Teachers for West Africa Program Records, 1961-1973 | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

By Andrea Eckert ‘16, Elizabeth McIlhenney ’19, and Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh

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Collection Overview

Title: Teachers for West Africa Program Records, 1961-1973

ID: MSS/MSS-0009

Primary Creator: Teachers for West Africa Program

Other Creators: Berkebile, James, Elizabethtown College, Hershey Foods Corporation

Extent: 15.17 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

Series I Financial Records and Reports

Series II Newsletters, Program Reports, and PR Materials

Series III Correspondence

Series IV Background Research and Country Information

Series V Orientation and Overseas Visitor Materials

Series VI Forms and Teacher Information

Series VII End of Program

Series VIII Personal

Series IX Photographs

Series X Teacher Personnel Records and Insurance Information

Date Acquired: 00/00/1973

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Teachers for West Africa Program, spanning the years 1961 to 1973. The collection includes financial records, travel records, and stories about the teachers’ experiences in Ghana and Nigeria, correspondence with the Hershey Foods Corporation, records on the teachers, orientation materials, ads used to advertise and recruit for the Teachers for West Africa Program, newsletters, documents regarding the “phase out” of the program, and artifacts brought back to Elizabethtown College from Ghana and Nigeria. All of these materials are about the Teachers for West Africa Program.

Collection Historical Note

The Teachers for West Africa Program was a program for young people certified in teaching to work in schools in West Africa. The teachers taught in schools in Ghana and Nigeria, usually alongside volunteers in the Peace Corps and other smaller groups such as Teachers for East Africa and Operation Crossroads Africa. The program started in 1961 until it was phased out in 1972. The Hershey Foods Corporation sponsored it, while Elizabethtown College administered it. The teachers who applied were from all over the country, and only a selected few were sent to West Africa.

Over the ten years that Teachers for West Africa Program existed, from 1961 to 1972, they sponsored hundreds of teachers. The teachers were mostly recent graduates from college, some from Elizabethtown College, and others from colleges ranging from Iowa State University to Harvard. They were sent to secondary schools in Nigeria and Ghana and they taught subjects like French, physics, chemistry, home economics, math, business, biology and in the beginning of the TWAP program, English. The agreement was that TWAP funded the travel expenses while the countries where they were posted were expected to pay the teachers’ salaries. TWAP helped to serve 51 schools in Nigeria and 71 schools in Ghana. A total of 238 teachers were sponsored by TWAP, 68 of those held a graduate degree. The teachers would usually serve for a period of two years, unless they chose to stay in the field or they got sick and had to end their term early.

After ten years, the program was phased out by Hershey. Dr. James Berkebile, program director, tried to find another sponsor for the program and contacted many corporations and other institutions, but he was declined by all of them. Even though the program ended in December 1972, the teachers out in the field when the program shut down were encouraged to finish out the school year into 1973.

Administrative Information

Repository: Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Series X Teacher Personnel Records and Insurance Information are restricted at this time.

Related Publications: DePuydt, Peter J. “'In the Hearts of Those Whom You Serve:' The Teachers for West Africa Program.” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 134, no. 1 (January 2010): 59-76.

Processing Information: Processed by Andrea Eckert ‘16 and Elizabeth McIlhenney ’19 in fall 2015. Processing and folder list revised and updated by Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh in fall 2019.

Other URL: https://twap.omeka.net/

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series I: Financial Records and Reports],
[Series II: Newsletters, Program Reports, and PR Materials],
[Series III: Correspondence],
[Series IV: Background Research and Country Information],
[Series V: Orientation and Overseas Visitor Materials],
[Series VI: Forms and Teacher Information],
[Series VII: End of Program],
[Series VIII: Personal],
[Series IX: Photographs],
[Series X: Teacher Personnel Records and Insurance Information],
[All]

Series I: Financial Records and Reports

This series is a collection of all the financial related reports and records through the program’s existence. The 24 folders contain official financial records and reports compiled by the program and by Elizabethtown College for the years 1961 to 1973. Expenses included salaries, travel expenses, office rent, printing supplies, and funds needed for screening, recruiting, insurance, personal effects shipment, etc.

