American Volunteers


	American Volunteers
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David Schneider ("Schneider")
	David (Akwasi Ibrahim) Schneider was a Peace Corps volunteer at WESS from 1972 to 1975. He returned to WESS on two subsequent occasions, from 1979 to 1982 and from 1990 to 1994, as a Ghana Education Service (GES) teacher. In those first years he taught general science physics, mathematics and French. Later on he taught A-level and O-level physics and, under the new educational system, elective physics. David had the first computers in the school: a TRS-80 from Radio Shack (1979) and a Commodore 64 (1990). He probably brought the first calculator as well: a rechargeable four-function calculator from Sharp (1972). David married a Wenchi girl he met during his first stay in Ghana. They have a daughter and a son. David is hoping to return to the school sometime in the future. Meanwhile he has written two physics booklets that might be of use to secondary school students. They are available on request for a nominal fee. You can write to David at WhysmanIC@cs.com for details.

Joel Parthemore
		Joel (Yaw) Parthemore was a Peace Corps volunteer at WESS from 1998, when he moved to the school from Afadjato Secondary Technical School in the Volta Region, until 2001. For the first year he taught core and elective mathematics. What began as a secondary project out of the living room of his house grew into a computer lab, which became his primary assignment for the next two years. During that time the lab grew from standalone 286s running MSDOS 5.0 to a modern network running Redhat Linux and X Windows. Joel is particularly proud of having hired the best of his former students as lab assistants, and of providing a space where students could come when their masters were not present, learning computers instead of goofing off in their classrooms. He taught computer literacy to over 300 students per term, organized email exchanges with US schools, and directed administration of the network for over 500 users. Having returned to the States in September 2001, Joel is currently looking for work in international development. You can write to him at joelp@butter.toast.net.

Vy Dinh ("Mary")
			Vy Dinh, or Mary as she usually goes by at WESS, came to the school in January 2001. She came not as a Peace Corps volunteer but on her own initiative, following a lead from a Ghanaian friend at the company where she worked in the States. Interested in a career change into education, Mary thought that she would take a year's practical training before pursuing certification. Her stay in Ghana is supported by a fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Mary is teaching elective physics. When she is not busy organizing the physics lab or setting up "practicals" (lab demonstrations), she organizes fufu-pounding parties and is otherwise active in the social life of the school.

David VanNewkirk ("Dave")
			David VanNewkirk (yes, there is no space between the "Van" and the "Newkirk") is the latest Peace Corps volunteer at WESS, arriving at the end of August 2001. Originally from Texas, he attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. His first year of volunteer service was spent at Mozano Secondary School in the Central Region. Dave is a bike geek, a racing cyclist who looks forward to racing again on his return to the States. "I can't really think of much else that's worth putting in print," he says. You can write to Dave at davidvannewkirk@yahoo.com. "I'd love to get stuff."


Know of other volunteers who should be on this page? Let us know. We'll be happy to internationalize this page to include any non-USA volunteers.