a Letter from Christopher Cox
Wenchi Secondary School, Wenchi, Ghana
Academic Year 2003-4
By Christopher Cox
Project Background
After almost five years working in New York and New Jersey, my wife Allison and I were given the opportunity to realize our goal of traveling, working and living overseas. We served as Peace Corps volunteers at Wenchi Secondary School in Ghana, West Africa, from November 2002 to June 2004. During that time, I worked on a variety of projects, including Angel Mehta's Enlightenment Project. The project's goals were unique: to encourage young people in developing countries to examine the world around them, think critically, and develop solutions to societal problems.
What We Did
Angel and I coordinated this project with one conference call, and then by email. We discussed daily life in Ghana and some of the pertinent social issues there, and came up with two themes the students could consider, discuss and write about:
- Individual, Family, and Community Success
If you have worked hard to become rich and successful, and your family is lazy, should you provide them with financial support? Why or why not? What are other ways you could assist them? If you had to choose between supporting your lazy family, or a hard-working stranger, which would you pick? Why? What do you think would best help the community over the long-term?
- Presidential Action Plan
If you were President of Ghana for one year, what would you do to improve Ghana, or Wenchi? To answer this question, create a Presidential Action Plan for improvements in one or more of the following areas:- Economy
- Education
- Culture
- Health
In November and December 2004, I publicized the project and held approximately eight workshops for interested students. Attendance at the workshops averaged between five and ten students, evenly split between returning and new participants. For the first several workshops, my only goal was to get the students to understand the idea of the project. This was difficult because the concept was very foreign to them - they are used to memorizing facts and repeating them back on exams. Students in Ghana are not commonly asked, "What do you think?" or "How would you solve that problem?" For the first several workshops, the students were primarily concerned about formatting: paper size, cover sheets, lined or unlined paper, number of pages, etc. When they eventually understood that those things bore little importance compared to content and ideas, they started a search for the "right answers". First they believed I was withholding the "right answers" from them. They became even more frustrated and confused when I explained that there were no right or wrong answers. Exposing the students to this type of situation, and allowing them to come to their own conclusions was the objective of the project. In the following workshops, some students began to understand the intent, and we began discussing their ideas in detail. More often than not, ideas were based on well publicized development strategies, but occasionally a student presented what seemed to be a truly independent and unique idea. While these instances were less frequent than I initially hoped, at least the students were able to experience an educational environment very different from their usual classes - an environment where new ideas were heard and encouraged.
By the submission deadline, I obtained only twelve essays, in a competition that had been opened to all 1,240 students. Needless to say, I was disappointed, particularly considering the substantial scholarship awards offered by Angel. The students' only explanation was the typical, "the others are lazy." Knowing that students would participate if they felt it was in their best interest, I later discovered that the school's ranking system discouraged participation. Despite the fact that our selection criteria emphasized ideas over English grammar, all but the top five percent of the student population assumed they had no chance to win. This experience echoed an unfortunately familiar theme in Ghana: the belief that effort will not be rewarded. If I could do things over again, I would emphasize, even more than I did, that any student can win this contest, even one ranked at the bottom of the class. They only needed to think, come up with a good idea, and put it on paper. It was more difficult than I expected to convey that this was an exercise in ideas and problem solving, not English composition.
After the first deadline, I made an effort to include the school's blind students. With great encouragement and support from their instructor, Mr. Annang, three of these students decided to participate. Mr. Annang and I then held a series of workshops where we sat under mango trees on wooden benches, talking with the students about their ideas. Eventually, the ideas became Braille manuscripts up to thirty pages long. In contrast to the larger student population, I was very impressed with the extreme effort made by these students. One of the partially blind students and several staff members helped translate Braille into written English.
Angel and I read each of the fifteen essays. It was difficult to assign first, second and third place awards to any three, but five stood out as being at a higher level of effort than the rest. Of the five, one showed a special writing skill and detail, and was awarded first place. We decided that all participants were deserving of an award for their efforts, so the other four tied for second place and all remaining submissions tied for third place. This also served to reinforce the message that all who try and make an effort would be rewarded, and the only people who did not "win" were those who chose not to participate.
At our farewell assembly held in June 2004, in front of the entire student population and all teaching staff, we presented the participants with their awards and snapped photos. Friends cheered as I read the name of each participant and called them up to receive their certificate and award. Both I and the headmaster gave short speeches commending the students for their efforts. Addressing the 1,215 students who did not participate, I explained the meaning of "carpe diem" and the importance of taking advantage of life's opportunities. I know the experience was meaningful for the fifteen participants, and I hope this speech and many informal conversations will be memorable for those who did not participate. I hope that next time, these students will be ready to seize the day.
The Winners…
In a country where average per capita income is approximately US$1 per day, all prizes were valuable and significant. Four of the fifteen participants were young women, including the first place winner and one second place winner.
First Place - 1,000,000 Cedis - Approx. US$100 Aminatu Abass
Second Place - 200,000 Cedis each - Approx. US$20 Fati Ali Hussam Gyan Charles Kenny Banabas Opoku Kofi
Third Place - 50,000 Cedis each - Approx. US$5 Opoku Ajyapong Andrew Effah Richard Abdul Salisu Fatawu Amegbletor Louisa Dzigbordzi Owusu Prince Beatrice Opare Adjei Francis Antwi Boasiako Emmanuel Sumaa Robert Suleman Mahamadu
Broader Implications
While the benefits of this project were intangible, I believe that this type of project has the potential to make a tremendous difference in the lives of young people. Young people who have been encouraged to speak out and solve problems may one day help their countries move forward. The limited funding requirements and simplicity of this type of project makes it even more attractive, especially when contrasted with the big-budget construction projects and professional conferences that have had limited success achieving results in Africa.
I believe the challenges currently facing Africa are too extreme for the world's poorest continent to face alone. We must work hand in hand with African leaders, and more importantly everyday African people, to help Africa back on the road to development. In our increasingly globalized world, we will not be able to ignore the plight of a forgotten continent. The same can be said of the forgotten areas of our own continents, our own countries, and even our own communities.
I echo Angel's call for others to get involved - in Africa, another region, or the community just outside your own backyard. Choose an idea or an issue and start a project. Based on my experience I can say that it is not as hard as it sounds, and that you will be rewarded many times over for any contribution of time or money you make. Best wishes and good luck!
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at christophermcox@yahoo.com. For more information, check out www.peacecorps.gov, and www.wess.edu.gh, a Wenchi Secondary School site constructed by a Peace Corps Volunteer that preceded us at the school. Thanks once again to Angel for his generosity, his creativity, and his desire to make a difference. He has.