The Grace and Hope Orphanage
In the beginning…
I went to Ghana in January 2002 to work in an orphanage just outside Kumasi. I arrived at a derelict building that in the UK we wouldn’t keep a dog in and squatters certainly wouldn’t be fighting for their rights, but from behind the rotting walls and climbing out of the glassless windows came 16 shoeless ragged children. This is where I would be living for the next 6 months. The children were sleeping on mats, but while I was there we were donated beds for each child. We painted the orphanage and mended the windows, we also bought toys, clothes and school materials for the children.
The building and land around it had been lent to the organisation on a verbal agreement for five years and we were hoping to raise enough money to buy the property at the end of this period.
Two months after I left Ghana, 2 years into the agreement, the land lady changed her mind and asked the project to leave, effectively leaving 16 children homeless.
New Developments…
When I heard about this I decided that something had to be done in order to give the children a permanent home.
Money was raised in England and Ghana to buy ten acres of land, slowly we have managed to build a dormitory building large enough to hold 25 children, currently we have 16. We also have a classroom within the building where the children can do their homework.
Getting the children adequately educated is a high priority at the orphanage, they are all attending the local schools, the youngest is in Kindergarten and the oldest in Junior High.
The children at the orphanage are aged between 4 and 12 and they have two “mothers” who are employed full time to look after them. We will keep the children until they are 18 years old. We plan to train them in a vocational skill that will set them up for employment and we hope that by doing this they will eventually be able to make small donations to the project and the cycle will be able to continue, thus relying less and less on support from the general public.
The orphanage was originally set up by a Ghanaian man called John, there are several founding members many of whom donate food and services. I have set up the British side of the organisation and registered it as a charity. We have four trustees in the UK.
This is very much a joint project between England and Ghana. We raise money here and just as much is done there. We are always kept fully informed of any developments that are made and new children that arrive.
The children have just been bought another set of school uniforms and a second pair of shoes. Such luxuries are rare in Ghana and at the moment the children have two sets of school uniform, a set of casual clothes and Sunday best. Church is an extremely important part of life in Ghana and having a special set of clothes to wear to church is very much part of the culture.
The future…
Recently a generator has been installed providing electricity 24 hours a day – quite a luxury in Ghana! Next we would like to install water containers, currently the mothers have to collect water 3 or 4 times a day from the well in the village as they have nothing to store it in and can only collect several buckets at a time. Although we have facilities to house 25 children we only have the finances for 16, what I would really like to do is raise enough money to be able to support more children. That would mean employing another mother, this costs £10 a month, and of course supplying food and education for the extra children.
More information
If you would like some more information about the project or are thinking of going to Ghana and would like to visit the orphanage you’re very welcome to contact me:
Miss Victoria Adams, The Grace and Hope Foundation, Cromarty Cottage, 45 St Catherine’s Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 0HF
Email: goldpineapple@hotmail.com
