One of the most popular breakout sessions at BarCamp Diaspora was the healthcare session. Participants at the July 25th event in DC discussed the problems facing Ghana's healthcare delivery and systems, how they differed from what they had seen in the US and how Ghana's could be improved. A lot of the attendees were medical school students or professionals in the health-care industry. After the BarCamp, a number of the attendees came together to start discussing acting upon the action items from the healthcare breakout session. Their discussions, Skype meetings and emails gave birth to REACH-Ghana: Representatives for Equal Access to Community Health-care (Ghana).

Their website was launched not too long ago. It is impressive how far this organization has come in the last 4 months following BarCamp Diaspora at JHU-SAIS in Washington, DC. REACH logo uses the Adinkra symbol "Boa Me Na Menboa Wo" (Help me to help you), which represents cooperation, interdependence and community. You can see the tenets of REACH's vision in this symbol and the name itself. The symbol embodies the organization's belief that local community involvement is integral to the achievement of equal access to quality health-care. The organization believes that local community involvement is integral to its mission.

REACH-Ghana has a couple of projects lined up. An AIDS themed project called the REACH HIV Intervention program and the Health Education Enhancement Initiative (HEEI). The HIV project is scheduled to take place in summer 2010. The HEEI involves soliciting books and other materials to stock health facilities in Ghana. Read more about REACH's goals and projects on their website.

The REACH-Ghana team is made up of various Ghanaian students and professionals in the health sector. The team includes Maame Sampah, Aida Manu, Kofi Buaku-Atsina, Seyram Avle, Edo Bedzra, Aya Ghunney, Emmanuel Lamptey, Jonathan Hutchful and Bennie Osafo-Darko as coordinator of the HIV project.

Become a Facebook Fan today. Follow REACH-Ghana on Twitter @REACHGhana. You can also become a member of REACH-Ghana and get opportunities to volunteer on REACH-Ghana projects, attend conferences, expand your network and get free access to REACH newsletters and publications. Also donate to help REACH-Ghana, an NGO, which is on track to gain 501c status.

You can also attend BarCamp Ghana 09 later this year on the 21st of December in Accra to hear more about REACH-Ghana. Here's to the birth of more forward-thinking organizations out of more BarCamps and roundtable discussions amongst young Ghanaians and Africans in the future. Yes, we can.

Tsooboi!

Info from the MIghTy African's blog