Light for Children June Update

Written by Mike Owusu, Programme coordinator (inlawp5@yahoo.com) and Sebastian Lindstrom, chairman (butchieenorsk@msn.com)

School presentations
This month we started holding our presentations at the Nyankyerenease Methodist School. We went to the classes 1 and 2 of the Junior High and the classes 5 and 6 of the Primary School. During the presentations the students were introduced to the Journey of Hope and encouraged to participate, as we lectured them about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy and others. After that the studentsc were given assignments to write or draw something about what we had told them. We also coordinated with the faculty and students of Nyankyerenease regarding A.K., a student whom has been having a difficult time at the school. A.K. was being taunted and made fun of by the other children due to a slight mental delay relative to the others in his class. We spoke with his family as well, and developed creative ways to bring out his potential. A.K. and his family have recently reported that they are much happier, and the students have been treating him well at school. The work on these assignments will be carried out next month.

 

Monthly socialization meeting
The monthly meeting of the HIV positive care and support group took place at the Center for National Cultural Centre of Kumasi on the 21st of June, 2008 at 9:30a.m. Most of the children and their caregivers were present and participating actively. Volunteers Mimi, Hilary, Andre Terra and Sara Glazer from Canada, and Christian Monteith from Germany were all present to assist. Volunteer Sara Glazer from Volunteer Abroad came to the meeting with Junior, a seven year old boy living at the Missionaries for Charity Orphanage. Junior is HIV positive and has been suffering from Tuberculosis. He comes from a family where he was severely neglected and left very ill. Sara hopes to, in coordination with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Western Ontario, find sponsorship for Junior as well as several other HIV positive orphans upon her return to school in September. We will follow up on this venture next month.

 

Cooperation with US High School 

As we were contacted by an US High School, which was interested in Ghanaian culture and therefore wanted to cooperate with a Ghanaian High School, we went looking for a school with the appropriate facilities to keep in contact with the partner school. Finally we chose the Kumasi Academy, as they have both enough students of the age from 15 to 17 as well as the opportunity to install an Internet connection over there, which is necessary to communicate with the US school. The plan is to have the students communicate with each other for 9 months. In the 10^th month, however, it is planned that the US students will come to Ghana for a short visit so they can experience Ghanaian school life. Right now we’re still waiting for the school to send us the profiles of the 40 selected students, so we can forward them to the US High School.

 

Profiles of Children who need sponsorship

If you are interested in sponsoring one of these children, please don’t hesitate to contact Sebastian Lindstrom via email at butchieenorsk@msn.com

Mavis, Age 10.

Family History

The Mensah family used to reside in Europe and on return to Ghana; both parents discovered they were HIV positive. Both parents sadly passed away due to the virus, leaving Mavis and her twin sister Mabel as orphans. The grandmother assumed the role of primary caregiver to the girls. Mavis and Mabel were taken to the hospital and tested for HIV; Mavis was found to be chronically anaemic and HIV positive, Mabel tested negative for HIV. A friend of the family that works in the hospital reported them to Light for Children.

Both girls are still residing with their grandmother in Agogo, Kumasi. Their grandmother is unemployed and has only their Grandfathers pension to support them and the rest of their large family. Providing for the girls is a constant struggle for the family due to the health needs of Mavis.

 

About Mavis

Mavis is a lovely, quiet young girl; she is extremely caring and loving towards everyone, and adores children. She is very helpful around the house and always helps her grandmother with the household chores.

Mavis is doing ok at school; her favourite subjects are Twi and English, she enjoys these very much. Mavis enjoys attending the monthly socialization meetings with her twin sister Mabel. She spends a lot of time looking after the smaller children in the group and playing with them. She is extremely caring towards them and she is a popular member of the group.

 

 

Mabel, Age 10.

Family History

The Mensah family used to reside in Europe and on return to Ghana; both parents discovered they were HIV positive. Both parents sadly passed away due to the virus, leaving Mabel and her twin sister Mavis as orphans. The grandmother assumed the role of primary caregiver to the girls. Mabel and Mavis were taken to the hospital and tested for HIV; Mabel was found to be negative but Mavis was found to be chronically anaemic and HIV positive

A friend of the family that works in the hospital reported them to Light for Children. Both girls are still residing with their grandmother in Agogo, Kumasi. Their grandmother is unemployed and has only their Grandfathers pension to support them and the rest of their large family. Providing for the girls is a constant struggle for the family due to the health needs of Mavis.

 

About Mabel

Mabel is very similar to her twin sister Mavis; she is an extremely loving and caring young girl. She loves children and is always willing to help her grandmother with the household chores.

