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Reporter David Amanor reports on a musical fundraiser for Haiti relief in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

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MARCO WERMAN: A similar spirit has moved people in another African capital to raise money for Haiti.  Reporter David Amenor attended a musical fundraiser in Ghana’s capital, Acra.

DAVID AMENOR: A host of popular musicians tuned up and turned up for this concert under the Banner Haiti Ghana Responds.  The role call included veteran artists like Kojo Enteree and Reggie Rockstone.  And while this was certainly a party to enjoy, a picture slide show of the devastation was replayed on big screens reminding us all of the reasons we came.

MALE VOICE 1:  The scale of the disaster has blown my mind personally, you know?  It has made me feel so humble, especially learning that two million people are homeless.  That is half the population of Acra.  It’s just unbelievable.

DAVID AMENOR: I’ve got someone here from?

FEMALE VOICE 1:  Guyana, South America.  Actually I’ve lost two of my very close friends in Haiti.  One of them, they were living with their mother and their house collapsed and she died.

DAVID AMENOR: The organizers, Friends of Haiti, believe they can raise two million U.S. dollars from direct donations and the SMS campaign.  In Ghana you simply text the word Haiti to a short code, 1962, and one Ghana cedi, that’s approximately seventy U.S. cents, is deducted from your mobile phone balance each time.  Kufi Blanksen Orcansee started the group with a blog and a social network utility Facebook.  He’s confident Ghanans will continue to respond in the month long campaign.

KUFI BLANKSEN ORCANSEE:  We have a great deal of affection for the Haitians.  The Haitians were the first black republic.  Ghana is the first black sub-Saharan African republic.  So clearly, we took some inspiration from the Haitians.  It makes all the sense in the world that – - down today. We should do something to help them.

DAVID AMENOR: Let’s hear from some late-comers.  Why did you come late?

MALE VOICE 2:  Okay so the issue is this, I’m not supposed to be on stage, so definitely I come on a time I want to come and enjoy myself and contribute my – - to eighty people.

MALE VOICE 3: The performers, the musicians, have to bring people together.  So I think, what do you think?

DAVID AMENOR: I think that’s nice.

MARCO WERMAN: That report from freelance reporter David Amenor in Acra, Ghana.

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