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THE WORK OF THE VILLAGE OF HOPE “The Village of Hope” began in 1989 as an orphanage established by Christians in the United States and Ghana to care for orphaned, abandoned, destitute and needy children until they are able to take care of themselves or are adopted by a family. Since its establishment we have cared and provided help for many impoverished, hungry, and hurting children, some of whom have become faithful Christians. At the moment, we are caring for two hundred and thirty-five (235) children. Sixty-two (62) of these are living in three homes on our campus under the care of House Parents who are matured Christian couples. Owing to the lack of accommodation, forty-nine (49) more children being cared for by the Village of Hope are living with Christians in several towns and villages throughout Ghana. These Christians act as foster parents to the children but the entire cost of caring for and educating the children is borne by the Village of Hope. Another one hundred twenty (120) children are catered for by the Village of Hope through our Street Children Program. We have seventy (70) boys and fifty (50) girls. In addition, we have four (4) Street Children in Vocational training. Most of these children had lost all hope of ever living a normal human life until we came in. The suffering and the stories of sadness that each of these children had to tell would break any heart, but through the love of Christ, just a few of these children in our nation now have hope. We rejoice when we now see smiles on the faces of these kids whom the world had rejected until now. In our care of these children, we provide food, clothing and shelter as well as education and medical care. In addition, they are nurtured in the love of the Lord. The work of the Village of Hope is accomplished through several programs we run.
MAIN PROGRAMS 1. Residential Program The first of our programs is the Residential Program. Under this program, needy children - mainly orphans - of different sexes, ages, tribes and languages are nurtured in a home by a married Christian couple. We believe that every child deserves at least a home. As such, under our Residential Program, children grow up together as brothers and sisters under the loving care of House Parents in a home where love is the order of each day and caring is a way of life. There are sixty-two (62) children under our residential program living in three separate homes, and an additional fourteen (14) living in a rented house in the village of Fetteh. They will soon move into one of the two new houses just completed and dedicated on the Village of Hope property. Each home houses twenty to twenty-one (20-21) children and a set of Christian house parents. 2. Non-Residential Program There are many more children who are urgently in need of help. However, our present homes are filled to capacity. Our Non-Residential Program enables us to reach out to these children. These children are placed with Christian families in different towns and villages through out Ghana. We provide their every need with the exception of shelter. We therefore provide the food, clothing and general needs of the children, as well as pay their school fees to enable them attend school while they live with these foster parents (Most of the foster parents are either the grandmother or aunt of the children. These relatives do not have any money or job, so they are not able to care for the children without help. With our help, and their love, the children are nurtured and helped to better lives.) outside the Village of Hope campus. 3. Child Education Program Education is a key of life that is ignored to one's own peril. It opens doors of opportunity and blessings. Without it, life can become shallow and burdensome, especially in these times that we live. Realizing the value of education and concerned about those who are willing and yearning to be educated but have no means to reach that end, we of the Village of Hope, lend a helping hand by ensuring that all the children we care for (with the exception of the Street Children) attend school and receive good education. Under our child education program, we assist Christian widows who cannot afford to pay to educate their children. This includes education fees and other cost associated with schooling. We are now in the process of finding assistance to build our own school. We have completed the first phase of the building, (the first floor of a three story building) which includes classrooms and a library, as well as a computer lab. (The lab was donated and set up by Tom Chisholm and his business "Network Technology" in Kansas City.) The school opened in September 2003 with 285 students. As we use the current building, we continue to build so that we are able to add classes with each succeeding year. It is our hope that we finish the school within the next three years. 4. Street Children Program Of late, there has been a lot of talk about street children and their suffering while living on the streets of our major towns and cities. In the media, during various forums, etc. this has been a major area of concern and yet very little has been done to rectify the situation or to lend a helping hand to these children. The Village of Hope wanted to take the matter beyond the talking point to the action point and so instituted a Street Children Program at the beginning of November, 1999. Under the program, street children whom we have registered are fed twice a day, four days in a week at our office premises and are given counseling and moral education each day they come to be fed. So far we have fed and counseled more that two hundred (200) children and are currently working with seventy (70) teenage boys, and fifty (50) girls. In the future, we hope to provide them with food for every day of the week, shelter, clothing, as well as establish a vocational training center and a sheltered workshop for these children. 5. Spiritual Development Program We are committed not only to the physical and mental well being of the children but also to their spiritual needs. We believe that providing moral character is pertinent to their present security and future self-reliance and independence. This is in line with our goal to provide the holistic development of every child. As a Christian Organization, evangelism - teaching others of the spiritual teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – is part of our mission. We organize public preaching, house-to- house evangelism and other evangelistic programs in rural areas in the country. As a result of such efforts, a church has been established that meets at our Ayawaso campus. Over two hundred (200) people have been baptized into Christ in and around Ayawaso and Pokuase in the Ga District since the inception of the Village. We also have an outreach program at our Fetteh campus. The West Side church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas sponsors the Greg Larson family who live on the campus at Fetteh. Greg and Brenda, his wife, are leading the outreach program for the Village of Hope. Greg is also the Chaplain for the Village of Hope. SUPPORTING PROGRAMS
1. Public Education Program Our Public Education Program is aimed at educating people to be sensitive to the plight of needy children and to assist them as much as they can. We organize seminars, symposia, lectures and the like during which we call upon experts, professionals, opinion leaders, etc. to educate people. We have visited several cities, towns and villages and spoken to many people. We plan to target schools, especially second cycle schools, during future programs. We have visited every region in Ghana with a public education program. A part of this include encouraging families to depend on each other for support and to assist in maintaining orphans left behind by extended family members. In addition, our Director, Fred Asare, has visited the United States several times and has spoken in many venues to speak to people about the plight of orphaned and street children in Ghana. 2. Agricultural Program
3. Clinic With the help and encouragement of International Health Care Foundation, on February 1, 2004 we opened the Andrea Browning Clinic to help with the medical needs of the Village of Hope children, as well as the 40,000 plus people who live in the villages and towns around the Village of Hope. We have been working on the clinic for the past two years, raising funds, building the structure, hiring staff, and going through the paper work needed to open. We were excited the day we opened and pray that we will be a help in prevention through teaching, immunizations, pre-natal care, and general check-ups, as well as helping in the curative process for those who come to the clinic for medical aid.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
1. Medical Assistance Program 2. Parental Assistance Program 3. Facilitation of Adoption Program 4. Child Rights Enforcement Program |
