With more than 5,900 miles between St. Louis and Ghana, Students United for Africa is looking at using one giant postage stamp.
SUFA is currently working on funding the only library in Kassena, Ghana, but is running into some hardships while trying to ship the 2,000 books that the organization has collected from various area high schools and grade schools.
“Our main goal is to help fund education in Northern Ghana,” SUFA President John Gallagher said.
It is through this striving for education that SUFA hopes to aid in the ending of the poverty cycle, according to former Vice President Megan McCray. The library will be an asset to the school of 1,700 students that SUFA already sponsors. Both the school and the library will support the SUFA mission of promoting education in Northern Ghana.
In order to help fund these operations, SUFA received money from Student Government Association to put on its annual Dance-a-thon. Gallagher stated that the event raised around $3,000. However, that’s not enough.
The library is still under construction and needs about $15,000 more to complete, but this does not include costs to repair damage after the many storms Kassena has experienced.
While the library is still in its developmental stages, once it overcomes the weather damage, it will only be a matter of time before its completion. After that, moving the books in to fill the shelves will be SUFA’s next greatest hardship, as shipping costs from St. Louis to Ghana run at exorbitantly high rates.
“A 50 lb. box costs about $900 [to ship],” Gallagher said. That price estimate works out to be around $18 per lb., and this compares to the almost-$5 per lb. to ship in the U.S., according to the United States Postal Service website.
“Any type of donation, either money or books, would be greatly appreciated,” McCray said.
Other than helping to support their ongoing education efforts in Kassena, SUFA is attempting to help the refugee population here in St. Louis.
“I believe [St. Louis] has the highest refugee population, next to either Dallas or Houston,” Gallagher said. It is his goal during the next semester to maintain the after-school tutoring program that began earlier this school year and works in coalition with the St. Louis Center for Survivors of Torture and War.
If any student is interested in becoming more involved with SUFA or would like to receive more information on SUFA’s projects in Ghana, email John Gallagher at [email protected].
