Children at an orphanage in Bawjiase Central Region were treated to an Easter Saturday packed with entertainment and food thanks to the fundraising efforts of an Accra-based charity.
Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation, a Christian non-profit organisation, broke new records since its formation in 2018.
The NGO raised GHS30,000 towards renovating Graceland Needy Childcare Shelter and provided the children with essential items including food, schoolbooks, and clothes.
Foundation founder Nicholas Cofie, who was motivated to establish the Foundation following his experiences of being orphaned at a young age, said the donations were the highest the team had raised since the charity was formed four years ago.
The donations were used to equip the shelter with a tank to store water, school uniforms, furniture, stationery, and food, including bags of rice, gari, corn dough and cassava dough and beans.
Three of the children - Samuel Arthur, Ebenezer Abam and Scholastica Naa Yeye Tetteh (who wants to become a lawyer), are candidates for the 2022 batch of BECE (The West African Examination Council) and pioneers. They were thankful for the donations, particularly the food which had come at such a timely manner as the home had run out of rice and gari and their food was finished.
Funds were also used to source roofing sheets to complete the rest of the dormitories, said Jeff Kwashie, the project coordinator of Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation.
“It was an atmosphere of great joy, dancing and merrymaking for the children and caretakers,” members form the NGO said. The children did not only receive, they gave also, and displayed fascinating displays of talents such as cadet drills, choreography, Bible and poetry recitals among others.
The founder of Graceland Needy Childcare Shelter, Madam Grace Wobell, also known as Mama Grace, appealed for scholarships for her children to be able to continue their education to the highest attainable degree.
Sonia Oblitey, director of Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation and brand ambassador of the USA branch, called on the public to support the NGO’s work so that they could reach out to many more vulnerable children in the country.
Graceland Needy Childcare Centre
Mama Grace hails from Elmina in the Central Region and worked as a caterer/dietician at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. She is also a member of the Child Evangelical Fellowship before being called into full-time ministry.
Being an orphan herself, she decided to help children who find themselves in similar circumstances. This she does with the support of her husband, Pastor Isaac Afriyie.
She claimed the word orphanage carried a curse, and made the children feel unwanted, as such, she preferred the place be called a Needy Childcare Shelter instead.
Graceland started off as a prayer camp for six years and transitioned into a home for children in 2017 with only three youngsters. Currently, with two completed dormitories and three yet to be habitable, the shelter now houses 100 children ranging between the ages of one and 17 years. There are five teaching staff and five non-teaching staff.
There are plans to expand the shelter, but this depends on financial support. Mama Grace said that staff remuneration is low too because of limited financial support.
The longest-serving staff at the orphanage takes GHS150 as monthly salary and the rest of the staff either receive a monthly salary of GHS100 or GHS70.
Background
Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation is a group of working-class professionals (including doctors, nurses, lecturers, security officers, engineers, entrepreneurs) that raises money all year round for vulnerable communities across Ghana. The Foundation generates money from its members and through external sponsors, benevolent individuals, and philanthropists.
The Foundation occasionally visits orphanages, prisons, rehabilitation centres, special schools, and vulnerable communities.
Nicholas, said: “The Foundation believes in spreading love, hope and smiles and was conceived and built on the teachings of Christian doctrines, hence their strong belief in seeing to the wellbeing of the underprivileged in society.”
Prior to the Foundation’s Easter project, the team had successfully undertaken seven orphanage projects, eight community-based projects, and 15 major projects since its inception on March 28, 2018.
To lend your support in cash or kind, and find out more about the NGO, visit: www.myhelpyourhelp.org