Volume 2 | Number 5 | May 2014 Beautiful Lake, Ugly Stories! I am writing to you from Kete Krachi, a town located along the shores of Ghana's Lake Volta. I am visiting with a good friend of mine, Jason Hackmann. When one stands on the shores of the lake and casts his or her eyes across the expanse of water, it is a beautiful sight to behold! As we traveled on a small canoe across the water to visit some of the islands on the lake, we were welcomed by a beautiful sunrise, calm waters and the cool breeze as we soaked in the tranquility and the beauty of God's creation of the surrounding landscape. But that was short lived. We soon came across other small canoes with children paddling hard and working hard to catch some fish. They were dirty and looked skinny and malnourished. In their eyes were a combination of fatigue and sorrow. I even saw one child completely naked. I also saw a small boy wearing a UNICEF t-shirt. It was such an irony that this boy who has been deprived of his childhood and an education was wearing a shirt bearing the name of the United Nations Children and Education Fund that promotes the exact opposite of what he was engaged in. Sadly, that was not the only irony. In the space of two hours, we saw more than twenty children working to catch fish on the lake. The sight of these enslaved children was an ugly contrast to the beauty of God's creation. The presence of the children was an epitome of ugly stories of cruelty and inhumanity in the midst of God's providence and lavish provision. It was like witnessing death in the midst of abundant life. Many children in Ghana are working as indentured servants. This is especially so on the many islands on the Volta Lake. The Volta Lake is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. It was built in the 1960s when a dam was constructed on the Volta River at Akosombo (in the Eastern Region of Ghana) to provide hydro-electric power to the nation. To date, the Akosombo Hydro-Electric Power Station is the largest producer of electricity in Ghana. Some of the electricity is also exported to Togo and Burkina Faso. When the dam was constructed, the waters of the lake expanded to cover a very vast area of land, thereby creating many islands on the lake. Many trees were also submerged in the waters of the lake. The mainstay of people living along the banks of the lake and on the islands is fishing. Owing to poverty, some parents give up their children to serve the fishermen who fish on the Volta Lake. There are several different stories and reasons given for why and how a child becomes an indentured servant. However, the bottomline is poverty - abject poverty. The Beautiful Volta Lake Ugly Sight: Slavery at its Most Undignified Continued on Page 3 USA P. O. Box 670394 Dallas, TX 75367 Tel: 817-523-4419 Tel: 817-677-8647 [email protected] GHANA P. O. Box GP 18169 Accra, Ghana Tel: 233-24-431-3404 Tel: 233-20-823-2585 [email protected] OVERSIGHT Village of Hope is under the oversight of the Elders of Springtown Church of Christ, Springtown, Texas, USA and the Elders of Vertical Centre Church of Christ, Community Six, Tema, Ghana. MINISTRIES Hope Children’s Village Hope Training Institute Hope Christian Academy Hope Christian Hospital Church of Christ School Hope College Hope Farms Church of Christ at Village of Hope Ayawaso Church of Christ Evangelism Church Planting and Strengthening A Word from Debby Hayes Be Bold and Courageous “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9. These are the words of the Lord to Joshua as he was about to enter the Promised Land with the Israelites after they had wandered in the desert for 40 years. The people had to be worried and scared about what they would encounter in this new land, but they chose to rely on the Lord. About 10 years ago, I was asked to take a trip to the Village of Hope with my oldest daughter and a team from my church, the Germantown Church of Christ. I was excited but also REALLY scared and anxious to travel that far from my home and wasn't really sure what I was getting into. I had to trust that God had put this opportunity in front of me, and He would be with me and help me to be bold. Debby Hayes (left, in a pose with Georgina Nanor - house parent) and her family have been friends of Village of Hope for many years. She worships with the Germantown Church of Christ in Germantown, Tennessee. At that time the Village of Hope had three homes where house parents and about 60 children lived. Hope Christian Academy was newly started and classrooms desperately needed books and supplies. There were not enough teachers for the number of students in attendance. Our team ended up working at the school every day not knowing until we got there what grade or subject we were going to teach. It was a great challenge, but it was truly rewarding to see the enthusiasm of the students who were so eager to learn. We also met some extraordinary adults who were working to give hope back to abandoned and destitute children. The biggest impact was made on us by the children themselves, who despite their past circumstances were full of grace, joy and love. When