Mabel performs very well at school; she is in the top four of her class for both mathematics and English. These are her favourite subjects.

Mabel enjoys attending the monthly socialization meetings with Mavis. They are always seen playing together and caring for the younger children, especially the two sets of baby twins. Mabel is a popular member of the group, and is especially close to Beatrice.

 

Beatrice, Age 8.

 

Family History

Beatrice is HIV positive and is cared for by her Auntie and Grandmother in Tafo, Kumasi. The auntie is the only member of the family in the household who knows that Beatrice is HIV positive. Beatrice’s father is presumed to be positive but refuses to test and discriminates against his daughter because of her status. Her father stays in Accra and her mother took her to live with him there, but due to his attitude to the virus he insisted she went back to Kumasi. Due to the conflict between the parents and the obvious neglect of Beatrice’s health and wellbeing the father’s sister stepped in and took care of Beatrice.

Beatrice’s auntie use to work in Accra as a trader but due to her own health problems is now unemployed. She moved into the Grandmothers house in Kumasi to help her in her effort to care for Beatrice and her own children.

 

About Beatrice

Beatrice is a bubbly and playful little girl. Over the last few months Beatrice’s personality has begun to shine, she is now very chatty and outgoing. This is a result of a loving and settled home life.

Beatrice has very recently started attending school. Despite being behind the other children in class she is enjoying her new school. Her English and general performance is improving quickly and it is clear that it won’t take her long to catch up with her peers.    

Beatrice enjoys the monthly socialization meetings and loves playing with Mavis and Mabel. She is a keen participant in all games. She always turns up to the meetings beautifully dressed but always leaves covered in dirt…a sure sign that she has enjoyed playtime!

 

 

 

 

 

Report On activities for January-May, the two-week program and child sponsorship

7^th of June 2008

 

 

Written and prepared by Mike Owusu, Programme coordinator (inlawp5@yahoo.com), Sebastian Lindstrom (butchieenorsk@msn.com) , Claire Cummings (claire_c_86@hotmail.com) and Carly Moran (caz-85@hotmail.co.uk)

 

January

As most of the volunteers left for their various countries coupled with the Christmas break we did not do many activities. Fortunately two Canadian Volunteers namely Melissa Sharon and Clara Bray joined our team. Melissa was a third year student from Trent University Canada and she was a ‘Internship Volunteer”. One day orientation was organized for new students.

 

Based on her profile, Clara Blay was put in charge of sexual abuse cases and street children. In the second, she and the Executive Director, held a meeting with the teachers of the Adum Presby Junior Secondary School where support for three students who are street children was discussed. Eventually 3 year sponsorship deal for one of the street girls called Constance Osei was clinched. On the third week, we organized monthly socialization meeting. Three new HIV positive children were referred to us from the teaching hospital for social support.

 

 

 

A new school, Asawasi Methodist Junior Secondary School was recommended to us by the Methodist Education Unit to extend our outreach programs there. So our new Volunteers were attached to that school to that effect till the end of January.

  

 February

Unlike January, February was a busy month. We played host to a group of nursing students from Canada and also a group of students from Hong Kong

University. These students were here to study the HIV situation in Africa. The month also saw the arrival of three Volunteers from Britain namely Grace Crawford, Claire Cummings and Carly Moran (a past volunteer). After orientation the new volunteers were attached to Asawasi Presby Junior Secondary school where they made presentation on AIDS.

Together with the Canadian students, we organized outreach programmes to some villages along Lake Bosomtwe. We did educate them on breastfeeding and on child nutrition. We also organized workshop on AIDS at Opoku Ware girls Vocational Institution and some churches. On the third week we had our monthly socialization meeting with the children. During the last week, we received students from Hong Kong.

We also continue our HIV/AIDS education programme with the students from Canada at four junior Secondary Schools. The Canadian students also visited the rehabilitation centre for the malnourished children in Kumasi.

 

 

 

They interacted with the workers and the children there. They also donated food items (rice and sugar) to the centre. We meet three times with our board directors to prepare a programme scheduled and itinerary for the expecting Hong Kong students.

  

March

No sooner had the Canadian students left than the Hong Kong students arrived. The Hong Kong students and our volunteers were divided into four groups. One group did voluntary work at Suntreso Government Hospital. Another group worked at children rehabilitation centre. The other groups visited alternatively two leading organizations that deal with HIV/AIDS issues. The Hong Kong group attended our monthly socialization meeting where they played with the children and donated various items to all our clients.

 

 

At the middle of the month, The Staff and Volunteers of this organization joined the students from Hong Kong to pay working visit to Upper West Region. We were hosted by NGO called Child Support.

