Born in Tamale, a small town in the northern region of Ghana, Melvis Langyintuo knows from firsthand experience the difference that a quality education can make in the developing world. His parents are from villages in the upper west region of Ghana, an area largely in poverty. Through his parents’ hard work and commitment to education, they themselves were able to achieve a higher education (his father is an agricultural economist and his mother a teacher) and passed on the value of learning to Melvis; he — unlike so many Ghanian children — attended primary school in his country.
“I truly cannot imagine where I would be today without my initial primary school education. Learning to read, write and speak enabled me to learn about the world, broaden my imagination and strive to make, achieve or continually reassess my goals and dreams.”
Eventually, Melvis applied to boarding schools in the US and was fortunate to get into the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. There, he became friends with Rob Delaney, who actually served as his partner in the school he built with PoP years later. From Lawrenceville, Melvis attended Skidmore College and now works for the prestigious Goldman Sachs. He heard about PoP through Rob, and excited by our work in Ghana (along with Guatemala and Laos), the two decided to fundraise for Melvis’ home country to help provide children like him with the same opportunities he was lucky enough to receive.
“As Rob and I graduated college and started working, we discussed how we could get involved in communities within the education sphere. It was hard to pinpoint an organization that has seamless efficiencies. However, instantly after Rob heard Adam Braum speak at a conference, he quickly got in touch with me and after more research on PoP we began our campaign. With our hard work, we are helping kids in a developing nation have the chance to get an education and have the choice to use it to reach their dreams and improve society.”
Through online donations and a successful fundraising event, Melvis and Rob raised over $50,000 — enough to build two schools and countless dreams for Ghanian students. This year, he traveled back to his country on a PoP field trip to see the impact of his campaign, a firsthand look at something he knows to be true:
“With easily accessible education to children at a young age, the initial knowledge gained can open many doors. Things happen due to fate, chance and choice. And from what I have witnessed, one of the main connecting aspects is education! Fate and chance determine our nationalities, socio-economic surroundings and health & physical conditions, however, following that, we can make individual and collective choices to improve our livelihoods. This is done through knowledge, gained from education.”
Melvis is one of our most inspiring campaigners and a true testament to our mission statement: that all children deserve access to a quality education.
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Our PoP family is always growing. We’d love for you to join us.
Visit Melvis and Rob’s campaign page here.
