Cover Africa was founded in December 2006 because we felt that Cornell University,
a premier university dedicated to producing globally conscious students, needed
to take a more active role in prevention of a disease that takes the life of one
African child every thirty seconds. Our goals are threefold: working to increase
malaria awareness on campus and in Ithaca, strategizing to help prevent malaria,
and distributing bed nets to those most in need.
We have hosted education events, such as documentary screenings, and have lead
awareness campaigns, such as national Africa Malaria Day ribbon distributions,
and malaria poster campaigns. We have started a Cover Africa chapter at Ithaca
High School which is helping to educate the greater Ithaca community. We are fundraising
for insecticide treated bed nets to distribute in Humjibre, Ghana. This year,
we have expanded to offer this new service learning course. We have partnered
with Ghana Health and Education Initiative.
For more information please look at our website at www.rso.cornell.edu/coverafrica
About Ghana Health and Education Initiative:
GHEI is a grassroots nongovernmental organization located in a rural village
of 4,000 people in western Ghana. The village is approximately 2 hours from the
nearest city of Kumasi. The organization was founded by professional students
at the University of Maryland in 2001. It focuses on creating sustainable programs
around English literacy and health education. Long term interns manage GHEI’s
projects in Ghana under the direction of the organization’s Ghanaian Program Director,
Clement Donkor.
Cover Africa has partnered with GHEI to offer short term volunteer projects to
enable those interested in international volunteer work to gain the experience
they desire and to help the community. The community of Humjibre will enjoy our
new energy and
focus, as will the members of GHEI located in the village. GHEI also hopes that
by participating, short term volunteers will develop an interest in the program
and in the developing world in general. This is an opportunity for you to explore
development work and get a sense of how you can be the force of change in the
future, no matter where you end up. GHEI offers a unique experience to discover
how much a small group of people can do to strengthen a community, particularly
in the fight against malaria.
For more information please look at GHEI’s website at www.ghei.org.
