June concluded in a pretty exciting way, we went to Ghana! Our co-founder, Nick Mahlstadt co-lead a team of Graduate students from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. TMP Board Member Ben McEvoy also joined the group and we were honored to travel with them to various locations in Ghana where work is currently ongoing.
As these students continue to further their degrees in education, this trip presented an opportunity for them to see how education functions in Ghana. The trip provided opportunities to experience delivery of the educational system in various types of settings such as, small rural villages to larger more established communities and schools. While the team was able to experience first hand how education is delivered in Ghana, they also learned how the educational structure works in-country and its variances to the American educational system and structure. This trip was incredibly informative and enlightening all while immersing the team in the Ghanaian culture and way of life. We all walked away from this experience with a greater understanding and appreciation for life and education in Ghana.
This trip also provided some time for a small group to visit the ongoing work in Tsipasi. We met with the community and its leaders to discuss the progress of The Move Project Academy, outline more details around the shared vision for adult educational opportunities, and visit the watermelon farm (more on that in a moment). As we continue to develop TMP Academy both physically and structurally, we have developed a page on our website where you can follow all things TMP Academy! Click HERE to check it out. While onsite in Tsipasi, we conducted an interview for a potential Headmaster (Principal here in the States) for the Academy. As the construction nears completion we have begun to look forward to the structure of the school both with staff and policy.
While we've focused a tremendous amount of our energy on education in Tsipasi, it's not the only thing we're up to. As part of our overall community development plan we are also working with community members on job creation. Tsipasi is a rural farming community so not many opportunities are available when the dry season hits. This is where our resident bee keeper, Ben McEvoy comes in. Tsipasi is well known in the region for their watermelon. Because of where the village is located, they are able to grow watermelon for longer periods of time and harvest more frequently than other communities. Ben was able to visit the watermelon plot and discuss the benefits of keeping bees and the positive impact it will have not only on their watermelon crop, but other crops as well. We are now looking into training at least one farmer to also keep bees as a sustainable business while increasing the crop harvest they currently have.
There are some very exciting times ahead of us and we need your support now more than ever. If you've given to TMP before, thank you! If you haven't, we'd love for you to join in now by visiting us at TheMoveProject.org and click DONATE.