YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - A Yankton native living in the Republic of Ghana was recently visited by some special guests - President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, during their visit to Africa.

Renae Adam, who graduated from Yankton High School in 1987, has been living in the Republic of Ghana for five years and also worked there as a volunteer for the Peace Corps.

She co-founded Women in Progress, a nonprofit organization that aims to achieve economic independence of women and alleviate poverty in Ghana through the growth of small, women-owned businesses.

"We are facilitating the exporting of fair trade products with 70 producers in Ghana, directly increasing the wages of more than 300 women," Adam said in an e-mail.

Women in Progress also markets products that were hand-made by Ghanian women under the brand name Global Mamas. These products are sold at more than 200 retail stores in the United States, many of them fair trade outlets.

"Fair trade is an approach to business where we ensure the producers are getting fair wages for their work, that we are being environmentally conscious in production, providing leadership opportunities to employees, among other things," Adam said.

Forty percent of the total sales of Global Mamas products goes directly back to the women who made them, Adam said.

"This is an impressive stat, even in the fair trade sector, where the proceeds going back to the producer rarely reach even 25 percent," she said.

However, some problems have been encountered. Adam said one of the biggest has been sourcing raw materials - especially fabric - in Ghana.

"It becomes quite complicated under these trade agreements when we import items from third-party nations," she said. "Though we add enough value in Ghana to qualify for duty-free benefits, the customs officials in the U.S. are not familiar with the details of (the African Growth and Opportunities Act) and we have been forced to pay thousands of dollars of duties on products that do qualify under AGOA."

Another problem arises when major corporations visit Ghana to gather product ideas, but then have them mass-produced in other places.

"Mr. Bush said, 'You wouldn't be talking about China, would you?"' Adam said. "We all laughed."

The Bushes weren't the only high-profile guests Adam met that day. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten were also on hand during the visit. As a result, security was high.

"The whole place was surrounded by Ghana police, and Secret Service (agents) were lining the tops of buildings with their binoculars and big guns," Adam said.