We are thrilled to share that out of all the books published this year the School Library Journal has chosen A PRINCESS FOUND as one of the top eleven “Best Adult Books for High School Students”!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE KPOSOWA FOUNDATION!
If you're traveling, please take plenty of time to get there safely.

"A Princess Found" Book Signing!

We are very excited to announce the second book signing in Los Angeles for "A Princess Found" on Sunday, November 15th.

Here are the details:
Where: Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena
695 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-449-5320
When: Sunday, November 15th from 3:00pm - 5:00pm

Sarah and Tracy have been working on A Princess Found for the past two years and are thrilled to hear that the books have successfully sold out in many stores. Pepperdine University is using the book in their Ethics & Identity classes. Part of the proceeds benefit The Kposowa Foundation.

Come be part of the fun! Sarah and Tracy will give a brief talk around 3:15 about the writing process, and pass out homemade chocolate chip cookies. This will be their second book signing in Los Angeles, so if you missed the last one come have fun with us! If you want to come again you're more than welcome!!

Donor Spotlight , Meet Lena Cox!

This past summer, The Kposowa Foundation received an unexpected email from a resident of Clinton, Maryland. Lena Cox had just finished reading A Princess Found and expressed an interest to help. She also shared with us her story…

About a year ago Lena and her husband Richard took DNA tests to find their African roots. What the tests revealed was that the couple’s DNA was traced to Sierra Leone, and that Richard’s material roots were from the Mende Tribe and Lena’s from the Temne Tribe. Since The Kposowa Foundation is dedicated toward rebuilding areas in Sierra Leone, Lena and her husband felt the need to help.

Lena and Richard are seasoned philanthropists who support the Kiva organization and the Children of the Nation organization. With the Children of the Nation organization, they had donated “Smile Packs” that included hygienic products and school supplies. Lena’s email extended the invitation to gather “Smile Packs” for the students of Bumpe High School.

“I know quite a few African Americans are tracing their roots back to Africa and are trying to find ways to connect or help.” Lena wrote.

Since then, Lena has been diligently communicating with The Kposowa Foundation on the status of the Smile Packs. Thus far she has collected 50 smile packs, each including 2 composition books, a ruler , 5 pens, 5 pencils, a pencil sharper, a glue stick and either a block eraser or 5 cap erasers and a box of colored pencils. A bag of miscellaneous school supplies, left over from the Smile Packs, are also included. Lena has also donated the cost of shipping the supplies to Africa!

“This project is something God has placed on my heart to do. This will be my second year working with the school packs. I am a librarian and my husband is a computer systems administrator. We are by no means wealthy but we try to make a difference where we can. Our only concern has always been that the packs get into the hands of the children that need them the most. After my library purchased a copy of A Princess Found and I had a chance to read it, I think Bumpe High School will be the best place to send the packs. Ms. Culberson thanks for sharing your story and motivating me even more.”

Thank you Lena and Richard! We look forward to updating the blog with pictures and stories once Bumpe High receives the Smile Packs.

With summer coming to an end, The Kposowa Foundation has been diligently finalizing current projects and preparing for future projects as the fall season opens its opportunities for funding. We have been overwhelmed at the generosity granted to us during a time where people are losing their jobs, their homes, their hopes. New avenues of donations and volunteer assistance continue to prevail in spite of the harsh economic climate.

The Kposowa Foundation, in our third year of existance, is still going strong! From our humble beginnings of rebuilding classrooms and dorms to our student tuition initiatives, The Kposowa Foundation is moving forward with new opportunities to make education to the students of Sierra Leone possible.

Here in the United States, Sarah Culberson has been very busy promoting the Foundation through school lectures as well as book signings. If you haven't picked up a copy of A Princess Found, go to your local bookstore or order it online. Not only will you be captivated by Sarah's story and read first hand the beginning of The Kposowa Foundation, part of the proceeds go toward the Foundation.

In the meantime, be well and stay tuned for more stories from our wonderful donors!

The Institute for Human Dignity Celebrates Kposowa

The Institute for Human Dignity (IHD) is a not-for-profit, humanitarian organization committed to creating a voice for the voiceless. Founded by the students of West Virginia University, the organization completes fundraising, service projects, and/or awareness for causes, or other organizations of their choosing, on the local, statewide, national, and international levels. On May 1st over 190 people including IHD chapter members and other students from West Virginia University, faculty, and many friends of the Kposowa Foundation gathered at Lakeview Resort and Spa for an incredible evening that included dinner, entertainment by an African drum ensemble and a presentation by keynote speaker, Sarah Culberson. IHD's founders, and the past president, Kyle Phillips, welcomed the audience and introduced Jim Culberson who then introduced Jerry McGonigle who brought greetings from the Kposowa Foundation and expressed heartfelt thanks for the work of IHD. Dr. Culberson also introduced members of the Culberson and Kposowa family who attended the event. The evening concluded with the announcement of winners of the silent auction and a presentation by IHD to the Kposowa Foundation of a check for $7,000.00 to be used for the reconstruction of Bumpe High School.

It’s a Battle to Raise Funds

Windward School championed the efforts of the Kposowa Foundation by raising over $5,000 at a Battle of the Bands event held Saturday March 7th. It was a great night with over 300 people in attendance and one amazing act after another. The Kposowa Foundation would like to send a special thank you to all those who were apart of the extraordinary event.

Rotary Foundation at Work in Bumpe

Rotary International is a service club with about 1.2 million members and a commitment to community service around the world through its charitable wing, The Rotary Foundation. Rotary recently joined the Kposowa Foundation's efforts to improve life in Bumpe, Sierra Leone with a grant for a water project. When East Bremerton (WA) Rotarian Kim Zook met Sarah at a meeting and heard about the foundation's work, he invited her to travel to the Seattle area for a brief but successful series of talks and fundraisers. When Sarah's Dad (a Morgantown North Rotarian in WV) heard about this effort, and also learned that one of Sierra Leone's two Rotary Clubs is in Bo, just 25 km from Bumpe, he wondered if a Rotary Foundation matching grant might be feasible. Matching grants require 'hands-on' cooperative work by a host (In-country) club and one or more International partner(s).

After Jim and Kim discussed possibilities, Jim reached Dr. Andrew Muana of the Bo Rotary Club in Sierra Leone. When he expressed interest in a water project on behalf of Bo Rotary, we had then, the makings of a Matching Grant project; two interested U.S. clubs and a host club located quite near the Bumpe chiefdom where clean, available water is among the many pressing needs.
Contributions from the two U.S. Rotary Clubs were matched by Rotary District funds, and the total was matched by The Rotary Foundation. The project was recently approved and provides just over $50,000 to fund construction of new wells. Currently the Rotary partners are working with Joseph Kposowa and the Bumpe chiefdom to get work underway. These wells will supply safe, accessible water for many Bumpe residents who now spend many hours carrying water long distances.