I think about the children, it is easy to be bold and unafraid. It is easy to be courageous. The Village of Hope is a place where hope is promised, parents are promised, an education is promised, a home is promised, love is promised, and a place where Christ's love is displayed every day is promised. It is a Promised Land for these children, and it is easy to catch a glimpse of the way our eternal Promised Land will look when visiting this place. It is impossible for me to write about the Village of Hope without mentioning the relationships with the children. One of the children that I met that first year was Jennifer Agbenowosi. She was 13 at the time, a little bit shy, but she was imaginative and a hard worker. I taught a poetry class that year, and she wrote some beautiful, thoughtful poems. I have been able to travel several times to the VOH and have seen Jennifer grow and mature into a beautiful, caring Christian young lady. This summer I hope to see her graduate from Ashesi University in Ghana. Another relationship that I cherish is with Bernard Ampomah, a young boy I met in 2006. We ended up reading books every evening, playing countless games of war (he almost always beat me!) and talking and laughing. On subsequent visits, we continued to get to know each other, he kept beating me at cards, and we even watched the World Cup games together. The last time I visited, Bernard helped my team evangelize in a village and translated for my group. He is growing into a mature young man of God. My family has sponsored him for a number of years, and he is like a son to me. There are many other children and adults that I have built relationships with over the years. One of the reasons that I feel so strongly bound to the Village of Hope is the connection I feel with the people there. We are half a world away from each other, but each time I visit, it feels like a great homecoming. Since that first trip to the VOH, there has been so much unimagined growth there that it is hard to fathom. Bold men and women of God have stepped out in faith, and God has given the increase. What started as a spark has exploded into a fire of opportunity for not only the orphaned children at the VOH, but also for the surrounding communities. There are 10 homes with house parents serving over 200 children, houses for the staff and guests, and a large church building. Hope Christian Academy serves the children at the VOH and children from nearby villages as well as from areas farther away and is the top school in the region. Hope College, a high school, has been built, and it also serves the children from the VOH and surrounding areas. Hope Christian Hospital with a doctor, nurses and staff serves the VOH and patients from far and wide. The VOH owns farmland which produces some of the food that the VOH uses to provide the dietary needs of the children. Besides the Village of Hope campus, other ministries include the Hope Training Institute for vocational training as well as the Church of Christ School in Nkwatia. Certainly these accomplishments have been mentioned in many past newsletters. But they cannot be mentioned too much, because in these few short years, God has created a great work that will have far reaching consequences for His Kingdom. It is easy to get comfortable in the life we Americans lead, but God doesn't want us to be comfortable. Strike out of your comfort zone, be bold and unafraid for Him who gave us and gives us everything. If you can't make a trip to the Village of Hope, support it in some other way. Get involved in a ministry that challenges you. Tell someone else about the amazing God we have that provides for us in every way. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” -Debby Hayes Page 2 | Herald of Hope | May 2014 Continued from Page 1 Some parents give their children out to be indentured servants because they are unable to feed their children. Instead of helplessly watching their children die out of hunger and malnutrition, they give these children to the fishermen, called 'masters', who promise to give the children food and also train them to grow up to become fishermen. The 'masters' also sometimes promise to pay the parents some money every year for the work done by the children while serving with the 'masters'. These 'masters' sometimes pay as low as the equivalent of twenty U.S. dollars ($20) a year to the parents. Scenes from the Volta Lake At other times, parents may owe someone an amount of money and be unable to pay their debt. A 'master' will then pay the debt for the parents and in return be given a child of the parents to serve as an indentured servant. These children who work as indentured servants work for many long hours each day - sometimes as long as 18 hours out of the 24 hours in a day, and then it begins all over again. They eat once a day. Having two meals a day is considered a luxury. What works are the children engaged in? They mend broken and torn nets that are used for fishing. They are also used to cast the nets into the lake and to retrieve the nets hours later. Sometimes when the canoes used to fish develop cracks, water