September 2, 2009

Concert proceeds help to open Catholic schools in Ghana

  This month a Catholic school will open in Ghana, West Africa, due in part to help from Catholics in the Denver Archdiocese.

On July 11 local jazz icon Hazel Miller entertained more than 800 guests with her powerful voice and fun-loving personality at a benefit concert to raise money for the Leadership Academy in Akokoamong, Ghana. The concert also featured blues artist Corey Harris and African drum group Koffi Toudji & Friends.

According to Loretto Sister Lydia Peña, who coordinated the event at the Teikyo Loretto Heights Theatre, sponsorships and ticket sales raised $180,000.

“We are thankful to the Denver community,” said Sister Peña. “Especially during these difficult economic times.”

Akokoamong’s Leadership Academy is a joint effort between Denver’s Sisters of Loretto and Ghana’s Daughters of the Most Blessed Trinity.

Daughters of the Most Blessed Trinity Sister Frances Emily Owusu Ansah and Sister Veronica Adomako-Manu traveled to Denver for the show. They shared items needed for the school by distributing “wish lists” to concert-goers. Items on the list varied from a 50-cent book to a $25,000 school bus.

The sisters will continue to support children in Akokoamong by raising funds to sponsor academy students. Annual tuition is $300 per student.

Robert Weber, parishioner at All Souls, attended the concert and was so moved he committed to a recurring semi-annual donation.

“I was so impressed with the Ghana project and the concert,” Weber said. “I signed up to donate twice a year, in January and July.”

The school is set to be opened this month. The dedication will be Nov. 21. Local Loretto sisters will travel to Ghana to join the Daughters of the Blessed Trinity for the dedication.

To make a donation to the Leadership Academy send a check payable to “Sisters of Loretto,” Ghana Project, Loretto  Offices, 4000 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Littleton, Colo. 80123. Visit www.lorettocommunity.org.