Lifestyle
Broadside
March 4, 2013
13
Ms. Virginia Plus America spends break in Ghana Amy Ansong was never into the whole pageantry thing—she was always more focused on community health and safety. But Ansong, a Ph.D. student at Mason, saw the opportunity for community service in the Ms. Virginia Plus America 2013 pageant. When she earned the title she knew she was going back to Ghana. Ansong has been making trips out to Ghana for the past eight years, mainly to visit family and friends. Ghana was a place Ansong was comfortable beginning her journey as Ms. Virginia Plus America—especially since there are a number of issues in Ghana that she wished to address while she was away from her studies at Mason. “They have recently built a road—a grand highway—in Ghana,” Ansong said. “Since they opened the highway, people are dying because of car-related accidents every day. I’m thinking, ‘Why are people getting hit on the highway?’” In Ghana sidewalks are practically nonexistent. Pedestrians walk in the roads, but cars also claim the streets. “There’s a sidewalk for people to walk on instead of the highway, but it’s out of the way for them to go on the sidewalk. So people just do what they’re used to, and they walk across the highway,” Ansong said. Ansong believes that one other reason for so many highway-related deaths in Ghana is the lack of citizen participation in planning for the highway. With her educational background in urban planning, Ansong sees that as a big flaw in the creation of the highway. Ansong is earning her Ph.D. in education, studying under Mason’s College of Education and Human Development. This interest in education fueled Ansong’s other humanitarian work in Ghana to increase road safety awareness in children.
“Children and youth are most affected by road accidents in Ghana. Teaching road safety to children was fun because I got to make it fun and interactive in order for them to ‘get it,’” Ansong said, who received toy donations from Crayola to give to the children Ansong taught about road safety. Ansong was also drawn to Ghana for the music and the way Ghanaians put music to use. “There are music campaigns in Ghana to get people to wear seatbelts,” Ansong said. “They incorporate music into public safety issues —sometimes you need to be creative when it comes to public safety.” As a Ghanaian music reporter, Ansong was able to visit some of the top African musicians and producers like Sarkodie, Stay Jay, Fuse ODG, Possigee and Killbeatz. “We are all part of the Awal’s Children of the Future Foundation, aimed at helping the needy and less fortunate, including those affected by road accidents,” Ansong said. Ansong is also trained by the Youth of Virginia Speak Out of Traffic Safety (YOVASO) in order to teach about road safety in the U.S. “Here in the U.S., I helped with Brooke Point High School’s YOVASO club last year. I will be teaching elementary students in the NoVa area about road safety. I do have a children’s book I have written about road safety, which has already been copyrighted. I just need a publisher,” Ansong said. Ansong’s involvement in education and road safety in the U.S. and the Northern Virginia area also provides motivation to be more involved with Mason and student organizations. “I have enjoyed being here at GMU—it is different than my undergrad U. Va. campus,” Ansong said. “I would love to get involved with the African Student Union. I would love
(COURTESY OF AMY ANSONG)
Ansong, pictured above, spent a majority of her time in Ghana at orphanages teaching about road safety. to join an orchestra, since I play the violin, or be a part of Mason Cable Network, or even DJ African music for WGMU. And I would really love to learn how to sing opera. However, it’s a matter of balancing the time. I will be here for at least another four years, so ideally, I should become more involved.” When Ansong finishes her education at Mason, she would like to work with the State Department, the U.N., or a major toy company like Crayola or Hasbro. Since Ansong’s interests lie in education, policy and working with kids, Ansong plans to continue educating people about road safety and to promote awareness of the issue, even when her time as Ms. Virginia Plus America comes to a close. “Road accidents kill approximately 1.5
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million people a year and injure 500 million in the world,” Ansong said. “It’s a huge problem here and in third world countries. By the year 2030, road accidents will be the number five leading cause of the death, and right now it is the leading cause of death among youth worldwide, including the U.S. That’s why we need to be more educated drivers and pedestrians and we need to increase awareness about road safety.” RYAN WEISSER LIFESTYLE EDITOR
VISUAL VOICES SPEAKER SERIES Media, Art & Money: Alyce’s Adventures in the Screen(s) Trade Alyce Myatt, speaker March 7 at 7:30 p.m. Free HT
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