Sponsorship Opportunity

I first met Patrick one night when it was pitch dark and I was walking back to the hotel from our mission center in Asikuma, Ghana all alone. He had just fetched water and was riding his bike back home. He stopped to introduce himself to me the foreigner, and just had the friendliest personality....like that kind-hearted, older brother sorta feel. It was like God used Patrick on my walk back to the hotel to whisper peace and that the Lord was right there with me, watching out for me. 

Patrick, aka 'AJ', is one of the handful of young men that has been assisting James, our Agri-Hope employee, with the manual labor portion of the farming we have started on campus. Patrick is the definition of a humble, hard worker. From the moment I first met him I felt that the Lord had opened a door for him into our center in order to be rewarded for how he labors wholeheartedly to provide for his younger siblings.

Well, now it's time for that reward to come. And in Ghana, getting to go to school is one of the highest opportunities that the youth yearn for. Because of his age and lack of academic background, Patrick does not qualify for secondary school in Ghana. So the best option for him is to go to technical school and learn a trade. Recently Patrick approached us about sponsoring him to go to Somanya Technical school to study automobile engineering (he will learn to be a mechanic). We feel this would be a great route for our hard working, hands-on Patrick and will get him on track for a future career.

It will take $600 to get Patrick registered for school and set up for his 1st term. This is also a boarding school where Patrick will live, so there is a list of living supplies (see photo below) covered within this cost (think along the lines of moving into a dormitory - bedding, eating utensils, etc) as well as his school uniform, books and school supplies, etc.

Each term after the first will be $300 (this covers term fee plus living expenses), and there are 3 terms per year. The total program to become an auto mechanic through this school is 3 years long. To sum it up, the cost we are looking at is $1,200 per year.

We are looking for an individual who would be able to commit to sponsoring Patrick in school - right now we are just asking for a commitment for the first year, $1200. This opportunity could be what you want to make it. Patrick is on Facebook and can regularly communicate, speaks English, etc. The possibility for a relationship to be established between Patrick and a sponsor is definitely there. If you would rather remain anonymous that is fine too. We will be able to send you updates on Patrick either way.

If this is calling your name please email janel@acts2collective.org and I will get you all set up for the sponsorship! Patrick can start school as soon as funds are available. Thank you for considering partnering with us in this way!

Patrick is pictured here in the middle - farm tools in hand. :) James, our Agri-Hope employee is pictured right, and Wisdom our community director is pictured left.

Term fee breakdown

Living supplies list

School uniform

Faces of Sponsorship

Back on our March trip to Ghana you may remember that I met little George whose wellbeing I became concerned about. Once we got back to the States I had his situation investigated, and it turned out that he was the perfect candidate not for adoption, but for sponsorship. His case was the lead into something bigger. A few months later, during Jake’s trip to Ghana in August, it became blatantly clear that God was steering us into starting a sponsorship program in Asikuma.
 
So we did.

Throughout the remainder of Jake’s trip in August he allowed God to guide him to the children who needed sponsorship. Each day God did. By day Jake would text me pictures, names, and ages of the children. By night he would call and give me the details of each child and family’s story while I typed out his descriptions. By the time Jake returned home from his trip I had a list of over 15 families/individuals in the U.S. who were signed up to be matched with a child. Jake came home with 21 children in need of sponsorship. And our program was born! Here’s a look at the sweet faces of children thousands of miles across the ocean who now GET TO ATTEND SCHOOL (!) and have their basic needs met by families and individuals here in Central Iowa...
 

Maui received a medical sponsorship from our foundation...

Maui had a testicular hernia and was in much pain. There is a hospital nearby which does routine hernia surgeries. Our foundation paid 375 Ghana cedis (about $187) for his surgery and he was in and out in less than a day!

I also wanted to share a story from one of our sponsorship families on the U.S. side that really made me smile. In this sponsorship family, the gramma had signed up to sponsor because she really wanted to involve her two granddaughters (‘M’ and ‘m’) in the experience. She was excited to show them what it was like to be able to help someone else. I received this email from gramma after they received the info and pictures for their match…..

Hi Janel

Just thought I’d let you know how it went when I introduced ‘M’ to Miriam and baby sister. ‘m’ is oblivious to most things so I didn’t include her in the conversation. She will pick everything up from ‘M’.

