Sarah Frank's Page

What college/university do you attend?

Oberlin College

What is your major/minor?

Theater (major) / Sociology (minor)

What is the program with which you are going abroad:

self-organized volunteer project for Winter Term

Where will you be studying/volunteering/working abroad? Please state the country(ies) and city(ies).

Eguafo (near Cape Coast), Ghana

What are the approximate dates of your education abroad experience?

December 27-January 25

Please provide a brief description of what you will be studying or doing while abroad.

I will be leading a group of Oberlin students as volunteers with the organization Sankofa Mbofra Fie (www.sankofachildrenshome.org), where I worked this past summer. Sankofa has a school that serves about 200 needy children from neighboring villages and a growing orphanage. I am in close contact with the director (a Ghanaian) about what he wants to grow the organization. I am also planning to facilitate some cultural exchange activities between our group and any interested community members in Eguafo (a small village). We will be living in the village while we are there.

Why do you want to become a Green Passport holder?

I found many things problematic about the way people from the United States travel to and attempt to engage in community service in Ghana. It is incredibly important to me that my work there be sustainable, locally-based, and managed by local people and their needs, wants, and desires. I hope to give back to Ghana, a country I learned a great deal from during my semester abroad there, and to continue to learn and grow as I travel.

If you consider yourself to be an environmentally and socially responsible person while at home, please explain how so (may include activities or organizations with which you are affiliated):

I try to limit my personal impact on the environment (reduce, reuse, recycle). In terms of social responsibility, I organize the community outreach programming from Oberlin's health education office (where I am employed), working with organizations and schools in our county to design educational pieces that meet the needs of their communities. It is important to me not to impose my own belief system on the people I work with, whether they are here in Ohio, or far away in Ghana.