Box 1

Folder 1: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 2: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 3: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 4: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 5: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 6: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 7: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 8: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 9: Financial Records, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970-1972
Folder 10: Records related to Financial Activities, 1970
Folder 11: Accounting Records, 1961-1970
Folder 12: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 13: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 14: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 15: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 16: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 17: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 18: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 19: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 20: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 21: Financial Reports, 1961-1969, 1971, 1973
Folder 22: Financial Report - Elizabethtown College, 1969
Folder 23: Teacher Payment Records
Folder 24: Teacher Payment Records

Series II: Newsletters, Program Reports, and PR Materials

At the end of the program, a final report was written about the existence of the program. This series contains the drafts and the final version of this report. Also, from 1963 to 1970 a newsletter was sent to all the teachers in West Africa to keep them up to date about their fellow teachers and the program’s situation. A collection of pamphlets and brochures to advertise the program is also included in this series. To make its cause more understandable to applicants and those interested in the program, summaries of TWAP were written, which are also part of this series. Also included are records of advertisements and requisitions that TWAP put out to recruit new teachers. Advertisements were in college newspapers nationwide. Inquiries of students from those colleges are also included in the log of TWAP advertisements.

Box 1

Folder 25: Official Reports, 1961-1963
Folder 26: Reports, 1961-1972
Folder 27: Final Report
Folder 28: Final Report
Folder 29: Final Report
Folder 30: Final Report
Folder 31: Final Report
Folder 32: Wall Street Journal Article, February 18, 1970
Folder 33: Whadoyahear Newsletter, Sept 1963-Dec 1970
Folder 34: Whadoyahear Newsletter, Sept 1963-Dec 1970
Folder 35: Whadoyahear Newsletter, Sept 1963-Dec 1970
Folder 36: Pamphlets and Brochures
Folder 37: Summary of TWAP
Folder 38: College Newspapers with TWAP Advertisements and Requisitions
Folder 39: College Newspapers with TWAP Advertisements and Requisitions
Folder 40: College Newspapers with TWAP Advertisements and Requisitions
Folder 41: College Newspapers with TWAP Advertisements and Requisitions

Series III: Correspondence

This is a collection of all the correspondence regarding the program such as the Hershey Foods Corporation’s sponsorship. This series also contains correspondence with educational ministries of the countries and correspondence regarding the placement of teachers.

Box 2

Folder 1: Correspondence, 1962-1973
Folder 2: Correspondence with Hershey
Folder 3: Correspondence with Hershey
Folder 4: Correspondence with Hershey
Folder 5: Ghana Ministry of Education Memorandums and Correspondence
Folder 6: Isaac Grillo Correspondence
Folder 7: Travel Correspondence Council on Student Travel
Folder 8: Correspondence of Ministries and Schools in Nigeria
Folder 9: Correspondence from Headmasters in Ghana and Nigeria
Folder 10: Correspondence with African Universities
Folder 11: Dr. Ivan Eikenberry, Education Secretary
Folder 12: Nigeria, North Region Correspondence and Literature
Folder 13: Samuel Boateng and Daniel Brown
Folder 14: Agreement with the Ministry of Education

Series IV: Background Research and Country Information

This is a collection of information on the African countries involved in the program including literature, maps, and political information. This series also contains information about the schools and the African American Institute, which was a part of the program. Also included are records about a set of gold weights from the Ashanti Tribe of Ghana, which were given to Elizabethtown College by Dr. Franklin H. Williams of Columbia University.

Box 2

Folder 15: African Politics
Folder 16: African Politics
Folder 17: Maps of Ghana
Folder 18: Maps of Ghana
Folder 19: Notices and Literature
Folder 20: Notices and Literature
Folder 21: Notices and Literature
Folder 22: Notices and Literature
Folder 23: Peace Corps Materials
Folder 24: African American Institute Information
Folder 25: African American Institute Information
Folder 26: African American Institute Information
Folder 27: Harry Heintzen
Folder 28: Embassies and Consultants Generals
Folder 29: Gold Weight Records
Folder 30: Cables - Afram, 1963-1964
Reel 1: Motion Picture Film (1 Canister)

Oversize Box 5

Folder 1: School Contracts
Folder 2: Ghana School Statistics

Series V: Orientation and Overseas Visitor Materials

Before the teachers were sent to their posts in Nigeria or Ghana, they attended orientation sessions held at Elizabethtown College. This series contains information on the teachers’ travels to the different countries, the information they were given about the locations, the program schedule of their orientations, and pictures taken during these weeks.

Box 3

Folder 1: Pictures of Orientation and Overseas
Folder 2: Pictures of Orientation and Overseas
Folder 3: Orientation Materials
Folder 4: Orientation Materials
Folder 5: Orientation Materials
Folder 6: Orientation Materials
Folder 7: Orientation Materials
Folder 8: Orientation Materials
Folder 9: Orientation Materials
Folder 10: Orientation Materials
Folder 11: Orientation Materials
Folder 12: Orientation Materials
Folder 13: Orientation Materials
Folder 14: Orientation Materials
Folder 15: Orientation Materials
Folder 16: Orientation Materials
Folder 17: Orientation Materials
Folder 18: Orientation Materials
Folder 19: Orientation Materials
Folder 20: Film Catalogues
Folder 21: Hosting Overseas Visitors
Folder 22: Hosting Overseas Visitors
Folder 23: Hosting Overseas Visitors
Folder 24: Costs Report on Overseas Personnel

Series VI: Forms and Teacher Information

This is a collection of all the forms and information given to teachers for their application, including insurance information and psychiatric exam instructions. This series also includes information about the teachers and telephone records in the African countries.

