Surprising to me, particularly given the short time I’ve been here, I’ve already made two Brock connections!
Adwoa Appiah is a current student at Brock and she grew up in Accra. She works part time in Student Awards and Financial Aid. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of meeting Adwoa in person, but believe it or not, I’ve met her family here in Accra.
Her parents own a wonderful shop very close to where Child Rights is located – Dzorwulu is the name of the area -if you find your way to Accra, you must go! It is primarily a fabric store, but also has a wonderful selection of women’s shoes and bags.
The fabrics here in Accra really stand out – vibrant, colourful patterns and complex designs are everywhere – the women in particular really take pride in showing their African traditions by wearing elaborate outfits. They are most visible on Sundays (for church) but are also the standard for Fridays (I guess the equivalent to Casual Fridays held in North America workplaces).
In any case, Adwoa’s mother Victoria is the proprietor and I would have to say that my visit to Kosakos Enterprise Ltd was a highlight – they have the loveliest fabrics and excellent customer service!
My second Brock-Accra connection is with Carleigh Guiry, one of my co-workers right here at Child Rights International. Carleigh is a WUSC participant, but on a long term placement (rather than the short term Leave for Change program). Equally important, she is a proud Brock grad!
She studied Tourism Administration at Brock and then went on to do a post-grad in International Development. She has been Ghana for a year, and will be here with WUSC until mid 2014. Her area of expertise is in grant writing, so she is an incredibly valuable resource to an organization such as Child Rights International. I’ve had a chance to collaborate on some of the proposals that are underway and it has been a great experience – the process is very similar to what I’ve seen in the Niagara non-profit world. It is highly competitive as there are limited funds, and no shortage of need.
It has been really gratifying to see Carleigh’s contribution as a very capable Brock grad! Field projects and grant writing are the lifeblood of many NGOs, and a big part of how CRI is able to carry out the good work that they do.
