VOLUNTEER PROGRAM USES AFRICAN DANCE-DRAMAS TO EDUCATE YOUTHS IN GHANA ABOUT HIV/AIDS

Ghana hosts many international tourists every year who come to this beautiful and diverse land to experience Africa. Sadly, many go home without leaving a lasting impact in Ghana .

Tourism does bring in money to help the economy. However, international visitors can & want to do more than just take pictures of exotic places, peoples, and activities. Therefore, a new form of tourism: tourism with the purpose of helping social, economic, environmental, and health problems impacting Ghanaians, is necessary. It is extremely important that when visitors come to nations in Africa they leave with a better understanding of the people and their life.

Therefore, the Sankofa Center for African Dance & Culture, based in California, and its sister N.G.O. in Ghana have teamed up to use tourism for the purpose of positive change in Ghana. Our volunteer program brings people from various parts of the U.S & Canada to collaborate with our Ghanaian brothers & sisters in order to educate youths about HIV/AIDS through African dance & drama.

Our efforts have received tremendous support from the international community. We must thank the University of California, Los Angeles; the Ministry of Social Welfare in Ghana; and not least of all the Ghana Customs Excise & Preventive Services ( C.E.P.S.), headed by General Richardson Baiden. Their assistance with our van transportation to implement our outreach keeps our HIV/AIDS dance-dramas alive! Most importantly, we praise everyday people like you who travel to Ghana to be involved in our outreach!

THE MEANING OF "SANKOFA":

Since the beginning of time Africans have used song, dance, and drama to communicate their triumphs, obstacles, and important lessons to pass on to future generations. Sankofa, literally meaning "go back and get it", allows us to return to our past in order to correct current problems. This calls for our organization to use an ancient form of communication through African dance & drama to educate youths about HIV/AIDS in the present. We are in a sense, going back to recapture the health, and hope, of our future- Ghana?s youth.

OUR MISSION:

The Sankofa Center for African Dance & Culture is a 501(c)3 U.S.-based charity that partners with it?s sister N.G.O. in Ghana to host volunteer programs in which American artists, students, and peer health educators visit Ghana creating arts-based HIV/AIDS education and prevention outreach programs. Our American volunteers collaborate with African youths in the creation of touring dance-dramas that educate African village youths about HIV/AIDS through art!

We then recruit youths from our outreach to our base center in Accra, Ghana for enrollment in our Peer Education Program to create a ripple effect of change helping native youths educate their peers about HIV/AIDS. We also partner with the West African AIDS Foundation in Ghana to refer individuals to free services such as testing, counseling, and medications to fight opportunistic infections!

HIV/AIDS BACKGROUND IN GHANA:

Ghana is a peaceful West African nation on the Atlantic coastline with approximately 20 million inhabitants. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is estimated to be around 4% of the population. The fact that there is inadequate healthcare infrastructures in place to aid the growing numbers of People Living with AIDS (PLWA) highlights the need for increased education and prevention programs at this important junction in history to prevent higher rates of HIV/AIDS in the coming years. CDC studies show that many people in Ghana do not take safer behaviors & practices into consideration which will create increased transmissions of HIV/AIDS quickly turning the tide of this killer disease for this nation. Through our program we are able to effectively educate & promote safer behaviors & practices among youths to help halt the pandemic in this nation.

OUR DANCE-DRAMA OUTREACH:

Now in it?s third year, the Sankofa Center for African Dance & Culture (S.C.A.D.C.) maintains an active volunteer program in which American volunteers with a background in HIV/AIDS education & various artistic skills visit Ghana on eight-week long programs throughout the year in the implementation of our HIV/AIDS dance-drama tour to 1) Accurately educate youths about HIV/AIDS , 2) To provide an artistic forum for exploring the social components of HIV/AIDS transmissions. Through dance & drama we explore how factors like poverty, expected roles of women & men & how they relate to sex, lack of access to testing, treatment of HIV/AIDS & health services, and how this impacts one?s chance of being infected with HIV/AIDS. We aim to reduce stigma, fear, misconceptions, and foster communication within sexual relationships. Program fees assessed to American volunteers have historically funded our activities to provide free outreach for Ghanaian youths in our outreach.

PEER EDUCATION PROGRAM:

Ghanaian youths participating in our P.E.P. have free access to resources such as in-depth epidemiology of HIV as well as forums exploring and combating the social components of HIV/AIDS transmission in Ghanaian society mentioned previously. These week-long programs prepare cohorts of local youths to further educate and promote HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives in their respective communities. Supplies such as condoms, safer sex print materials, and referrals to area medical resources supporting our mission are also provided.

Partnering with clinics such as the West African AIDS Foundation allows local youths to merge prevention with actual services for care for their communities, merging education with medical resources; thus, providing hope for people living with HIV/AIDS ( PLWA), while providing incentive for the continued quest for healthy living among the non-infected.

CURRENT PROJECT:

In March 2006 S.C.A.D.C. purchased a plot of land centrally located in Madina-Accra, Ghana for the construction of a new center. The new Center will accommodate international volunteers & Ghanaian youths on the Peer Education. The new Center will be a community space where youths can obtain accurate, up-to-date information about HIV/AIDS provided by the UCLA AIDS Institute, counseling, referrals to clinics for free HIV/AIDS related medical services, supplies such as condoms & safer safe printed materials, and, a general creative meeting place where local youths can interact with International volunteers housed at the location to implement HIV/AIDS related artistic projects. We envision our Center to also be a community space in which local youths can develop independent artistic projects that enhance their global interaction with socially conscious peers from around the world relating to a variety of issues affecting global well- being & cultural understanding of the African experience! If you?d like to assist us, whether while in Ghana, or abroad, please contact us!

WAYS YOU CAN HELP!

IMMEDIATE NEEDS:

Volunteers

Funds & In-kind Support for the building of our new Center and outreach program Bulk Condom/Sexual Health Print Supplies & Materials International Shipping for Ongoing Donated Supplies Any Prescription Medications to be donated to the West African AIDS Foundation Educational Books/Magazines on All Subjects CD?s/VHS/DVD?s on All Subjects Art Supplies Copy Machine Additional Computers Non Profit Legal & Accounting Services LONG TERM NEEDS: Annual fund-raising events locally to promoteour mission and build funds for ongoing outreach Increased recruitment of U.S. volunteers on our fee-based dance-drama volunteer program Collaboration with organizations, businesses, and individuals who share our mission To replicate the project & program in other parts of Africa TO ASSIST US / OR VOLUNTEER CONTACT:

In the U.S: Ronnie Shaw UCLA African Studies M.A. Director Sankofa Center for African Dance & Culture (U.S.A) P.O. BOX 6581 Santa Ana, Ca. 92706 sankofa_center@yahoo.com

In Ghana:

James Nii Afrah Sackey
Director
Sankofa Center for African Dance & Culture ( Ghana ) P.O. BOX 600 Accra, Ghana West Africa Tel: 011-233-244-05-83-76 jamessackey@hotmail.com

TO APPLY TO OUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.SANKOFACENTER.ORG