UBC Okanagan nursing students (from left) Kelley Morrissey, Carolan Henry and Leah Duncan are working with fellow nursing student Donna Thomas and Assoc. Professor of Nursing Fay Karp to organize a banquet fundraiser on Nov. 24. The team is collecting items for a silent auction that evening. Proceeds go toward medications, health care supplies, education materials and other supplies they’ll take to Ghana, Africa, in February 2008.
Next February, a group of 24 fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students and Assoc. Professor Fay Karp will travel to northern Ghana, taking with them medications, paediatric equipment, laptop computers, books, and school supplies.
"This ongoing learning partnership between UBC Okanagan nursing students, faculty and Ghanaian nurses provides opportunities for the development of nurse leaders, education in all aspects of community health, and collaboration between international communities," said Karp. "Ghanaian communities benefit through empowerment by making connections and sharing resources and knowledge that bring communities together – making health a global issue."
The funding provided by UBC Okanagan nursing students will support the work of nurses in rural Northern Ghana. These rural nurses work with communities to develop economic and educational opportunities for communities so that the people of Northern Ghana can then have paid work, feed their children and develop health care facilities in their own villages.
To raise funds, the transcultural nursing students and faculty are holding a benefit banquet on Saturday, Nov. 24, at St. Pius X Hall, 1077 Fuller Ave. in Kelowna.
The evening includes an Italian dinner, live Latin jazz entertainment by Trevor Salloum and Major Mambo, a silent auction, door prizes, and a presentation by the Ghana Sisters -- nurses who visited Ghana last spring.
Tickets are available in advance for $30. Contact Carolan Henry at 250-869-2601 or Kelley Morrissey at 250-869-7423. The team is also calling for silent auction items, medical and education supplies for Ghanaian clinics and hospitals, and cash donations that will be applied to specific health-care projects identified by Ghanaian communities.
If you’d like to support the team with a donation, contact them at:
Ghana-africa@hotmail.com.