People Involved
Samuel Nkrumah Yeboah, Doctor of Humane Letters
Samuel, also known as "Powerful", is the President and Co-Director of Project OKURASE. He is an international artist located in Totnes, Devon in Southwestern England and in Accra, Ghana. Samuel is the founder of Nkabom Artist and Craftspeople Association and owner of an instrument-making business called Powerful Drums. He is registered with Devon Arts in Schools Initiative (DAISI), Musicians Union of Ghana, Devon ArtsCulture, and is on the preferred artist list of the South Carolina Arts Commission. Samuel states, "I am a Ghanaian artist, craftsman and educator of African arts and culture, born in a community where drumming, dance, songs, art, and craftsmanship are part of everyday life. My inspiration is my mother, who sings all the time when doing housework on the farm. I found my passion first in the art of drum making, which led naturally into music making, dance and singing. I made my first drum using recycled oil cans with plastic bags stretched across the head. After my elementary and secondary school educations, I was initiated into drum making with one of the best drum makers and drummers in Ghana. I learned much about traditional ways of making many African musical instruments, their history, uses, rhythms and songs. After my apprenticeship, I developed my own unique way of making musical instruments, but still kept traditional techniques and values alive. I started making drums for local groups and drummers who would visit the workshop to play drums while everyone worked. Any time someone played on a drum I made they would say, 'THIS DRUM IS POWERFUL'. I love everything I have done in my life as I believe my experiences have prepared me for what comes next."
Cynthia Cupit Swenson, PhD
Cynthia is co-director of Project OKURASE. She is the associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and associate director of the Family Services Research Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is a clinical psychologist whose work has focused on interventions to solve youth, family, and community violence. She became involved with the Union Heights community through the Neighborhood Project, a grant to develop, with neighborhood leaders, interventions to reduce youth crime and substance abuse. Cynthia grew up in a small town in Louisiana in the Southern United States and completed her doctoral training at the Florida State University and internship and post-doctoral fellowships in child clinical and pediatric psychology at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is Co-Director of Djole Dance and Drum Company. Cynthia says, "I have been very fortunate in my life to have always known that my path in life is to help children and I have learned that the best way to do that is to support the most important people in their lives, their family and community. In my work with Djole Dance and Drum Company I have seen how learning through travel and interacting with people of differing cultures can change children's lives. Importantly, global caring that comes about when children who come from economic disadvantage reach out to children who are more vulnerable and less fortunate is within itself monumental in changing lives on both sides."
Nana Ama Yeboah
Nana is the Project Coordinator for Project OKURASE. She was born at Darkuman in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. She completed her senior high school-senior secondary education at Kumasi Girl's Secondary School and later earned a certificate in broadcast journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a diploma in journalism from the Institute of Business Management and Journalism in Kumasi. Nana has worked as a journalist and in radio. She served as a journalist, newscaster, producer and host of a public service health program and has hosted several programs on health and women. Nana draws her greatest inspiration from her mother. She has been touched and inspired by the story of her mother's life, which is that of a little girl whose mother died shortly after giving birth to Nana's mother. As her mother always says, she could not even identify her mother's ghost. She was a little girl with no mother to care for her and a father who did not educate her. She ended up being a maidservant of almost all her stepmothers and stepsiblings. She survived the unfairness of the world and grew into a teenager who had no choice but to marry out of frustration so that she could count on someone for her daily bread. Eventually she became a mother of 5 children and is a mother who vowed to make sure she works her entire life to assure that her own children do not go through the pain and trauma she experienced. What could be more inspiring than this? Nana states, "My favorite people in the world are kids and the elderly. I have always had a very strong wish and urge to do what I can to help these groups of people. It is very difficult to experience first hand the terrible conditions under which the elderly live, especially in Africa, and to see children on the streets watching their lives virtually wasting away as if it was their fault. Sometimes I try to figure out where the world is coming from and where it is heading. With these kids on the streets, the world better brace itself for the problems ahead, because the problem of 'streetism' increases and gets worse by the day. The related problems cannot be overemphasized- HIV/AIDS, armed robbery, prostitution, gangs, substance abuse, violence, terrorism etc. So why sit and watch when I can do something to help save the world? That is why I made the right choice of being part of Project OKURASE- A United Link for Better Lives. Together we can make it happen."
