Peace Corps News

Frank Delano returns to Ghana

Frank Delano returns to Ghana
I was 22 when I arrived at St. Paul's Secondary School. Bobbo was a year older. He was in his last year at the boarding school for boys. In one respect, he was different from a lot of his classmates. Many of them had dreams of going on to American or European universities and becoming doctors, scientists or engineers. Bobbo's plan for his life was simpler. He wanted to be a kente (KEN-te) weaver as his family had been for generations. Kente is the beautiful, traditional cloth of Ghana. It is woven by hand in long, narrow strips on small looms built of sticks set in the ground. The weavers then cut the strips and sew them together. The cloth is Ghana's time-honored formalwear for ceremonial occasions. Women wear two pieces, a wrap-around skirt and a top. Men wear a large cloth draped over one shoulder like a regal Roman toga.

By any measure, Bobbo's career has turned out successfully. He has traveled often to America, Canada and Europe to demonstrate his craft and sell his colorful cloth. He has even been the subject of a book written by an American friend. Because of his travels, he knows the United States better than most Ghanaians. "Everybody in Ghana thinks America is a great place. They can't imagine all the hassles about living in America. You tell people in Ghana that there are homeless people in America and they think you are telling lies," he said. We figured we had last met in 1980. He was between weaving gigs in the United States and stayed a few weeks at my house in the Northern Neck. He set up a loom under a maple tree in the backyard and wove kente every day." Read more.

Read more about Peace Corps Ghana.

Read more about RPCVs who return to their Country of Service.

Direct Relief International and BD Launch Volunteer Service Program to Improve Healthcare in Ghana

Direct Relief International  and BD Launch Volunteer Service Program to Improve Healthcare in Ghana
Direct Relief International, a humanitarian medical aid nonprofit organization, and BD, a leading global medical technology company, today announced a joint volunteer initiative to strengthen healthcare in two areas of Ghana. Working side-by-side for three weeks with clinic staff from Direct Relief partners at the Maranatha Maternity Clinic and Motoka Clinic, 12 BD employee volunteers from around the globe will help build local healthcare capacity in the region. Thomas Tighe, the head of Direct Relief International, was formerly the Chief of Staff of the Peace Corps and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand.

"This unique collaboration will strengthen health services for people in Ghana, where access to diagnostic and treatment services is scarce," said Direct Relief President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Tighe. "BD has been a leader in sharing its healthcare products for humanitarian purposes, and we are honored that the company is sharing its most valuable resource its employees' tremendous talent toward the same end. These upgraded facilities will become major health resources for the entire region."

The Maranatha Maternity Clinic serves approximately 250 patients per month, of whom approximately 40 percent are unable to pay for their medical treatment. The rural Motoka Clinic, established in 1996, is the only source of healthcare for nearly 100,000 people in its district. Services offered at the clinic are complemented by regular mobile clinics conducted in villages that are only accessible by boat.

BD and Direct Relief have worked together since 1996, helping people in developing countries and disaster-ravaged areas, supplying and delivering specifically requested medical supplies to communities in greatest need. BD and its associates are contributing money, products, talent and time to help people in Ghana treat disease and improve lives by raising health standards.

Direct Relief has assisted public and private healthcare facilities in Ghana since 1991 by supplying more than $5.5 million (wholesale) of critically needed medicines, medical supplies, nutritional products and medical equipment. Limited access to clinical and laboratory health services is a major constraint to battling disease in developing countries. The majority of the disease burden exists in non-urban locations (districts and rural villages), and access to health services in these locations is often poor to non-existent. Malaria, tuberculosis, malnutrition and HIV/AIDS are primary health concerns in Ghana. Read more.

Forbes has given Thomas Tighe's Direct Relief International a perfect score of 100% for fundraising efficiency for the fifth straight year in the magazines annual evaluation of America's leading nonprofit organizations
In the category of donor dependency, which "tries to measure how badly a nonprofit needs [a] contribution to break even," Direct Relief was assigned the highest score of any U.S. charity, 154%. The organization also received a score of 99% in the "charitable commitment" category, which measures "how much of the total expense went directly to the charitable purpose."

About Direct Relief International:
Founded in 1948, nonsectarian, and funded entirely by private contributions;
Provides humanitarian medical material assistance to people in developing countries and areas hit by natural disaster or civil strife;
In fiscal year 2006-- $190 million wholesale value in medical material assistance to 56 countries;
$10 million in cash investments to strengthen local health services;
$23.8 million courses of treatment provided;
$30 million in aid to the U.S Gulf States following Katrina;
Over $15.5 million in aid furnished to California nonprofit clinics since 2003.

Thomas Tighe moderates discussion of NGO's with Bill Clinton and Paul Orfalea in Santa Barbara
As part of a $400,000 commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, the Orfalea Family Foundation is providing financial assistance to medical material aid nonprofit Direct Relief International for warehouse capacity building, including software and mechanical equipment, to increase the organization’s global disaster preparedness. The grant was finalized at a public dialogue on global issues with former President William J. Clinton and Kinko’s Founder Paul Orfalea in Santa Barbara. Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief as well as COO of the Peace Corps under President Clinton, moderated the event.

“It was an honor to moderate a discussion with President Clinton and Mr. Orfalea,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief. “You cannot have a more energetic and committed representative for low-income communities than President Clinton and I’m thrilled that UCSB students had the opportunity to hear his optimistic outlook.”

With these funds, Direct Relief will be undertaking a significant and ground-breaking improvement to its enterprise software, which forms the backbone of its inventory and worldwide shipping logistics. The change will enable the organization to handle greater volumes of material aid quicker and to more partners. The Orfalea grant will also make possible the acquisition of an additional forklift and pallet rider at Direct Relief’s main warehouses, which will double the productivity level of the picking and inventorying processes. Direct Relief maintains 62,000 square feet of space between two warehouses in Santa Barbara, with a standing inventory of approximately $100 million in medical material supplies and pharmaceuticals.  Read more.

Read more about Thailand RPCV Thomas Tighe and Direct Relief International.