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GHANA >> Books, soccer balls and more going to Prince's Town Group is gathering supplies for our sister city in Africa
Local group packages donated goods this weekend bound for Prince's Town, GhanaDate published: 10/15/2007 Piles of white garbage bags and boxes of backpacks, shoes and soccer balls were crammed into Paula Royster's office. These donations will help improve the lives of people thousands of miles away. For a month, Fredericksburg-area residents have gathered these items to send to Prince's Town, Ghana. The city of Fredericksburg and Prince's Town set up a sister-city relationship last year. Fredericksburg was the first city in Virginia to partner with an African town that participated in the slave trade. Representatives from Prince's Town visited Fredericksburg last December. Later this month, members of the Fredericksburg association will take their first trip to the rural community on Africa's western coast. Royster hopes the donations will reach the town by then, too. Dozens of the donated backpacks were filled with packs of paper, pencils, crayons and coloring books. They'll go to students, many of whom have never seen a coloring book. "You never know if there's an artist or two hanging out in that bunch," said Royster, who's president and CEO of the Fredericksburg-Prince's Town Sister City Association. The shoes will help protect villagers from disease. The soccer balls are just for fun. Ghanaians are passionate about the sport, but few can afford the gear. "This is like a gold mine to them," Royster said, gesturing to a box filled with balls. A handful of volunteers turned out Saturday afternoon to pack the donations into shipping boxes. Association members will spend four days in Prince's Town during their 10-day trip. Royster, who is also president of the Center for African American Genealogical Research Inc., will lead workshops on computers, genealogy and historic preservation. She plans to collect DNA samples from the town's chief, the oldest woman in the village and the president of the sister-city association there. Mike Wordlaw, an engineer, will show town officials how to use water and solar energy to power generators. The town is subject to rolling blackouts. The Ghanaians will show the visitors how to make drums, do wood carvings and weave kente cloth. As volunteers packed goods, they shared some of their goals for the sister-city relationship. Amy Ansong is a Stafford County planner. She'd like to work with University of Virginia planning students to help Prince's Town create a comprehensive plan. Danville Fourie, a librarian at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, packed books for the town's library. The donation drive netted hundreds of books. But more will be needed, Fourie said. It takes a while for children to get the lending concept. The library may very well be empty within a few months. Several who donated said helping the people of Prince's Town connects them to their heritage. Darius Coulibaly, who's an African native, said he has seen the disconnect that African-Americans have to Africa. Efforts such as the sister-city relationship can change that. "We can reconnect lives and rebuild what was lost in history." Kim Baer: 540/368-5028
Date published: 10/15/2007
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