The Stylus

Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: News

This year's Ghana winter session trip was hoping to include a tour of the finished library Brockport's Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity has been building for the past three years. However, the building still sits uncompleted, due to village working constraints.

The library will join four other school buildings in Medena, Ghana, where school children will be able to study and read books. The library is intended for the whole village, though, where a book is a highly valued gift.

"The teachers are so thankful because it's such a great asset for the kids," said Assistant Director for the program and Resident Director Mark Guthrie.

Guthrie's wish is for Brockport students to see the difference in education between America and Ghana.

"It means so much for these students to be able to learn," Guthrie said. "You don't see that as much in America."

The roof, windows and floor still need to be finished. The next projected finish date is this June.

The Alpha Rho chapter organizes a Ghana Walk every year in September to help create funds for the library. Last year's walk added $1,400 to the donations.

Construction has been slowed due to the volunteer basis. The village community is not getting paid for their work. Many of them are farmers, so the library's construction is put off during time needed to farm.

Guthrie, whose tie to Ghana has existed for 10 years, has organized all fundraisers and is the drive behind the project. He first went on the trip as a student and has gone every year since.

"It's a great feeling to keep in contact with all the friends we make in Ghana," Guthrie said. "I learn to strengthen my own work ethic here by being there."

Another Alpha Phi Alpha chapter at SUNY Oswego, Sigma Omicron, has also contributed to the project.

They recently created a program that collects books for when the library is ready. It will be named the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Library.

"We take things for granted here, Brockport students really need to see it for themselves," Guthrie said.

Sixteen students went on the trip including some from SUNY Potsdam, CUNY Hunter, Brooklyn and City College. They left the day after Christmas on an 11-hour flight to Accra, Ghana.

Dr. John Marah, Department Chair of African and African-American studies at Brockport, has been involved with the Ghana trip for 15 years.

The three-week curriculum consisted of nine lectures on the culture of Ghana among many field trips. A continual favorite of the trip is always the visit to the Medena school. Many students brought school supplies to the children.

"The student reaction at the school always brings us together as a group," Guthrie said. "This group dealt really well with airport barriers and the long trip to Kumasi."

The study abroad trip to Ghana, West Africa also includes stops at Cape Coast and Elmina Castles. Both played a huge role in the transatlantic slave trade.

"My favorite part is seeing the students learn to speak the language, about the Ghanaian culture and about themselves," Guthrie said.

To donate books, school supplies or money, contact Guthrie at mguthrie@brockport.edu. The plan is to send the books by April so they will arrive in time for the library's completion. Also, if interested in going on the trip next year, recruitment meetings will begin later this semester.

"I like to see that Brockport can leave such a mark in Ghana," Guthrie said. "Each student was an ambassador for their school and each represented them well."

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