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The Building Fund, has given me a chance to see a part of the world that I have read about and hear stories about. I traveled with members of The Building Fund to Ghana, this July 2008. The tour was excellety arrange by Jessyca Dudley, and allowed me to see the great work being done by The Building Fund, as far as allowing young students to receive a better educational opportunity. The Building Fund was well received at both schools and the adminstrators expressed, words and actions, how much they appreciated the work of The Building Fund. I will be working with The Building Fund to help in any ways I am able to.

I first heard about The Building Fund (TBF) from Brian Murphy, the former Director of Development, Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. Brian invited me to hear a presentation by Jessyca, the founder of TBF at downtown Chicago in 2007. It was a great privilege and honor to hear Jessyca as she unfolded her dream and passion for the children at Tuskegee School in Accra-Ghana. The pictures shown, and the situation on the ground portrayed positive changes in both academic work and infrastructure as a result of her association with the school. Ever since this meeting I have been in continued communication with Jessyca about the YAIS. TBF made the first-ever donation of to YAIS on June 12, 2008 towards the construction of a library to shelve a large supply of books received from The Kipling Elementary School at the Southside of Chicago and Books For Africa in Saint Pauls, MN. On Sunday, July 12, Jessyca led a delegation of five to visit our school and they were impressed with the warm reception accorded them by the students, teachers, parents, and the community. Plans are underway for TBF and YAIS to partner to provide excellent quality education for the children in our local community.

This is a truly incredible non-profit. The integrity and foresight they have with respect to education in Ghana (and eventually reaching out to more of West Africa) is unmatched. Having now been to Ghana and seen first hand the work being done through The Building Fund, I'm nothing short of impressed and completely honored to be a part of it.

Thanks to the gracious coordination of Jessyca Dudley, I was able to volunteer at her host school, Tuskegee International in Accra, Ghana. It was a wonderful experience for me and I know I gained as much as I gave. I was in attendance for Tuskegees first commencement service and took part as invited guest in the culminating activities. What makes Tuskegee and Ghana so unique for me is that inspite of the poor conditions of the school and its surroundings the children of Tuskegee are learned, eager to embrace the new and happy. I volunteered for a week from Julyh 14 through July 18, and I spoke about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. I taught the children to make collage greeting cards. I spoke of the importance of an education and reading. I was also taught by the students of the history of Ghana. My last day was a session where the students were invited to ask me anything about America. I have never felt so loved by strangers as I did at my visit at Tuskegee. Each day, I could not wait to get there. Schools in the U.S. are equipped with the latest acoutrements and yet the hearts of the students at Tuskegee are what captured me most. I can't wait to return again, hopefully very soon, and spend more time with the staff and students at Tuskegee.