Students at the Conakry airport (Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press)

Although we don’t work in the country of Guinea in West Africa, I came across this story and had to put something up about it on the blog. The Associated Press released a story that was picked up by newspapers, both big and small, around the world about school children heading to Conakry’s international airport at night because it is the only place where they’ll always find lights to study by.

Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world and only about one fifth of the countries 10 million people have access to electricity and those who do often experience frequent power outages. It is exam season now and students flock to the lights of the airport so they continue to study into the night.

The Lede, a blog of the New York Times, put it best as the scene “transmutes what would be an ominous scene in an American suburb - a horde of kids milling around a parking lot at all hours - into one of resourcefulness and hope in Africa.”

While students in the developed world have new books, libraries and free, compulsory education, such a scene also highlights the enormous hurdles kids have to access education in the developing world. It is certainly something to think about and a prime example of how education and teaching is one way volunteers can make a true impact in local communities.

Do any volunteers or alumni remember situations like this where students went above and beyond to gain access to education?

I recently came across a race sponsored by “The Supply Chain & Logistics Institute”(who knew that existed?) at George Institute of Technology to discover which courier service could deliver packages the fastest (if at all) to five far flung destinations like Apia, Samoa and Harare, Zimbabwe. The three contestants were FedEx, UPS and DHL with DHL coming out as the winner by being the first to three destinations and second to the remaining two. You can read more about the race here,http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/~jjb/wh/package-race/2007/2007.html.

But reading this got me thinking about all the distant lands this office and our volunteer’s friends and family ships to! From our office here in New York, we recently shipped a box of brochures to Cusco, Peru and a box of folders to our office in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Hopefully they will both get there soon! I feel like at Projects Abroad we could have our own little race!

There are also all the stories I hear from parents trying to send care packages to their kids and hoping it will 1.) get there and 2.) get there before they leave! Do any of our former alumni have any good stories about trying to get packages out to their volunteer destination?

When I was a volunteer in Romania, my mom had sent a care package filled with newspaper clippings from home, letters from my family and American candy bars! My mom, bless her heart, sent it a good month before I was to leave and guess what? I was only able to pick it up from the post office the day I was scheduled to leave. But those Kit Kat bars were the best I have ever had!

We all at Projects Abroad would like to send a belated birthday shout out to the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s Independence!

Ghana was the first sub-Saharan nation to attain independence from colonial rule in 1957 and Independence Day on March 6th, 2007 kicked off twelve months of celebrations to mark the 50th year of independence. Since then Ghana has been heralded as a beacon of stability and sustainable development on a continent plagued by corrupt governance, economic stagnation and civil strife. The Golden Jubilee is certainly a momentous occasion and a great moment not only for Ghana but also for Africa. In the words of Tom Davis, our Country Director in Ghana, “Ghana has been the star of Africa, in championing the campaign for freedom.”

Having read accounts of the celebration of Ghana’s golden jubilee it sounds like it was a rocking good time! For our volunteers, staff members or anyone who was in Ghana, how did you celebrate? How were the festivities? Feel free to comment on your experiences!

Photo from Ghana’s Independence Day Parade

We at Projects Abroad would like to wish all of our hard working staff members and current and future volunteers in China a happy and prosperous Chinese New year!

We welcome the Year of the Pig, which will complete one cycle of the Chinese zodiac which started on Feb. 19, 1996 with the Year of the Rat.

This year is also very auspicious as it is also regarded as the Year of the Golden Pig, or jin zhu, which only occurs once every 60 years. Consequently since it is such an auspicious year China is bracing for a baby boom with parents hoping their children will be blessed with good fortune and wealth. It should be a very busy time for our Medical volunteers working in any Ob-Gyn department this year!

Did you do anything special to celebrate the New Year?