CASTLE ROCK -
Need can be a hard thing to measure. On a fall day at Castle View High School, suitcases were weighed, boxes were packed, and bags were consolidated. This group of students and staff from Castle View, Mountain Vista, and Regis Jesuit, were preparing to deliver what they could to those in need halfway across the world.
Colorado To Ghana is in its 4th year. This is the first year it has operated as a non-profit. That distinction provided plenty of learning opportunities. “We got to learn how money works, and how to engage people for fundraising,” said the group’s organizer Ben Wolfe. “Students got to decide what they wanted to fundraise for and what they thought would be appropriate to bring with us, and what services we wanted to do when we got there.”
They brought 38 iMacs, 24 cure kits from Project CURE, and various clothing and games along with them. They left Denver on Friday October 5th, and returned Saturday October 13th. In between they gained new perspectives that only an experience like this could provide. They delivered $20,000 in medical supplies to support Dr. Amoussou, founder of Holy Cross, a hospital that provides free care to the needy. They helped to build a playground for the children of the Gyahadze village. They painted classrooms, donated computers, and worked with rural Ghanaians to help them become self-sufficient.
The need was easy to see. What they ended up measuring was happiness. “Happiness is a basic need of life,” said Regis student William Markowski. “I see it as an honor that I’m able to bring that to other people. Castle View Senior Sam Moccia realized “No matter how we give to them, the thing that they gave back to us and the impressions that they left on our lives was the most rewarding thing in the world.”
To find out more, visit their website at http://coloradotoghana.org/