Faced with foreclosures, a rising deficit, an ongoing war, high unemployment and a contentious debate on health care, Americans may seem secluded from the plights of those outside the U.S., particularly those in poorer countries, whose problems are often relegated to late-night infomercial appeals to donate to starving children.
Students from UH’s Eta Mu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first historically black fraternity, in the tradition of social service, have taken an interest in developing nations.
‘We adopted a village off the west coast of Africa. Every month we send supplies to the schools out there, and now we are opening up the program to the public,’ said Kaine Hampton, former NAACP-UH president and current secretary of the Eta Mu chapter.
Hampton said that Africa in particular has become a caricature of struggling nations. While there are some flourishing African economies, colonization and internal strife, which have plagued many African countries for years, have resulted in Africa being one of the poorest and underdeveloped parts in the world.
‘I didn’t think that it was that big of a deal until I (visited Africa) and saw for myself the disparity firsthand,’ Hampton said.
After returning from study abroad, Kaine made a vow to take action by offering assistance to the schoolchildren he came across in his travels. A collaboration with his fraternity resulted in the adoption of an orphanage in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
‘It’s amazing to see the contrast between their kids and ours. Here, if a student doesn’t have a pencil, they can get one from their teacher. Over there, pencils are scarce,’ Hampton said. ‘The school that the orphans attend is literally outside, no doors, no discernible walls, just a roof.’
More than 170,000 children in Ghana are orphaned by AIDS, according to Inter Press Service statistics from 2006. In a country with little government assistance, education is seen as one of the only means by which abandoned youth can attain a better living.
However, a lack of common school supplies threatens to extinguish that hope.
‘I was there. I witnessed first-hand how they cried over something as little as a pencil. They don’t have federal funding like we do, so their schools survive almost exclusively on donations,’ Hampton said.
Tuesday, Dec. 1, the fraternity will host ‘The Shirt Off My Back’ at the Cougar Den at 7 p.m. The event will showcase the culture of West Africa as well promote the initiative to assist schools in Ghana.
Donations of school supplies as well as gently used clothing will be collected. Donations will continue to be accepted at room 51b of the campus activities offices until the close of the semester.
‘Its just amazing to see how appreciative these kids were, to be that thankful over a pack of paper or a pencil. These kids just want help to get an education,’ Hampton said.
