Pembroke resident heads to Ghana

Byline: STEPHEN UHLER
Publication: Pembroke Daily Observer
Date: Monday December 21st, 2009

Pembroke native and Fellowes High School graduate Cassandra Demers will be spending this winter away from the ice and snow, but she isn’t hitting the beach.

Instead, the third year Carleton University student will be heading to the west coast of Africa to help out with an effort to educate the youth in Ghana.
For the next four months after the Christmas holidays, Ms. Demers is volunteering with the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC).  Formed in 1999, it is a network of civil society organizations, professional groupings, educational/research institutions and other practitioners interested in promoting quality basic education for all.

With a current membership of about 200 organizations, its philosophy sees education is a fundamental human right and key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Through their work the group hopes to encourage the Ghanian government to do more for the education of their people.

What Ms. Demers will be doing is traveling to different school rooms and facilities within the country in order to help determine how effective their work is in improving access and quality of education for the country’s children.

“I’ll be going around collecting information and input to see how effective this is and how it is working,” she said, focusing on some of their new programs.

By the end of her tour, she is to write up a draft evaluation report and present it to the organization.

Based out of Accra, the nation’s capital, she is one of two volunteers working with the GNECC and will be staying with a host family during her time there.

The work is ideal for Ms. Demers, who is currently working on her Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management.

Her specialty is development studies, and she has had a great interest in it and global issues.

I heard about the GNECC during my co-op program in Carleton University, when I did an internship with the World University Service of Canada,” she recalled. Part of that effort included working with Students Without Borders, with whom she was arranging placements in Ghana.

Feeling it was a worthy cause, she volunteered to help out, both for gaining a lot of hands-on experience in the field of development work, and as research for her thesis paper, which she needs to deliver in her fourth year of studies.

Needless to say, Ms. Demers is very excited about her upcoming assignment.

“I know it sounds corny, but I’m really passionate to help people, and I love learning about other cultures,” she said.

What really ignited this spark is a 10-day service learning project in Mexico she and the class took part in while in first year university. While doing this, she volunteered to work two days for Habitat for Humanity, helping to finish building and painting a primary school.

“That was the most amazing experience of my life,” Ms. Demers said, and it confirmed for her she is on the right career path to do overseas development work.

She said everyone in town, her family and friends have been so supportive of her decision. A fundraising dance was held Saturday evening at the Shady Nook Recreation Hall to help her with her expenses.

Her flight leaves Jan. 7, and Ms. Demers expects to be on her way back April 30, returning to Canadian soil May 1.

“I’m planning on taking a lot of pictures,” she said, and is looking forward to sharing them.

Ms. Demers is also anticipating getting as much out of these next four months as she is planning to put into them through her work, just through learning about the culture of the people of Ghana.

“As much as I’m doing there, I think I’ll be bringing as much back with me.”