Children’s Home – Ghana
On December 4, 1998, Michael Nyarko-Bassi contacted ICC requesting help to sponsor an orphan boy in Ghana who needed help with his education and basic needs in life. Michael had been working with ADRA/Ghana for some time and had developed a real interest in helping orphaned and deprived children in his area. He saw the needs and responded by personally helping four children with their educational or vocational training needs.
One day Michael spotted a young boy arriving at school dressed in an extremely worn school uniform and bare footed. He carried with him a determination to succeed in getting an education. Michael decided to befriend him and began asking some questions. He discovered that the boy was living with his grandmother and did not have all the necessities of life. He had not paid his school fees for almost two years. Michael decided to investigate and see if the story was true. He went to visit the grandmother and found out that what the boy told him was true. Along with this he found out more, including that he was an orphan. His parents had been killed in a car accident. Michael was so touched by his story that he was determined to find help for him.
After trying unsuccessfully to find a local solution, Michael went to the internet and sought out possibilities. He was led to the ICC web site that December 1998 evening. Michael felt that it was worth a try, so he sent a letter to the ICC office. It was almost three weeks later that a reply came from Elder Ottis Edwards informing him that ICC was interested in helping the boy. The answer came as a big relief and at a special time – almost Christmas Eve.
Thus ICC began its work in Ghana. About three years later, an urgent request for additional help came from Michael. There were five more children that had recently experienced a tragedy in their young lives. Their father fell off the roof of a house that he was repairing and died. Three months later the mother died of typhoid fever. Now the children were orphaned and needed help. They could no longer go to school. They ranged in age from one to eleven years old.
ICC was quick to agree to help these children. In this way the project has grown.
Because of limited funds, this project has remained small. The children live in a rented home. As interest in this project increases, plans are to develop a broader program to help more children.
More information about Ghana is available by contacting ICC at (800) 422-7729.
