Our Mission
Ishmael Adjetey Osekre was born in Accra, Ghana. He attended high school at Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School in Legon. While working as an office administrator and camp coordinator for an American educational institution in Accra, Osekre was introduced to a wide range of visitors from the United States including high school and college students but also well known professors, philanthropists, community servants and artists, many of whom challenged him to pursue a college degree in America.
Osekre is now about to begin his final semester as a sociology major at Columbia University. Given the fact that Columbia offers minimal financial support for international students and Osekre arrived in New York with a virtually empty wallet, it is miraculous that he has made it this far. His success is a testament to his own perseverance and the dedication and support of the friends he has met along the way. Last semester was the first time this website was put to use, and in a little over a month, we were able raise the funds to fill the gap for his fall enrollment. This was done with donations big and small, many from people several degrees of separation removed from Osekre who had heard about the website through a friend of a friend. This time the gap is bigger and the situation in the world is bleaker. Osekre has exhausted his financial assistance from the university, so the total amount needed for tuition and housing is in excess of $28,000. We have received a ten-day extension from the financial aid office, and final payment is now due in full on February 9, 2009. We hope that after visiting the rest of this site, you will help us in our final (!) push to KEEP OSEKRE IN SCHOOL. We feel that doing so is an investment in the future of one person who will go on to touch the lives of many.
This chart indicates the amount still needed for Osekre to enroll in the spring semester at Columbia. Thank you for helping us meet this goal!
| MONEY CONTRIBUTED | MONEY NEEDED | DATE UPDATED |
|---|---|---|
| $25,790 | $2,450 | February 6, 2009 |