Anyway, I was talking with ‘M’ about her interest in Africa and asked her if she thought it would be cool to help a child in Africa. She was so excited. Then I said, “Well, let’s wait until mommy comes in here because I want to talk to both of you about it.” She said, “Gramma, am I in trouble because I’m intrigued by African people?” LOL! INTRIGUED!? I love that kid. Anyway, I explained all about Miriam and her brothers and her baby sister. She was excited about it and immediately told me she had a bag of money she could send her. :)

I printed out large photos of Miriam, her mom with babe and their house. I’m sending you two photos - the first is of the printed photos – ‘Momma A’ put them on the kitchen wall next to where they eat so they will always remember to pray for Miriam and her family...
 

The other photo is one ‘Momma A’ sent me yesterday afternoon - she went in the kitchen and 'M and m' were parked in front of the photos…I’d love to have been a mouse to hear that conversation!

We stopped by their house yesterday and ‘M’ asked if Miriam’s baby sister had a name yet and she told me to tell her as soon as I hear what it is. I told her as soon as I get any information I will let her know.

While I was at M and m’s yesterday, they were watching a kids’ show and they were talking about Africa and had the coolest rhyming song about each country in Africa. So ‘M’ got to see about Ghana. When they showed the “rich” countries, ‘M’ asked why the rich African people don’t help the poor African people. I love the way her mind works. :)

Anyway, thought you’d enjoy hearing about her reaction. ‘m’ is a bit young yet to really understand the whole situation but she is excited because ‘M’ is excited. Thanks so much for letting us do this.
 
Oh how that made me smile. To think that two little girls in Iowa were sitting in their kitchen conversing, pondering and learning about their two now 'sisters' - continents away - that warms my heart! Yes these sponsorship funds will make a huge impact on the lives of needy children in Asikuma who are on the receiving end. But what an awesome viewpoint to also catch a glimpse of the impact that sponsorship can make on the giving end!

I had my own personal moment like that a few weeks ago when on my Facebook I was tagged to this photo….

That is Juma….a little boy in Uganda who my Mom is sponsoring through Children’s Hope Chest in our name. His sponsorship was one of the Christmas gifts she gave to our family last year. Let me tell you, seeing Juma holding the picture of us caused my world to get a little smaller that day. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Oh, you’ve been to Africa a million times….this sort of thing probably doesn’t even phase you anymore.” But I pray that I never become unmoved or numb to need, no matter how much poverty my eyes get to see and encounter. I have never set foot in Uganda. And yet, when I saw Juma holding our picture like that it was like I heard him say I’m depending on you each day of my life. Depending on us to get food. To have access to clean water. For the opportunity to attend school. For medical care, discipleship, and the list goes on. When you really let that sink in, it is absolutely shocking…..and real…..and convicting…..and inspiring…..and perspective changing…..all at the same time.

May God bless you with anger

at injustice, oppression,

and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice,

freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears

to shed for those who suffer pain,

rejection, hunger, and war,

so that you may reach out your hand

to comfort them and

to turn their pain into joy.

 

And may God bless you

with enough foolishness

to believe that you can make

a difference in the world,

so that you can do what others

claim cannot be done...

 

To bring justice and kindness to

all our children and the poor.

 

~Franciscan benediction~

 

Update from Jake in Ghana: Sponsorships!

Well, apparently God is ready to start our sponsorship program. The team made it up to Asikuma on Saturday. Yesterday Jake was led to a young family by our hotel owner’s wife. [She, ‘M’, is turning out to be very knowledgeable of individuals in the community who are in dire need.] The family she led Jake to yesterday lives somewhat near to where the ‘baby in the bush’ was found, which is an entirely different section of Asikuma that is….well….back in the ‘bush’ (jungle-like area)….completely secluded away from the town center.  Here's a snapshot of the team walking there.

It is likely that we would have never even known this section existed had it not been for ‘M’ and ‘K’ (our in-country staff member) who both had decided separately that this was the trip the team should be taken there. This area of Asikuma is so far away from the other area we are normally in that it is actually governed by a different chief, who Jake and the team also got to meet on this day.

