Xango Goodness

Africa: Disease Prevention and Education

Malaria prevention

In early 2007 XanGo Co-Founder Gordon Morton and XanGo Goodness Coordinator Carolyn Anderson joined University of Utah medical students on a medical expedition to address the malaria epidemic in Ghana. XanGo has supported these efforts by helping to conduct malaria research and implementing rapid malaria testing. The work has been enhanced by ongoing efforts to make patient follow-up more efficient through GPS and Census work. The lack of street names in the country has made patient follow up visits virtually impossible for the doctors and students that make annual medical trips to the region. Utilizing a GPS tracking system, and conducting a home-by-home census, Gordon’s team mapped coordinates of patient homes in the local villages, generating greater access to medical care in underserved areas. 

Two more XanGo Staff members, Melanee Raynes and Emily Summers, joined a second expedition to Ghana in July with the University of Utah medical students. During their three weeks in the city of Kumasi the group helped teach hygiene and personal care to school kids, mapped coordinates of additional villages through the GPS system, and held medical malaria prevention clinics.

Right To Play

Also in the summer of 2007 Co-Founder Joe Morton teamed up with Steve Young, Founder of the Forever Young Foundation, on a trip to Accra Ghana. The group got to see firsthand the progress of the work in Ghana sponsored by the partnership of Forever Young and Right To Play. One of the most significant projects currently underway is with the Golden Sunbeam School where after two short years, new buildings and sports facilities have been constructed, including a basketball court and a soccer field.