Weber State Students Spend Spring Break Serving Children in Ghana

OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University faculty, staff and students are spending their spring break, March 3-13, volunteering in Ghana, aiding children who have been trafficked into forced labor. 

The Global Community Engaged Learning program (GCEL), hosted by the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, is a global engagement experience that instills confidence in participants to exact positive change in the world.

Dean of the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences Julie Rich has traveled with students to Mozambique, Thailand, Uganda and Fiji on previous GCEL trips. This year, Rich and seven members of WSU faculty are coordinating the trip to Ghana to work alongside Ghana Make a Difference (GMAD).

GMAD is an organization dedicated to sheltering children who have been rescued from forced labor trafficking and abandonment until they can be reintegrated with their family or successfully placed on the path to self-reliance. 

“I gain so much by interfacing with individuals of another culture,” Rich said. “It makes me appreciate where I’m from and what I have, but to see what other people place value on is so profound. It’s not the material things, it's living each day trying to be the best you can and making sure your community is taken care of.” 

During this 10-day project, trip participants will work alongside Ghanaian residents and GMAD staff to collaborate on a rainwater-harvesting project and begin construction on a school and fence located on the GMAD volunteer housing property.

The designs for the interior and exterior of the school building were created by combining plans submitted by WSU’s interior design students. Students were tasked with assessing what materials would be best suited for the structure in Ghana’s climate and presenting their finished designs to industry officials. The bricks for the school building will be made by hand, using locally sourced materials. 

Students from the college of health professions will assist GMAD with medical and hygiene classes, and students majoring in social work will get international experience working with local social workers on the GMAD property, helping young people transition from forced labor back into society.

“I am very excited to be going on this trip to Ghana,” said Christy Cottrell, WSU student. “I know there are quite a few different projects for us to work on while we are there, and I hope we can do a lot of good in the short time we are in Ghana. I look forward to meeting the staff and the children at Ghana Make a Difference and working alongside our professors and fellow students. This trip is a great opportunity for me and others to do some good work and gain experience outside the classroom.”

Fundraising efforts for the trip to Ghana extended campus-wide, with WSU athletics taking part from Feb. 12-19. Donations of diapers, medical supplies, blankets, toys, socks, and other non-perishable items were accepted at a drive-up location at the Dee Events Center, and donations were also accepted at a Weber State home basketball game. The effort generated thousands of donations. 

“When you step outside your bubble and start interfacing with individuals who are on a different continent and have a different culture, you realize that happiness and satisfaction do not come from the things you own,” Rich said. “Happiness and satisfaction come from within ourselves. It's the relationships we have with each other; it's serving others, and that's a powerful lesson. It's something that cannot be taught in the classroom.”


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Author:

Kennedy Jones, Marketing & Communications
801-626-7948 • kennedyjones1@weber.edu 

Contact:

Allison Barlow Hess, Public Relations director
801-626-7948 • ahess@weber.edu