The original reason Jake was led to this family was to meet a young boy, 8 years old named Emmanuel, who is really suffering. The medical problem is this: he was just recently circumcised a few weeks ago which is obviously very late. Jake was told through a translator that he wasn’t circumcised sooner because the family had no money. Then a few weeks ago a woman was going door to door performing circumcisions for families who have no money (oh my!) so his family had him circumcised. Afterwards a massive infection took over his entire genital area, so much so that he cannot even walk or barely move. Jake said it is the most severely grotesque and sad thing that he has ever seen….the swollenness and infection is unimaginable. I can’t even fathom the pain and unsanitary conditions this boy experienced going through that type of circumcision. Right now he sits all day with this cloth wrapped around him, naked underneath – he can’t move, and clearly he is not eating well…

Immediately after meeting Emmanuel Jake called the nurse on staff at our medical clinic to ask him to come make a house call for Emmanuel. Mark, the nurse, came to Emmanuel’s home immediately, examined him, and then went back to the medical clinic to retrieve the proper medicine to treat the infection. Nurse Mark brought back the strongest antibiotic that our medical clinic had. Emmanuel will drink the medicine 3 times per day for 7 days. Mark also brought him a pain killer to be taken twice per day for 7 days. Nurse Mark will visit Emmanuel each day over the next month to ensure he is healing properly and that he is taking his medicine correctly. Our Foundation covered the cost for the medicine and the cost of care for Mark to check on Emmanuel. The total cost was 50 Ghana cedis which is a mere $25. It’s almost sickening how far our American dollar can go to make such a huge impact on the lives of the people in this country.  Emmanuel with his medicine...

This was the first time that Jake has really gotten to be around Nurse Mark for a good chunk of time, observing him in action. Jake was very impressed by his professionalism and also noted that Mark has a huge heart for the people, is passionate about his work, he is a believer in Christ Jesus, and is very knowledgeable regarding disease and medication. Later on Mark went through the entire storage room with Jake and explained each medicine in stock and what it treated.

Jake also met the rest of Emmanuel’s family….his little brother, Solomon who is 6 years old….

And Emmanuel’s mother who has a newborn baby….

In the family there is a total of 6 kids (of which Jake met 3 – Emmanuel (2nd born), Solomon (3rd born) and the newborn). The husband/father does substance farming (which means he produces just enough food to survive for his family) – he gets back to the house each day late at night. The wife/mother used to wash dishes for a neighbor for work up until she had the baby. Emmanuel and Solomon are not going to school because of the family’s poverty. Here is a picture of their house…

As Jake and I have talked back and forth, he continues to stress to me that the injustices and oppression happening in this area of Asikuma are far beyond anything he has ever experienced yet in Ghana. He keeps telling me that no words or pictures can actually describe what the team is experiencing. This has really kicked the wheels in gear regarding a sponsorship program. It’s time – the prompts are there from the Lord. 

Jake has been crunching the numbers to come up with the right fee for our sponsorships since it seems that God is ready to start this. Jake says that World Vision charges $360/year but that a lot of that goes towards administration costs. He thinks we can keep our sponsorships much lower because we don’t have those costs. The number he has arrived at for children in Asikuma is $150/per year/per child.

$37.50 of that covers their enrollment/school fees at Godwin International School in Asikuma (which is 75 Ghana cedis for the year – the exchange rate right now for the U.S. dollar is almost 2 to 1). [Note: this is not the governmental school that we have been making upgrades on. This is a well-established school in Asikuma that has a great reputation for producing scholars.] Jake is bringing Godwin, the school master, to meet Emmanuel and Solomon’s mother on Wednesday morning. From there Jake will pay the school fees in person to Godwin for the boys, and he will do it this way for future children identified.

The rest of the $150 fee left over after school fees would cover school uniform, medical assistance (such as the medicine purchased for Emmanuel) and other basic needs – food, school shoes, etc.

In addition, we would structure the program as World Vision does theirs so that if additional needs arise for an individual child/family we could present the need to each sponsor family. For example, like providing an additional one-time gift as a microfinance loan to help the family create consistent work and income.

Families in the U.S. will have the opportunity to send over pictures/letters/care packages to their sponsored child any time our team is headed to Ghana. And, with our frequent trips to Ghana, and reliable in-country staff members that we now have, updates on the sponsored children can be easily done. At the very least families could expect updates on each trip Jake or I attend. Jake will have one of our in-country staff members managing the program and checking up on the sponsored children while he is away.

So, it looks like this is off to a start! And, I can happily report that a sponsor has already been matched up with Emmanuel and Solomon!!!!! This particular family had contacted me to be next in line for sponsorships since George’s was presented, and they jumped at the chance to help Emmanuel and Solomon. Love it!

You can watch the blog for future sponsorship opportunities, or contact me personally if you want to ‘stand in line’ for when the next one arises. :)