toward building "a just world, driven by engaged citizens and thriving communities"--exactly the sort of work that Noah excels in and that Yo Ghana! aspires to.
​
We are proud of you, Noah!