As Andrew Mello has immersed himself in the life of Gogo, a village in the West African country of Burkina Faso, he’s also identified a serious need.

The preschool, named Bisongo, is wide open to intruders of the human and four-legged varieties. Trash litters the campus, items often go missing, interlopers break playground equipment and the animals leave behind messes.

“The teachers at the preschool stressed the need for a property barrier the first time I saw the school grounds,” Mello said, a native of Rochester.

Now he's working to do something about that.

The 26-year-old serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in the village, which has about 8,000 people with 28,000 in the surrounding area.

“It’s a great place, especially now since it’s the end of the rainy season,” Mello said. “It’s green and smells like fresh corn.”

Mello, a Bishop Stang graduate who holds degrees in elementary education and special education from Endicott College, said he was influenced by his father and his father’s friends, many of whom volunteered with the Peace Corps and worked in international settings.

“I have had a lot of ideas of things that I'd like to do with my life, but I've always thought it was important to do things that help,” said Mello.

When he applied to the Peace Corps, Mello knew he wanted to go to Africa, but he admits that Burkina Faso was his third choice.

“I knew nothing about Burkina Faso, but the position offered was in preschool, which is something I like to teach,” he said.

In addition to working at the preschool, since arriving in June 2015, Mello has been educating residents on gender equality. The preschool is his primary focus though.

“The Bisongo wasn't in the best of shape when I got there (physically and organizationally),” he said. “I've been working to change that and make the Bisongo a good place for kids to come.”

One of the main issues is creating a safe environment for the kids to learn.

To do that, Mello created a fundraiser to build a protective wall around the school. The Peace Corps requires local people to pay 25 percent of the cost of such projects, with donations making up the other 75 percent.

“This ensures that the community is serious about the project, and that the project will be sustainable,” explained Mello.

He said the village has already raised its share, almost $2,800. Now, he’s hoping folks back home will donate the rest of the funds to make the wall a reality. To date, the project still needs about $7,000.

The wall won’t take too long to build, and Mello hopes it can become a reality soon.

“I hope to raise the funds as soon as I can, since my village has their contribution all set and is ready to start construction,” Mello said.

To learn more about the project and to donate, visit https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/bisongo-wall-for-the-bisongo-in-zoundweogo.