Elisha Thieman Designer [Yankton, SD]
			Click for     more Photos Volunteer Vacation
	Continuing the whirlwind tour through the north of Ghana, Elisha, her mom and aunts visit the village of Shari, built into the hillside near the Togo border.
		Description: (Cape Coast & Krobo, Ghana. Nov 2006 - Mar 2007) WIP was seeking the assistance of a volunteer with a creative mind to help in both graphic design and new product development. Accomplishments: Elisha was a jack-of-all-trades and helped to build the capacity of WIP and also directly assisted many artisans in Ghana to obtain long-term revenue streams through her new product ideas: Designed the hanging and standing Spirit of Africa nativity sets, including the wooden manger, now being sold in the Global Mamas wholesale catalogue. Re-worked the Global Mamas paper swing tags and fabric care labels in Adobe Illustrator for more professional printing. Designed several other beaded products that were added to the Global Mamas catalogue (i.e. holiday ornaments, etc.) Created several sample sets of beaded products to be sent to new customers, including the Chicago Art Institute. Started the layout for a book that WIP plans to publish to generate revenue to help fund the nonprofit programs that WIP carries out. Weighed all the products in the Global Mamas product line so that it can be listed on WIP's export invoices. Played a critical role in designing and publishing the new Global Mamas wholesale catalogue by photographing products, cleaning up the photos and preparing other graphics. Re-organized the Krobo office and arranged all beads in a bin with a label. Helped to set up the new volunteer house in Krobo where WIP recently launched a new Global Mamas Cooperative to help bead makers. Highlights: Elisha's favorite aspect of her project work was being granted a large amount of responsibility and had the freedom to be creative and see it come to fruition before she even left Ghana. "Did someone call Captain Commando? Be Patient. I'm coming." close window