Old Mawulians and friends of Mawuli School gathered at Bolingbrook, Illinois, in a dinner fundraising dance to support the former "blooming" but now ailing school in dire need of structural repairs and other logistics.

Present at the function were the members of the Executive Council and Board of the Old Mawuli Students Union ? North America (OMSU-NA): Dr. Evans Afenya (President), Dr. Selete Avoke (Vice-President), Mr. Divine Amoah (Secretary), Dr. Rowland Atiase (Financial Secretary), Ms. Doreen Williams (Treasurer), Ms. Emma Acquah (Assistant Secretary), Mr. Phil Dowetin (Organizing Secretary), Dr. Addison Agbemadzo, and Dr. Kobla Glakpe and Mawulians from all over North American.

Also present in supporting roles was the owner of the African Spectrum, Mr. Berko Akoto and his wife, the President of Ghana-USA Chamber of Commerce,Mr.Godwin-Osei Kuffour, representatives of Mmarantie Kuo, Opoku Ware Old Students Association, Ewe Association of Chicago, the President of the Ghana National Council Mr. Reuben Hadzide and his assistant, Dr. Mark Kutame and many other dignitaries.

What started as an over a dinner conversation in 1987 to form Old Students Union of Mawuli Secondary School in North America, has blossomed into a strong Philanthropic and Social Organization that has made a lot of impact in the development of one of the oldest and former ?Ivy league? high schools in Ghana.

The past 5 years has seen members of Old Students Union-North America (OMSU-NA) in frantic and sustained fundraising activities in support of their alma-mater with items such as computers, books, medical supplies, and renovation of facilities that house these items. Their goal is to transform the school back to its former glory and pride of the Volta Region and Ghana.

Highlights of the evening included the rendition of the Mawuli Anthem by the old students and classic Ghanaian highlife and borborbor music that kept revelers on their toes all night. Mawulians in North America who did not attend miss out terribly as the old students were openly seen proudly and joyously singing their Alma-mater anthem and other activities they once used to enjoy on campus.

There was a slide show of the ongoing projects being undertaken by OMSU-NA at Mawuli. The slide shows included re-roofing of leaky classroom blocks, painting of classrooms, rehabilitation of the school clinic, provision of medical supplies, provision of computers, rehabilitation of the chemistry block, and areas to be tackled in the immediate future.

The first and former president of OMSU-NA, Dr. Emmanuel Bansah in his keynote address asked members of the organization to support the fundraising efforts of the organization to help the school recapture its role as one of the best schools in Ghana. He reminded the audience that what the mind can conceive and believe, it can surely achieve!

Silent auction and open fundraising at the dinner yielded over Ten Thousand dollars. Special awards were given to Ms Edem Ama Serwa ,who has been helping OMSU-NA a great deal with undertaking projects on the Mawuli School campus, she has been teaching English at the School since 1988; Larry Kofi Anorkplim, he has been teaching Physics at Mawuli since 1990 and also helped to make sure projects being undertaken by OMSU-NA are successful; and Theo Wallace Komla Afenya, Project Manager of OMSU-NA projects in Ghana and former teacher at Mawuli. All three have been tremendously assisting the organization in Ghana.


In his vote of thanks, the current president, Dr. Afenya, thanked members of the organization and supporters of OMSU-NA for their generous support and participation.

Further details on the Congress events and ongoing development projects can be seen at www.omsu.org. The next Congress and fundraising of OMSU-NA is scheduled for New Jersey on the 2008 Memorial Day Weekend.