Rhion Magee
Rhion is Creative Director for Project OKURASE. Raised in Roanoke, Virginia, Rhion Magee pursued a career in graphic design. She moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to continue graphic design with a focus on Entertainment Graphics. After extensive agency work, designing for clients such as Disney, 20th Century Fox and Pioneer Electronics, Rhion established her design company, OBJECTS OF DESIGN, Inc. in 1993. Her clients included Pioneer Electronics and the newly formed DreamWorks Animation. In 2000 DreamWorks asked Rhion to join the creative team as Creative Director of Consumer Products. She has designed and launched products for movies such as Shrek, and Madagascar.
In March of 2008, Rhion was asked to go to Ghana to be a part of the groundbreaking ceremony for Project OKURASE. It was there that her lifelong desire to make a difference was finally realized. By utilizing her experience and background, she established aunitedlink.com. This website is the platform for product distribution designed by Rhion and created in Ghana, product that not only sustain the Nkabom Centre, but create vocational training in the village. The first product launched was the African Market Bag made from recycled flour sacks and rice sacks. Rhion's Sewing Center was opened in September 2009 to train young women to sew the bags sold in the United States. On behalf of Project OKURASE, Rhion has also developed packaging and distribution for Shea Butter and Black Soap from Ghana and will be designing other bags and apparel on an ongoing basis. Rhion continues to fulfill her goals as a designer for Project OKURASE in addition to her Creative Director role at DreamWorks.
Ida Singletary Taylor, Doctor of Humane Letters
Ida, also known as "Shorty Rock" grew up in the Union Heights community and has been a leader there for more than 20 years. She is the president of Gethsemani Circle of Friends and director of Gethsemani Community Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, a program of the North Charleston Recreation Department. Ida is involved in multiple community service projects throughout North Charleston and global work in Ghana. She is also Co-Director of Djole Dance and Drum Company. With regard to Project OKURASE, she states, "It is the right thing to do; We have been so blessed here and you just want to give back. It is just the right thing to do."
Oliver W. Addison, Doctor of Humane Letters
Oliver is a board member of Gethsemani Circle of Friends and was highly instrumental in the success of the Neighborhood Project, volunteering countless hours on behalf of children. He has been a leader in the Union Heights community for more than 40 years and served on the neighborhood council for more than 20 years. An advocate for children, he served on the Charleston County School Board for eight years and was the board's chair from 1995 to 1996 and 2000 to 2002. He has also been highly involved with Djole and the HIV/AIDS work in Ghana. "Everything we do is for the children", says Oliver.
Iris Poole
Iris grew up in the Union Heights community. She came back to her community's Center for a job with the after school program in 1998 and never left. Djole needed someone to help with costumes and this allowed her to make use of her skills. By day, she is a food service manager for Charleston County School District. She is involved with Djole and the Community Center to give back. She has been a key part of Djole's work in Ghana and with Project OKURASE since its inception. Iris states, "I want to help the children in Africa and I love working with the children here - it is all for the children. I love the opportunity to expand the children's horizons and give them opportunities that I did not have."
Fred Taylor
Fred, also known as "Taylor" grew up in Charleston and has worked with children since 1989. He has been a Boy Scout and Cub Scout leader and has been employed with Charleston County Schools for more than 18 years. Taylor came to Gethsemani Center as a part-time summer worker 10 years ago and has never left. He currently works in the after-school program in addition to his job teaching middle school. "I became involved with Djole when my son decided to become a drummer with the group", says Taylor. "Since the members were children who came to the Center and who I interacted with on a daily basis, it seemed like a natural progression to work with them. My son is a drummer with Djole and I try to be involved not only with activities he may be involved with but also with worthwhile projects, such as Project OKURASE. To try and build an educational Centre in another country helps not only the children in Djole but also the adults to realize there are people in the world who are in desperate need of our help. Living in the U.S. has shielded us from the conditions of people in other countries. Being a part of this project has opened our eyes to what we can do no matter how big or small the effort."
