Tinansa - in West African Buli - means both the
roots and branches of a tree. The Tinansa Program seeks to provide the stem
that connects all parts of the tree through service, reflection, and
academic inquiry.
Tinansa offers a consciously balanced academic
and experiential learning program that explores the connections between West
African history and heritage and African-American social thought and experience. Tinansa encourages students to better understand and become critically conscious of the so-called 'first'/'third/ world divide. Tinansa involves three phases: classroom instruction, field experience, and community action in the Denver area.
In 2004, the service project itself allowed ten Regis students to work side-by-side with
African school children to renovate and expand a children's library in one of the
most renowned former slave trading posts in Africa. The children's library of
the Cape Coast Castle was chosen for a variety of reasons. There is a great need for resources for the children in the area and there is a concentrated focus on literacy for these local children. In addition, the very location of the library, in one of the most renowned former slave forts, served as an important location to pursue some of the spiritual and healing work that is key to the Tinansa experience.
In 2006, the service project took place at Wesley Girls' School. Located also in Cape Coast, Ghana, this library serves 588 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Tinansa partnered with Read More Books to renovate a building and establish a library for students and teachers, equipping the library with over 2,500 books brought from the US and purchased locally. The library was additionally equipped with three computers and educational software. Tinansa, in partnership with Read More Books, further helped create locally funded positions for a librarian and night security person. Last but not least, a dictionary program was established which gave each of the 588 students their own personal dictionary.
In 2008, Tinansa happened again. Again in partnership with Read More Books, Tinansa created an educational resource center at Sandema Secondary Technical School in one of the most impoverished regions of Ghana. The school is a co-ed boarding school serving over 600 students from the surrounding farming community. Complete with computer work stations and a school library, the educational resource center now contains 35 computer work stations and over 3000 relevant texts that were purchased locally and shipped from the US.
To learn more about the 2004, 2006, or 2008 programs, please click on the appropriate link below.
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