Just to give you an update on the Christmas Fundraiser for the children of Tapko, we raised just over $600.00 ! Thank you to all who purchased shea butter products or who donated directly through our partner, Partners for Prosperity.

We used the funds to purchase school supplies in Canada and with the support we received from the Staples store in Duncan, some additional donations by Gifty and her husband Wayne, and hitting some lucky sales, we were able to purchase well over $2,000 worth of school supplies.  The invoice was over six feet long, taller than Gifty!

Partners for Prosperity, our NGO partner here in Canada, came to Gifty’s house and together they went through the supplies, removed surplus packaging to be recycled here and put together packages for the Tapko children.  Gifty’s husband Wayne Dunn, who is doing other work in Ghana, took the supplies with him and now has them in Ghana. Currently he is working with our local partners and the women and Chief of the Tapko village to sort out when we can deliver the supplies.

As well Wayne’s company, Wayne Dunn & Associates will also be donating over $600 US dollars into our micro-credit lending fund which comes from proceeds from sales of raw shea butter and shea butter market products since Gifty's last trip to Ghana in July 2008.  Wayne’s company is also covering the cost of renting a vehicle and transporting the supplies to Tapko from Accra, the capital of Ghana, a distance of about 500 miles.

We hope to have pictures for you when the supplies are taken to the village. We will keep you updated!

THE SHEA BUTTER MARKET TEAM