 

 

 

At Wa we paid a working visit to the children ward of the Regional Hospital, Hospice for AIDS sufferers and we also donated clothing, toys to the rehabilitation centre for the malnourished children. We also went to Hain which is about forty kilometers from Wa.

 

 

 

 

At Hain we visited and interacted with the workers and volunteers with a leading NGO called RAAP. It deals with providing Care and Support for vulnerable children and those who are HIV positive. On the last day of our stay in the region, the Regional Minister organized a big party in our honor.

 

 

 

The group also donated clothing, books, and toys to the St Joseph Orphanage which is the oldest in the country. To crown the visit of the students from Hong Kong, we organized a funfair for the children at Atonsu Cluster of Schools. At the funfair there was a sketch on AIDS and display of Ghanaian drumming and dance. There was a football match among all the three school. All the participants were giving 2 footballs each and trophies. 

April

Activities in the month of April 2008 the group’s socialization meeting at the Kumasi Cultural Centre, where the volunteers Corp of the organization did farewell to the children and their mothers.

 

The next line of activity was the promotion of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) among the youth out of school especially apprentice hair dressers.

This group who are predominately young ladies who are learning the art of hairdressing is one of the who are considered vulnerable in respect of HIV/AIDS infection.

 

However the basic objective of this programme is

1. To continue to educate them on the basic information on HIV/AIDS/STI’s
2. To help them to adopt best practice in terms of prevention
3. To go for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) to know their status
4. To encourage as many in these category to go for VCT         

The first interaction was on Friday 11^TH April 2008 at the Divine Raster Hair Do a group of Hairdressers at Atonsu Agogo they were taken through the basic information on HIV/AIDS /STI’s .After the graphical pictures of STI’s and HIV conditions were shown to them, To make the programme more interactive, they were asked to ask questions and also make contribution.

After became clearer in their minds and when the opportunity was given to make a choice of going to VCT, twelve apprentice who were there voluntary decide to go for the test .They were given a referral notes to be taken to Kumasi South Hospital VCT centre

As part of the programme the VCT centre of the hospital were brief about the programme where an amount of money was paid to  the centre to take care of the cost involved as a way of encouragement them to do the test

 

The programme continue on Tuesday 15^th of April at another saloon called Amangoase continue since it was near a mango tree .Here too six (6) apprentice decided to go for the test they were also given referral notes to go to the VCT centre. The last place visited in respect of this activity was the Black Queens Beauty Saloon also at Atonsu Agogo.Here also about 17 apprentices accepted to for the test and were all given referral notes to the VCT centre on Wednesday 16^th April 2008

 

A follow up was made to find out how many of them have really gone for the test and to our surprise almost all of them have with some who were not there at the time of our visit joining the follow ups was also used to share experience of having gone through the voluntary counseling and testing process. Most of them said they were scared immediately they stepped at the laboratory and also very apprehensive before they were finally told that they tested negative. As this a pilot project we think the number of the apprentice have for the test which stood at 28 as at the time we did the follow up is quite appreciable. However plans are under way to a scale up the programme.       

 

May

Activities for the month of May were basically follow ups and the monthly socialization meeting of the HIV children support group.

 

VCT follow ups

                          

After the Voluntary Counseling & Testing with the apprentice head dressers a follow up was also done at the Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centre at the Kumasi South Hospital for this programme. The purpose of the visit was to acquaint ourselves with the response from the health facility and to know how the programme is going.

 

The Light for Children team that did the visit was the Director and one of their volunteers from Holland called Michel. We were told by the counselor in-charge of the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre(VCT) that they were highly impressed by the turn-out within a relatively short time and commended the programme.

 

Socialization Meeting (support group)

The monthly meeting of the HIV positive Care and Support group took place at the Centre for National Cultural Kumasi on the 17^th May, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.

Most of the children and their care givers were there in their numbers. Also present were the Volunteer corp. of the organization.

 

Needy Child Support

A follow up was also made to this aspect of the sponsorship of LIFOF at the Methodist Education Unit. On the 22^nd of May 2008. The Girl Child co-coordinator of the Unit and the LIFOC Director visited one of the children-Abigail.

The purpose was to have first hand information on the girl. We were also giving an update of her performance at school and how she was faring. She was then advised to learn hard and make the best use of the opportunity.   

 

 

Two weeks Voluntary work and tour program

 

Details of the program

 

The program is composed of two elements, namely; placement at orphanage, or day care centre, and selected tours.