seeps through the cracks into the canoe. The little children who are not strong enough to cast a net are the ones who scoop the water out of the canoe when they go on a fishing expedition on the lake. By far, the most dangerous work these children do is that whenever the fishing nets get entangled in the stumps of the trees that have been submerged in the lake, they are compelled to dive into the lake to disentangle the nets. They have to stay in the water for several minutes to disentangle the entangled nets (without any protective gear). Most times they resurface after successfully accomplishing their mission. But, sadly, sometimes, after diving into the lake to disentangle fishing nets, they never show up again. On such occasions sorrow fills their other colleagues. When one interviews these children, they say their greatest fear is that one day when they dive into the lake to disentangle or retrieve a net, they will never resurface. They dread being asked to dive into the water but when they are asked to do so, they have no option but to comply. They are too well aware of the consequences of disobedience severe beatings and refusal of food. Some of them bear on their bodies the marks of brutal beatings and abuse. They are beaten if they do not wake up on time for the next fishing expedition (after working for 18 hours the previous day). They are beaten, when they resurface out of the water, if they fail to disentangle the nets. They are beaten upon the least offence and for the flimsiest of reasons. None of these children attend school. Call them what you may child laborers, domestic servants, indentured servants, etc. The truth of the matter is that they are SLAVES. Even in the twenty-first century and in this millennium, slavery is going on and these children are slaves. They live miserable and wretched lives. They feel unwanted and unloved. Their lives are dejected. The world has forgotten and rejected them. May the LORD help us not to do the same. Servant of the LORD, Fred Asare. Hold Hope High! Editor’s Note: Since 2006, Village of Hope has been caring for eighteen children who were rescued from the Volta Lake. They were rescued by a non-profit organization called Partners in Community Development (PACODEP) and sent to Village of Hope for care and education. May 2014 | Herald of Hope | Page 3 Let’s Get to Know More... Benedicta, Chelsea, Blessing and their brother Anis were faced with destitution when their father, the family’s sole breadwinner, passed away. Unfortunately, their mother was helpless due to a very critical mental condition. The children’s relatives left the burden of taking care of the children on their aged great grandmother who passed away two years later, leaving the children in the care of no particular person. They were tossed here and there until their preacher, having a big heart, decided to adopt Benedicta and Chelsea. Blessing and Anis went to their aunt who was already taking care of their mentally ill mother. Eventually, all who tried to take care of the children were not able to provide their basic needs because of their own family situations. The children, being young and fragile and needing care, were on the verge of being left to the dangers of the world. That is why the preacher applied for help from the Village of Hope where the children were welcomed with love and open arms. Evans and Ernest are the youngest of six siblings who lost their parents between 2010 and 2012. After their parents’ deaths, their oldest brother, a 27-year-old amateur carpenter became father and mother to his younger siblings. Although he tried hard, his inexperience and his very low income were taking a toll on the upbringing of the children. The church of Christ at Boete, Obuasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, had noticed the young man and the situation that he was in. Finally, it was decided that an attempt should be made at bringing Evans and Ernest to the Village of Hope to save them from potential danger and give them hope and a new family. Theophilus and his two little sisters were exposed to poverty very early in their lives. Their father, a photographer, became ill and all the family’s resources were spent taking care of him. He is still not well and requires money that the family does not have for surgeries to help him walk and work again. The children’s mother has also been ill for a long time. Out of frustration and a need to survive, the mother left with her daughters to go and live with her relatives, leaving young Theophilus alone with his father to run errands. After a while, Theophilus’ father realized that, although having the little boy around meant having someone to help, it was not in Theophilus’ best interest. This is what led to the father appealing to Village of Hope to admit Theophilus and give him an opportunity to develop properly. Theophilus now has new parents to take care of him. Richmond and Eric, the youngest of four siblings, have just joined the Village of Hope family after being exposed to poverty and hardships that boys their age do not deserve to experience. Their father passed away