From Poughkeepsie to Ghana
Marist College Staff and Students Reach Out
Since 2001, Christina Vertullo, a mathematics professor at Marist College, has had the influence of Ghana in her life. In a video interview with former Marist student Jeffrey Scott, Vertullo stated she was initially introduced to the idea of visiting the country through her Catholic church in Hyde Park. “We had priests that came. They were very endearing, charming men, and obviously came from a country with many needs. It was that that sparked my interest. Prior to that, I didn’t even know where Ghana was. I knew it was in Africa, but where?” One of these priests in particular, Raphael, decided to return to Ghana in 2004 and invited members of the congregation to visit.
“So I organized a mission to Ghana. 14 people went with us; two of us were from Marist College, the other being Dr. Anne Matheus in the Computing Technology department. The others ranged in age from 13 to 83, which was very encouraging to see.”
There’s immense joy in the people there, even though they do not have the same things we have.
When we visited the Catholic church in the Sunyani area, the priest, Raphael, told me that he had three wishes: one was water, another was to reduce the infant mortality rate, and the third wish was to help improve education wherever possible.” It was here where Vertullo decided to jump into action not only with Dr. Matheus and her fellow congregation members, but with the Marist community as a whole.
Their initial goal, with the help of Vertullo, was to raise enough money to actually make an impact within the Sunyani community. They eventually raised $23,000 towards Ghanaian relief efforts, which mainly went towards computers, textbooks, and other school supplies for the local primary and junior high school. Some Marist business students involved in Marist’s Council of Business Leadership, both undergrad and graduate , then decided to take matters into their own hands and create their own charity organization to raise money for Ghana. The Council of Business Leadership contains several business fraternities and honor societies, including Beta Alpha Psi, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Omieron Delta Epsilon, among others. For almost 10 years, their Water for the World program has donated to relief efforts for Ghana, another of the “three wishes” of the Sunyani community. In 2008, they contacted the Catholic Diocese and were able to raise $10,000 to assist in the building of a well, which was built in the small village of Abesim and named The Marist Well. In 2009, Water for the World raised another $10,000 for an additional well named the Hudson Valley Well, this time in the village of Chiraa. Money for an unnamed third well has been raised as well, and it is currently under construction.
A birthing center was also built in Ghana, thanks to Marist students and staff’s donations and support. See the photo gallery below for pictures of the building process provided by Professor Vertullo!
In addition to raising money, Marist students now have the option to visit Ghana as a spring attachment program, which began in the Spring 2014 semester and is now offered periodically. Marist also has an exchange program with Ghanaian high school students where, after graduation, they can come to Marist to earn a minimum of a four year degree in Computer Science, with the potential of a Master’s degree.
For a more in-depth look at how Ghana has affected Marist in recent years, watch Jeffrey Scott’s Ghana documentary here.
