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Please send between 5 and 20 dollars to: Michael Twardos 4755
Punta de Vista Santa Fe, NM 87507 or use Paypal to
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From
Michael: For over five
years I’ve had a penpal in Ghana named Richard Dake. Over
the years we’ve traded stories, compared differences
between our cultures, discussed current events and shared our dreams for the
future. We’ve written back and
forth so much that I consider Richard my good friend.
Having
a penpal in Ghana was a way to
remind me of how big the world is and how people in far off places live differently
but are still very similar to my own life. It reminded me about
inequality and to think of others less fortunate than myself. For
the amount of poverty and hardships Richard faced in Ghana, he is very happy and very optimistic. He’s
been a source
of happiness and hope for me over the years.
In the fall of 2005, Richard’s father died from illness
and the
difficulty of taking care of the family fell heavily on Richard’s
shoulders. His aspirations of
going to college were cut short. We’ve discussed his situation and looked for ways to help Richard
to get the money needed for college (about 1000 dollars). We
believe that one solution would be to raise the
money for him from small contributions from my other friends. This is a good solution
for several
reasons. Donations to large charities and organizations usually involves giving money to a group
of
strangers who in turn provide assistance to other strangers. In this case, we are all friends
so the
degrees of separation are much closer. In
this way, raising money for Richard to go to school serves as an “experiment” to see whether a network of
friends can make small sacrifices to create a large difference in another’s
life. It will also provide Richard
with the inspiration that so many people are in support of him to pursue his dreams
of college and career. Someday it
may serve as a model for how networks of friends can positively affect the
lives of many deserving individuals.
From Richard: I live in the lovely country of Ghana. Its capital is named
Accra and it was formally called the Gold Coast. Ghana has a population of 20
miliion people. We are known to be a very peaceful country. Our
slogan is “Freedom and Justice”. Ghana is a gateway to Africa. It has
many interesting tourist places like the Dr. Kwame Nkrumanh Museum, (the first
president of the Republic of Ghana), the Akosombo Dam, the Adorme bribge, Kacum
national park, Elmina castle, just to mention few. Over 40 languages
are spoken in Ghana and nine are written and spoken in our schools.
There are three religious practices in Ghana: Christianity, Islam and our
traditional religion. We have good resources like Gold, Diamond, Bauxite
and Manganese. I have two sisters along with my mom and my dad. My dad did all he
could for me and my family. He worked very hard to provide for all of us.
It was very difficult for him and affected his health. In the past year
we encountered a series of tragic situations which makes me feel as if i have
no reason for being on this Earth. First, my grandmother died, and
two weeks after that, my Dad died. Since my father’s death, my family
depends on me more than ever. I have to work hard to fill the gap that my
father left. I really feel for my family a lot, especially for my lovely
mum. For all of our hardships, I am thankful for all the things I have. However, I still feel sad because I
currently cannot afford
to go to school. I want to be great in future in such a way that my family
could turn to me whenever they need assistance. I have dreamed for
a long time to do well in school so I can continue learning at a higher
institution. Because we live in a world in which computers are so important, I
want to study to become a good professional in information technology. I need help to go to school so I can get a good job to help my
family. If I can get 950 dollars to pay for my tuition at school, I will
work hard to repay my debt to everyone that has helped me and my family.
Date:
Nov 1, 2006 Total Number of Donations: 43 Money Raised: $710.00
Thank you everyone so much for your help! We are working on securely transferring money to Richard's account.
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