in 2010 and their mother was accused by the extended family, without any proof, that she was responsible for her husband’s death. The family constantly and consistently harassed the widow and her children until they fled from the family home. What she could afford as a new home was one room for all five of them. She became a peasant farmer during the farming season and a beggar for the rest of the year. Her oldest son, only 16, dropped out of school to become a mason. Her second son, after finishing ninth grade, could not go to high school. Richmond and Eric, being the youngest, were the most vulnerable, often hungry, unkempt and helpless. Today, they live with other boys in the CDH Home on the Village of Hope campus where they receive care from new parents, have started school and eat every day. Page 4 | Herald of Hope | May 2014 ... about the New Children A social worker’s visit to Moses’ home revealed a very dirty boy. Moses had, in fact, just returned with his blind father to their one-room shelter from a day of begging. The smelting heat was a stark reality in the small, windowless room they call home. Since Moses was very young, his mother had deserted her blind husband and her three children. Moses’ sister Sandra then came to live at the Village of Hope to reduce the responsibility on the father who was working hard to take care of the children. Two years ago, Moses’ father lost his job and things took a turn for the worse. Through his efforts, his oldest daughter finished high school but Moses was left to the mercy of the elements. The environment in which he was growing was not conducive for a child. His father was distraught about the condition of his family and his inability to provide the necessary guidance for his son who had become a school dropout. Therefore, it only made sense that Moses be brought to join his sister Sandra at the Village of Hope to give him a safer environment in which to grow and thrive. Amos is the fifth of the six children his parents have to cater for with their meager incomes. Raising the children has become difficult since both parents are not meaningfully employed and lack marketable skills. Amos’ father lost one of his legs some years ago when a cancerous wound destroyed most of it and eventually made an amputation the only option. In order to provide for his large family, he continued with his subsistence farming activities for some years, using his crutches for support. However, as he is growing older, he has begun to find it very difficult to work because he is not as strong as he used to be. His wife tries hard to provide food for her family of eight but she is also growing older and cannot work as much as she used to in her farming activities. The children, by virtue of their ages, are not capable of helping their mother. Poverty is creating a very unstable home environment for the children. There is no way of knowing where the next meal is going to come from and formal education is totally missing from the lives of Amos and is siblings’ weekly schedule. It is against this background that Amos’ mother expressed her fears for her children’s future development. Because of the desperate needs of others and the limited beds available, Amos is the only one of his siblings now living at the Village of Hope so that at least one member of the family will have better opportunities for physical and spiritual growth and, in the long run, break the cycle of poverty that the family is living in. Benedict’s parents were involved in a road traffic accident in 2012. His father died and his mother, who was coming back home after going away to have a baby, was seriously injured. His mother's condition eventually improved but she could not actively continue in her petty trading and could hardly feed the family. Benedict’s father’s relatives refused to support his mother, claiming falsely that she killed her husband and should, therefore, be left alone to cater for her children. They also refused to cooperate with her to acquire the letters of administration required to claim her husband's benefits. Benedict could no longer be kept in school because his mother was unable to pay for his fees. Out of sympathy, Benedict’s mother and her children were allowed to continue to stay in the police barracks because her husband was a police officer. However, they could be ejected at any time and this would only make their situation worse. Village of Hope, therefore, had to come and rescue Benedict and provide him with education, safety and training for a hopeful future. May 2014 | Herald of Hope | Page 5 Choosing the Path of Sacrifice Felix and Regina came with their son, Nana Antwi-Boasiako and their daughter, Maame Durowa. Nana and Maame are also making a huge sacrifice by sharing their parents with 18 others, although currently, they are probably oblivious to this fact. We pray that through this sacrifice, these two children will grow up well and be blessed like others before them who allowed and are still allowing others to call their parents “Mama” and “Dada”. Please pray for strength and patience for the Nimako's as they take on this