Former NBA player and American University alum Kermit Washington is using his AU education abroad through the Project Contact Africa program, an organization he founded in 1995.
The program, which primarily allows students to visit Africa and work in the slums at health clinics and orphanages, has been popular among AU students. "Students can attend classes and work on internships while participating in the program," Washington said. "Ever since the Rwanda situation, I knew I wanted to do something to help," Washington said.
He traveled to Rwanda in 1995 along with Northwest Medical Teams, a group that provides medical relief to Africa.
"When I first traveled to Africa, I was amazed at the human suffering I experienced," Washington said. "I chose to expand my charity 'The Sixth Man Foundation' into what is now Project Contact Africa."
The 50 doctors, 20 medical students and 10 nurses with whom he first traveled to Africa saw 1,000 people per day for two weeks straight.
"We were given malaria and antibiotic kits for $80 instead of $4,000 per kit," he said. "If you think about it, we were seeing 25 people every four minutes."
Washington said. He has never been comfortable around death, Washington said.
"It was only until recently that I am now fully comfortable in places like Nairobi whose citizens experience so much death and suffering."
Since Project Contact began 10 years ago, Washington has made over 20 trips to Kenya for two weeks at a time, according to www.projectcontactafrica.com.
Washington is looking to involve more AU students in his project. He contacted Dean Louis Goodman of the School of International Service about starting a Study Abroad program in Kenya to add to AU's South Africa program.
"Contact Africa is an excellent organization that Kermit founded," Goodman said. "When Kermit came to talk to AU we talked about the idea of combining Project Contact with Study Abroad and now we have a wonderful partnership with close to 20 interested students."
Washington and Goodman also asked for the help of Sara Dumont, director of AU Abroad.
"I asked Sara Dumont to present studying abroad in Africa as not as dangerous as many students may think," Washington said.
AU Abroad began incorporating Washington's program last spring, according to Dumont.
"The program has been very successful, last year we only had eight or nine students and now we have so many that Contact Africa is becoming filled," Dumont said.
Now AU students have the option of studying abroad at the University of Ghana or the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya. Students can take courses such as Swahili and work on internships as well as volunteer with Project Contact Africa.
Students painted orphanages, helped with education, and bought incubators, refrigerators, and generators for the citizens of Africa, Washington said.
"Many of our AU students come as volunteers and not as college students," he said.
"I'm thinking of doing the abroad trip to Kenya," said Bethany Arnold, a junior in SIS. "I went to Brussels last spring and would really like to intern with Project Contact Africa before I graduate."
"A goal of mine is to make AU number one in the nation...to make people all over the world a part of it," Washington said. He hopes to accomplish this goal September 10 when the NBA plans to air a documentary on ESPN about students who want to take a semester off and help with Project Contact Africa.
Another AU alum, Marshall Bailly, has been following in Washington's footsteps.He started his own organization and met with Washington last week to discuss incorporating the two programs. Bailly is the founder and director of X-CORE, a nonprofit organization that helps the poor in Namibia. X-CORE also has projects planned in the Phillipines, Nigeria, and the U.S.
"We have many community development projects lined up," Bailly said. "Various companies are interested in working with X-CORE such as Moscow and the ambassador of Grenada."
Bailly also plans to work with Tulane University in New Orleans to do hurricane relief work. "X-CORE is really taking off," Bailly said. "Three years ago we had only one country and by this summer we expect to involve seven."
For more information on Project Contact Africa visit the program's web site at www.projectcontactafrica.com. To learn more about studying abroad in Africa visit AU Abroad's web site at www.auabroad.american.edu.
