Yvonne Pointer's first two visits to Ghana were as a tourist. But she returned recently to that West African country with a carefully selected entourage of friends she knew she could count on to help her affect change.

Pointer, a well-known Cleveland anti-violence activist, became deeply aware of the needs of the Ghanaian people due to a friendship she developed 12 years ago with a teenager there. Ever since receiving a letter from him in 2003, she has been sending funds so that he and his friends can attend high school and college.

As she says: "More than they hunger for food, they hunger for education."

For years, she dreamed of opening a school in Ghana.

Steadily she kept chipping away at her goal, first managing to get land donated and then raising $35,000 to build a preschool in memory of her daughter, who was murdered in 1984 in Cleveland.

In August, the Gloria Pointer Memorial School was dedicated. Pointer recruited more than 20 of her friends to fly to Ghana with her for the grand opening.

Pointer and friends brought with them suitcases filled with pens, pencils, notepads, treats and other donations for the school.



And Team Enlightenment, as the group calls itself, is just getting started.

They know that more donations can help build more schools. And so they've been fundraising ever since their return to Cleveland. Since August, the group has raised $2,500 to build a second school, and ground has already been broken for it. In addition, team members have committed to paying for the private school tuitions of 10 children.

The holidays will have a different feel this year for Team Enlightenment member Sharon Rose, a longtime friend of Pointer's who won't forget the poverty she witnessed in Ghana. "I am thankful for what I have," says Rose, who remains grateful that team members are banding together to improve the lives of those they met.

"When we came back, we all had the heartfelt feeling that we wanted to help," Rose says.

As the self-appointed "communications manager" for Team Enlightenment, Rose sends out regular updates about how much has been raised. And she emails team members the latest pictures sent from Ghana, so they can see for themselves that the second Gloria Pointer school is already taking shape.

Pointer says she promised her daughter Gloria that her death would not be in vain -- and she has done so by making life safer and better for children across the world. "I'm sure Gloria is in heaven and all she's saying is, 'I told you my mother would do it,'" Pointer says.

To support the group's ongoing work in Ghana, go online to www.yvonnepointer.com and click the PayPal link. Or, checks can be made out to Gloria Pointer Foundation, P.O. Box 603456, Cleveland, 44103.