Students in West Africa Benefit from UHart Donation Drive

School children in West Africa are enjoying new school supplies this year, thanks to a donation drive by a new University of Hartford graduate who wanted to end her senior year with an act of service. 

Benedicta (Benie) Kwarteng ’23, with help from the Women's Advancement Initiative LEAD program, collected notebooks, backpacks, water bottles, rulers, pencils, books, and more from the UHart community in the spring. A school in Sierra Leone received the eight boxes of donations through Develop Africa.  

“My last semester of senior year, I really wanted to do something meaningful, and I decided there's no better way to finish my college experience than help make education accessible,” says Kwarteng, who recently received photos of students putting their new supplies to use at school. 

“I was born and raised in West Africa, Ghana. I spent a significant part of my life there, and what I personally experienced and saw all around me growing up was not lack of the interest in education but lack of resources.”

She added that while there is a great deal of work to be done in terms of school infrastructure, having adequate tools and supplies is another important part of education.

“Education means a lot to me personally because I have been very lucky to benefit from the generous donations of others. So, it’s only right that I give back and help as many students get their chance,” Kwarteng says.

Kwarteng is currently in Italy for the first year of her master’s degree through the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship she was awarded in her senior year. The program will allow the multi-lingual Kwarteng to pursue her master’s degree, work overseas and stateside with a member of Congress, and become a U.S. diplomat.