Box 3

Folder 25: New Teacher/Applicant Information and Forms
Folder 26: New Teacher/Applicant Information and Forms
Folder 27: New Teacher/Applicant Information and Forms
Folder 28: New Teacher/Applicant Information and Forms
Folder 29: Insurance Information
Folder 30: Memorandum of Understanding
Folder 31: Memorandum of Understanding
Folder 32: Ex-Peace Corps in Ghana
Folder 33: Receipt/Departure Grant Forms
Folder 34: Receipt/Departure Grant Forms
Folder 35: Psychiatric Exam Instructions
Folder 36: School Information Request Forms
Folder 37: Teacher Passport, Visa, Bank, Grant, Travel Information, and Forms

Box 4

Folder 1: Teacher Passport, Visa, Bank, Grant, Travel Information, and Forms
Folder 2: Teachers Information
Folder 3: Teachers Information
Folder 4: Teachers Information
Folder 5: Early Recruitments
Folder 6: Requisitions
Folder 7: Requisitions
Folder 8: Requisitions
Folder 9: Miscellaneous Forms and Papers
Folder 10: Telephone Records
Folder 11: Telephone Records
Folder 12: Books Purchased and Shipped
Folder 13: Books Purchased and Shipped
Folder 14: Ghana International School "Prospectus"
Folder 15: Ghana and Nigeria Liaison Officer Records

Box 6

Binder 1: Contacts and Other Information
Binder 2: TWAP Recruiting Materials

Series VII: End of Program

When the Hershey Foods Corporation decided to phase out its financial support of the program at the end of 1972, new sponsorships had to be found to be able to continue with the program. This series contains the ending of the program and Dr. Berkebile’s many efforts to find new sponsors for it. There are also letters written by former teachers about what the program meant to them and how it had affected their lives.

Box 4

Folder 16: Hershey Scholarship Program
Folder 17: Letter of Agreement between Hershey and Elizabethtown College
Folder 18: Certification of Sponsorship Form
Folder 19: Request for New Funds
Folder 20: Request for New Funds
Folder 21: Refusals
Folder 22: Letter Regarding Phase Out
Folder 23: Letter Regarding Phase Out
Folder 24: Phase-Out Statement
Folder 25: Mennonite TAP Program
Folder 26: Reports to Elizabethtown College President, 1971
Folder 27: Visit in Washington on behalf of TWAP
Folder 28: Alternate Financing
Folder 29: Alternate Financing
Folder 30: Church of the Brethren Letters
Folder 31: Memorandum to Edward Crill
Folder 32: "What TWAP Meant to Me" Responses

Series VIII: Personal

Dr. Berkebile had traveled several times to Ghana and Nigeria for the program. He visited the schools and the teachers to check on the program’s condition on site, but also promote the idea of the program. This series contains Dr. Berkebile’s travel plans and expenses. A.C. Baugher was the president of Elizabethtown College when the program was started. This series contains his records for the beginning of the program including a review of the teacher program in West Africa, which is an account of the creation and the beginning of the program. The reports made by the president that succeeded Baugher, Roy E. McAuley, is also a part of Baugher’s records.

Box 4

Folder 33: Berkebiles's Travels to Africa
Folder 34: Berkebiles's Travels to Africa
Folder 35: Berkebiles's Travels to Africa
Folder 36: Berkebile Expense Records
Folder 37: Berkebile Expense Records
Folder 38: Dr. A.C. Baugher Records
Folder 39: Dr. A.C. Baugher Records

Series IX: Photographs

Dr. Berkebile, many members of the program and teachers took photographs while traveling, living, and interacting with the local people. This series contains photographs illustrating the landscapes, schools, and people of Ghana and Nigeria, which were later used for brochures, pamphlets, and other advertisements of the program. Boxes 9-10 contain slides.

Box 7

Item 1: Blue Photo Album of Ghana

Box 8

Item 1: Black Photo Album of Nigeria
Item 2: Blue Photo Album of Nigeria and Ghana

Box 9

Item 1: Slides

Box 10

Item 1: Slides

Series X: Teacher Personnel Records and Insurance Information

The personnel records and insurance information of the TWAP teachers are restricted at this time.

Box 11
Box 12
Box 13
Box 14
Box 15
Box 16