new role and adapt to the various changes that their family must go through. Also, pray for our existing house parents: George & Cynthia Arthur; Daniel and Matilda Adu-Poku; Victor and Victoria Agbeko; Emmanuel and Georgina Nanor; Emmanuel and Margaret Akoto; Ebenezer and Irene Ayisi; Martin & Vida Boakye; Rexford and Juliet Asumeng; Samuel and Betty Afriyie; and all their children. Regina & Felix F elix and Regina Nimako have joined the Village of Hope family as house parents. With the admission of new children into the orphanage comes the need to have more people to take care of these children and guide them as they grow. For this reason, the search for house parents began last year (2013) and by the time that the children were ready to come into residence, we had found Felix and Regina. The couple now lives in our newest children's home – CDH Home. Their interest in the development and welfare of children is genuine and we sincerely hope that they will stay on to nurture the children in their home to become responsible, hardworking and God-fearing adults who would be of benefit to their families and to all of society. Family Photo: Felix, Regina and the Children of CDH Home There are 82 students in the Hope Christian Academy 9th Grade class and 16 in the Church of Christ School 9th Grade class. They are all writing the national exam in June. PLEASE KEEP THEM IN YOUR PRAYERS as they take mock exams and prepare for their first major exam. We are still raising funds for two buses for the Church of Christ School at Nkwatia. Please mail your checks to: VILLAGE OF HOPE P. O. BOX 670394 DALLAS, TX 75367 Indicate the purpose of the check on the memo line with the words “School Bus.” THANK YOU! Page 6 | Herald of Hope | May 2014 Spring Medical Missions T he people in the rural areas of Ghana often do not have immediate access to specialist medical care. In fact, in very deprived areas, general medical professionals are also hard to reach when people are ill. That is why Hope Christian Hospital exists, to make sure that, beyond taking care of the medical needs of the children and staff of Village of Hope, medical services are also immediately available to the people in the communities that surround us. Hope Christian Hospital also reaches out to the villages in many different ways including partnering with medical mission groups periodically to provide free general and specialist consultation, treatment and medicines to those who have the need. 3 4 7 8 Pictures: 7. Matilda Adu-Poku and Alex Parham at Ayawaso “Eye Department” 8. Dorian Lain Sees a Patient at Ayawaso Every year since 2004, in March, the Farragut church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennesse, sends a group of medical professionals and support staff with medicines and other equipment, to come and join the staff of the hospital to serve the people in a particular area. This March, the team spent the first day serving at Ayawaso, where Hope Training Institute (our trade school) is located. After waking up early to leave the Fetteh campus at 6 AM to get to Ayawaso on time, you can imagine the team's disappointment when they found only a handful of people waiting to be treated. Little did they know that at the end of that day, they would have taken care of 367 people! They came back home to the Fetteh campus exhausted but fulfilled. The remaining three days were spent serving the people of Fetteh: 182 people were seen on that first day at Fetteh; 231 on the second day; and 257 on the third and final day. Therefore, after four days of consultations, extractions, glaucoma tests, prescriptions, etc., 1,037 patients had been served by the team. We are certain that a few other people were taken care of who did not make a stop at the registration desk. It was a short but very successful week where the love of God was demonstrated to those in need of care and we are grateful to the Farragut Spring Mission team for making it possible. 1 2 5 6 Pictures: 1. Don Mabry & his Sister Darlene Bennett at work in Fetteh 2. George Arthur & Martin Boakye at Registration Desk at Ayawaso 3. Kaleigh Lain Interacts with a Boy 4. Alex Peasah-Koduah (Medical Director) Attends to a Little Girl 5. Rhonda & Brian Lain Test Eyes at Ayawaso 6. Mary Hyatt, Paul Phelps, Colby Phelps Manage Medicines at Ayawaso We d s A b e n u t ena Fo r On Saturday, March 15, we traveled to Sebrepor (near the port city of Tema) to support our son Fortune Bulley in his marriage to his sweetheart, Abena. It was quite a family reunion! The Voices of Hope sang their hearts out at the wedding reception. Please pray for the newlyweds. May 2014 | Herald of Hope | Page 7 SPONSOR A Child TODAY! Page 8 | Herald of Hope | May 2014 Here is what your monthly gift of $100 can do: - Feed a Child - Clothe a Child - Educate a Child - Provide Healthcare for a Child - Give Parental Care to a Child Why don’t you join us today? - We will assign you a child. - We will give you information about that child. - You will have the opportunity to write to your beneficiary and get to know them personally. - For further enquiries please email us: [email protected]