The Arts in Ghana with Sustainable Community Development

IMPACT. 1: Traveling to Ho, participants enjoy a high-quality, applied educational experience. Mornings, they engage in community development outreach with veterinarians and educators to give herd treatments, plant fruit groves, teach in schools, and work with hospitalized children. Afternoons, they focus on the arts, drumming, dancing, and Ewe language lessons. Evenings, development experts lead lecture-discussions on social issues, or storytellers or musicians perform. On recent tours, students have implemented research projects on girls' education, microfinance, herd health, and dance.OSU PARTNERS: Ohio State ATI; Students from additional disciplines: agriculture, dance, biology, public healthCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Evangelical Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency, Ho, Ghana; Noble Foundation, Wooster, OH; Paramount Togbe of Ho; Village Togbes: Kpenoe, Wegbe, Akrofu, Akoefe, Hodzo, Takla; Central American Medical; Outreach, Orrville, OH; Rising Star Academy, Ho, Ghana; VoiceGhana, the voice for the; disabled, Ghana; Evangelical Presbyterian University; College, Ho, Ghana; Volta Regional Hospital, Ho, Ghana; Mawuko Girls' High School, Ho, Ghana; Romich Foundation, Wooster, Ohio; The First United Methodist Men's Group, Willard, Ohio; Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wooster, Ohio; Ohio State ATI RCOSA Fund; Individual donorsPRIMARY CONTACT: D.R.Elder (elder.48@osu.edu)In West Africa, approximately 70% of people live in rural areas, stuck in a "poverty trap" with low agricultural productivity. With no collateral and high interest rates, farmers seem doomed to plant in depleted soils without improved inputs like fertilizers and pesticides. With the educational mandate "to prepare individuals to be technically competent, selfreliant, and productive citizens in a global society" in mind, two Ohio State ATI faculty members have led 10 tours to Ghana, with the most recent in April 2013