Elizabeth Addison
Mrs. Addison grew up in Union Heights and her heart is working with the people and the children of the community. She is recently retired after 28 years as program director of North Charleston Recreation Department. She became involved with Gethsemani Center through this position. She is married with four children and three grandchildren who are part of Djole. "I would like to see the children in Africa be off the street and have a place to go", says Mrs. Addison, "and I want to help with the AIDS epidemic. The trip we made to Ghana is one of the highlights of my life."
Eve Garlington Spratt, MD, MSCR
Eve is a child psychiatrist and pediatrician at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and medical coordinator for Project OKURASE. She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, got her undergraduate degree in music from Florida State University and completed medical school at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. Her triple board training in pediatrics, adult and child psychiatry was done at the Tampa General Hospital, University of South Florida College of Medicine, as Chief Child Psychiatry Resident at the Children's Hospital at Harvard Medical School and at MUSC. During her medical school training she was an international fellow with Medical Assistance Programs International at Tumu Tumu Hospital in Kenya and she fell in love with the people of Africa. Eve has worked with the MUSC pediatric HIV/AIDS team and children with special health care and mental health needs for many years. She became involved with Project OKURASE when she and her family traveled to Ghana with Djole. She and her husband helped to chaperone and watch after the children's medical needs. She has been inspired by the good work of Nkabom and the goals of Project OKURASE. Eve states, "All children deserve to grow up in a community where they feel safe, secure and nurtured. They need to have opportunities where they can learn and grow and be productive. God wants us to be his hands and use our energy and resources to help provide for those that cannot provide for themselves. We all have a responsibility to make the world a safe, healthy, and happy place for children. As we work together with others, our vision and mission will become a reality and we can make a big difference in the lives of children and families that need our help".
Jennifer Shambrook, MHA
Jennifer is Associate Chair for Research Administration and Co-Director of the MUSC Public Psychiatry Division. She grew up in Alabama and has worked in the field of research administration and management since 1986. She completed a bachelor of arts in british literature and master of science in health administration. She is nearing completion of a PhD in Community Health Promotion and Education from the School of Public Health at Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has conducted teaching in research management in Russia, Nigeria, and other countries in Africa. She is an active member of the local Native American Indian community. She became involved with Project OKURASE because of her interest in Africa, especially in projects related to children. She states, "Part of the blessing of living in America is to be able to share with developing nations. I think that is why we are blessed."
Marc Mann, PhD
Trained as a clinical psychologist, Marc has developed a keen entrepreneurial spirit. Over a period of 25 years, practicing with his wife and business partner, Judith, he co-founded an outpatient practice and partial hospitalization program that became a nationally accredited clinic employing 24 clinicians. The clinic was sold in 1996. Marc received his doctoral degree from United States International University where he studied with Dr. Carl Rogers and Victor Frankel, two men that made significant contributions to understanding human behavior and promoting human kindness. Marc has stated that, "the field has been good to me; I worked hard in the for-profit sector and now I want to give back."
Judith Mann, MS
Judith trained in psychological counseling and has been a licensed psychologist for more than twenty years. She received her masters of Science Degree from San Diego State University. Concurrent to her academic studies at San Diego State she did an internship at the Center for the Study of the Person with Dr. Carl Rodgers, a leading psychologist of the twentieth century. Dr. Rodgers is credited with advancing the humane treatment of the severely and chronically mentally ill based on "unconditional positive regard". Carl Rodgers had a profound impact on Judith as a psychologist and as a person. Judith states that, "The profession of psychology has presented me with the opportunity to devote my life's work to caring and helping people that are in emotional pain." Practicing with her husband and business partner, Marc, she co-founded a nationally accredited outpatient and partial hospitalization program, which they grew together until it was sold in 1996.
In 1998, Judith and Marc began working with the Family Services Research Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Recognizing the potential to broaden the focus of psychologists from the individual, to the community, and finally to global caring, they were drawn to the Neighborhood Project from the very beginning. In 2006 they had the opportunity to co-lead a film crew documenting the historic journey of the people of Union Heights, South Carolina to their homeland, Ghana. It was from this visit that Project OKURASE was born.
