Building a future, from the ground up

Former Sparta resident Andrew Garza departed American soil on Nov. 3, winging his way to Accra, the capital city of Ghana, located on the southern coast of Africa. Andrew’s father John went along for the ride. Garza’s final destination was the village of Dalun, about an hour’s trip from Accra — and a world away from Sparta in many ways. Garza, whose family still resides in Sparta, is currently a New York City resident. He went to Sparta High School for two years, then completed his high school education in Switzerland. He attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania, graduating with honors in sociology and a minor in economics in 2008. He became familiar with northern Ghana while working as an intern there in the summer 2006. He kept in touch with people he had met in the area and eventually one colleague, seeing a need, brought up the idea of looking into providing early education opportunities for the children of the village of Dalun. It was an idea whose time had come. Meanwhile Garza, 24, had been gaining experience working with non-profit agencies such as Habitat for Humanity and Catholic Relief Services, among others. His work took him around the world — to Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Bosnia, Hungary and Kyrgyzstan. Now Garza is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Titagya Schools, a nonprofit organization intent on building and operating preschools and kindergartens in Dalun. Garza leads the foundation’s operational activities in the United States and on his trip to Dalun this month he will see the first pre-school opened to the children. Dalun is a rural village inhabited by about 2,000 people. Mostly, the residents earn their living from the land and the average income is about one dollar per day. Preschools and kindergartens are a luxury, located miles away from the children of the village. Most residents of Dalun live in one-room, thatched roof, adobe huts. It is not unusual, Garza said, to see family compounds — an assortment of huts surrounded by mud walls. Sanitation is a problem and animals wander freely within the compounds. In an effort to help the youngest children of Dalun, Titagya Schools will bring education opportunities right to the village. Studies have shown that a strong foundation is critical to the student’s further success and providing academic and social skills gives the children a leg up before they enter primary school. Since many girls in the village are often responsible for caring for the younger children, having the little ones in school also helps the older girls, enabling them to attend primary classes. The new school building, painted in vibrant colors, was built by local tradesmen with a strong eye towards safety concerns. It contains two classrooms, accommodating 50 students. There will be a minimal tuition of about $3.50 per month, affordable to most but with scholarships available to the more financially challenged. Partial government support and donations will pay the teacher’s salaries. Hands on the World Global, based in Sparta, is one such sponsor. They also provided set-up and curriculum advice. Titagya has searched for partners who can advise on the best of educational practices to put into use in Dalun. “Part of our model is to take the best models in the United States and from European schools and apply some of the aspects that work best. We are trying to bring that level of high quality for a pretty low cost,” Garza said. Garza reports that the villagers are very excited about the school. They give the Titagya folks a warm welcome and they will become an integral part of the school through a parent-teacher association. Garza and Titagya Schools have high hopes for the future. “Both our hopes and goals are to build schools throughout northern Ghana. We hope to partner with the government and other organizations so that if certain aspects of our program work well then the public schools may be able to incorporate those lessons,” he said. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, Garza has been reporting in from Ghana. He is thrilled to be back in the country. Last Friday he met with Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs who pledged his personal support and that of the government for Titagya’s work. Garza is a young man full of enthusiasm and inspiration, with a dream and a goal in mind. For children of Dalun who will benefit from the Titagya Schools’ dream — reading and writing and ‘rithmatic are on the way. For more information on this non-profit group visit http://www.titagyaschools.org