From Jake:
Recently God has been bugging me to step out in faith and do a little more for the youth in Asikuma, Ghana. Actually God began working on my heart while I was recently in Ghana, Africa at the end of December as we were completing the addition of the library onto the school. Once the final pictures of the library and school building were sent to me I could not have been more excited. But, with that excitement I felt that God was challenging me to do more. So, on February 18th I set out to raise $12,000 in the next 28 days (all prior to our March trip to Ghana) in order to employ Sampson and his men to not only complete the remaining school buildings (5 in all), but to also add electricity into the school, fans for proper air circulation, and new black boards for the teachers. These funds would also go towards helping to ship the thousands of pounds of school supplies that sit in my garage that have been donated to the school in Asikuma.
Below is the fundraising letter that we are distributing and sending out. If God puts it on your heart to donate towards the project that would be incredible or if you know of people who might be interested in something like this please pass it on to them.
What makes all of this so exciting is that this week Drake University has approved a trip of 15 educational students to head to Ghana with us next year. The trip will be directed by Jill Johnson (one of our Kingdom Hoops mother’s!!) and will be on January 11-19, 2013. The students will be teaching in the school, assisting the teachers with curriculum development, and overall enhancing the educational systems within Asikuma, Ghana.
All I can think about is how cool it would be if we could set the children up for a lifetime of success through education. Nearly 50% of the total population of Asikuma consists of children 0-18 years old.
If God did something crazy and allows us to raise more than $12,000 we will put the additional funds towards the development of a computer center at the school that will also operate as an internet café. Since there is no internet access within 20-25 miles of Asikuma people would pay a small sum of money to have computer and internet access. These funds would then go into a fund set up by the school in Asikuma to maintain its facilities as well as to provide scholarships for children to attend secondary school in Ghana (which is the equivalent to our high school in the United States). Currently only about 25% of the children that get through grade eight in Asikuma actually get to go on to secondary school due to their extreme poverty.
We are also working on other unique ways to get behind the school to provide the funds necessary to give every youth in Asikuma a chance for an education which helps to lead them out of poverty and into a life of promise and hope.
Here is our fundraising letter with more information. Thanks for your consideration!
Kingdom Cares International is excited to announce its spring 28 day fundraising campaign to support the development and enhancement of the Asikuma school in Ghana, Africa. Kingdom Cares International has set the goal of raising $12,000 in the next 28 days prior to our spring mission trip to Asikuma, Ghana.
Asikuma is a village comprised of roughly 2,000 people with over 600 students in grades K-8. Over 50% of the community is infants, toddlers, and school age children. Asikuma is located in the far western area of the Eastern Region approximately three hours from the capital city of Accra. God has led us to this particular community through different relationships and doors that only God himself could open.
During our last 24 months serving in Asikuma we have had the opportunity to construct a medical clinic that has seen over 500 patients since it opened in August 2011. We have also completed construction on a school library with the goal of this facility becoming a place where a computer lab can be developed and a place where the teachers can begin to improve the literacy rates of the children that attend the school.
During our time in the community and our work at the development of a library it become apparent of the great need the community has for the enhancement of their educational facilities. Overcrowding has become such an issue that the school day has to be split up into two separate shifts. The first shift of students arrive from 9am-12pm and then the second shift arrives from 12:30pm-3:30pm.
Not only is there a great need for additional classrooms, but there is a need to simply finish the current ones. A few years ago an organization called U.S. AID came in to help the community and started in on the construction of some additional classrooms. Once the outer shell of the building was finished the organization supposedly ran out of money and just got up and left leaving two half-finished buildings.
The sad part about it is that due to the sheer number of school age children the teachers and staff have had to use these half-finished rooms as classrooms. The floors are simply dirt, the rooms are dark with no lighting, and there is a little or no air flow despite the temperatures rising to nearly 100 degrees every day.
Not only is the school as a whole in terrible conditions but they also lack basic school supplies. During our first trip to Asikuma in 2010 we sat down with the community elders and school administration to see what needs we could help the community with. The first thing they asked for help with was basic school supplies. The school had no teacher resources and not even one book whether that be a text book or a typical book that would be found in an American library. The only supplies that each student had were a pencil and a notebook. Over the last two years we have shipped nearly 5,000 books and teacher resources to the school and currently have an entire garage full of teacher manuals, textbooks, and other educational resources that are just waiting to be shipped.
During my most recent trip to Asikuma in January 2012 God put it on my heart that something had to be done if the youth in this community were ever going to have any opportunity to succeed through an education. Kingdom Cares hired a local contractor named Sampson to begin work on five of the unfinished class rooms. Sampson not only was faithful and diligent in his completion of those classrooms, but it also gave us confidence that he can assist us in taking the development of the school to the next level. With all of that being said we believe that if we can raise $12,000 by March 18th, 2012 we would be able to take those resources with us during our March trip and complete the development of all the remaining classrooms. We hope to fully equip the rooms with electricity, fans for proper air circulation, enough desks for all students, enhanced teacher resources like black boards and white boards, all classrooms plastered and painted, non-dirt floors put into each classroom, as well the shipment of all current school donations we have collected over the last 12 months.
We know we have a big task ahead of us in order to raise $12,000 in just 28 days, but like Jesus told us in Luke chapter 18:27; “What is impossible for men is possible with God.” We are not just asking all of you to donate. Janel and I have decided to contribute the first $1,000 towards the project, so that leaves us $11,000 to raise in the next 28 days!!! I believe God can do incredible things and I am confident that He will allow us to raise these funds in the next four weeks and change the lives of thousands of youth in Asikuma, Ghana.
I want to personally thank you for taking the time to read this letter and consider making a donation towards the youth of Asikuma, Ghana. If God puts it on your heart to donate please make checks payable to Kingdom Cares International and mail them to 315 Ridgewood Drive, Huxley, IA. 50124. 100% of the funds will go toward the development and enhancement of the school in Asikuma, Ghana and all donations are tax deductible.
We thank you for your support and prayers as God leads us to accomplish his purposes in Asikuma, Ghana.
In Christ,
Jake & Janel Sullivan Co-Founders Kingdom Cares International
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