A

1. The volunteers will be picked at the airport by a staff and transferred to a hotel for over-night.
2. On the second day after breakfast, the volunteer will be sent to host family. At the host family, the volunteer will be fed twice during the working days and trice at the week ends, or when the volunteer is not working. The volunteer will buy his or her own water.
3. In the ensuring morning, the volunteer will go through orientation and registration at the office of Light for Children.  After the registration and orientation, the volunteer will i.e. introduced to his or her placement. The volunteer bears the transportation cost to and from placement centre ($20) a month. There are some bicycles that can be used to go to the placement. However at some of the placements the volunteer will not take bus. At the work places the volunteer may work with some foreign volunteers. 

B

1.      Two days before departure from Ghana, the volunteer will do a guided tour to Cape Coast. At Cape Coast( the first capital town of Ghana), the volunteer will visit the Kakum National Park to do the canopy walk, which is the only one in Africa; apart from South Africa. The volunteer will also visit ancient castles. These castles were used as as the residence for the European traders and admistrators and also served as final camp for slaveʼs en route USA. 

2.      After visiting the castles, the volunteer will be sent to Accra airport en-route to his /her home country.

3.      The volunteer does not pay for feeding accommodation, entry fees and transport in the course of his or her stay because it is covered by the programme fee.

4.      On the first Saturday, the volunteer will be sent to Kumasi where he/she will visit most interesting places like the wood craft village, the museum of the Ashanti King and the largest market in West Africa.

5.      Light for children provides care and support for 40 children who are HIV positive. The volunteer may have the opportunity to play with the children and interact will their care givers and also other foreign volunteers. They may join other volunteers to visit these children in their homes

6.      Moreover light for children organizes tour to the northern part of the country for volunteers in the city from different organizations monthly. So if the volunteer is lucky she may join the trip (this is not covered by the programme fee). The areas to be visited include the water fall, the elephantʼs park, crocodile pond and the slave camp. The trip takes four days and it may cost $100 including transport, feeding accommodation, entry fees.

 

 

Profiles of Children who need sponsorship

If you are interested in sponsoring one of these children, please don’t hesitate to contact Sebastian Lindstrom via email at butchieenorsk@msn.com

 

Hilda, Age 5.

 

 

 

 

Family History

Hilda and her younger brother Terrance are both HIV positive and are both currently on ART medication. They were discovered by Light for Children through Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Hilda suffers from recurrent colds and coughs due to the virus.

Hilda’s mother is HIV positive. Her father refuses to be tested as at the moment he feels healthy and doesn’t believe that he has the virus.  Hilda’s father works as a farmer in Swame and does not always stay with the family. Hilda’s mother works as a secretary and has been working with the same company for the past five years. The family tries hard to make enough money to cover the cost of the ART medication although at times this proves difficult.

The children live with their mother and their grandparents, as well as their aunt and her two children in Adiembra, a suburb of Kumasi. Hilda’s grandmother is the only member of the family who knows her status due to the stigmatization that surrounds HIV.

 

 

 

About Hilda

Hilda is a beautiful, happy five-year-old girl. Hilda is shy when she first meets people but it does not take long for her warm, bubbly personality to come out. She works hard at school and performs very well; her reading in particular is excellent. Hilda enjoys the monthly socialization meetings and loves playing games with the other children; she is always full of fun and energy.

 

 

 

 

Terrance, Age 4.

 

Terrance and his older sister Hilda are both HIV positive and are both currently on ART medication. They were discovered by Light for Children through Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Terrance suffers from recurrent colds and coughs due to the virus.

Terrance’s mother is HIV positive. His father refuses to be tested as at the moment he feels healthy and doesn’t believe that he has the virus. Terrance’s father works as a farmer in Swame and does not always stay with the family. Terrance’s mother works as a secretary and has been working with the same company for the past five years. The family tries hard to make enough money to cover the cost of the ART medication although at times this proves difficult.

The children live with their mother and their grandparents, as well as their aunt and her two children in Adiembra, a suburb of Kumasi. Terrance’s grandmother is the only member of the family who knows his status due to the stigmatization that surrounds HIV.

 

 

About Terrance

Terrance is a shy little boy with a big character; he loves to play with his older sister Hilda and his cousin Henry. He is a typical three-year-old boy and is full of energy; however his recurrent colds and cough cause him to tire quickly during play.

Terrance is currently at kinder garden, which he enjoys despite finding it difficult to concentrate. Terrance enjoys the monthly socialization meetings and is a very popular member of the group. He is often seen being paraded around on volunteer’s shoulders!

 

 

 Christian, Age 5.

Christiana tested positive for HIV in July 2007, she was tested after her older sister became ill and sadly died. Christiana suffers from recurrent colds and a runny nose as well as coughs and regular headaches.

 

Christiana’s mother unknowingly contracted HIV from her first husband and passed it on to her second husband, Christiana’s father, without realizing. Christiana then contracted the virus through childbirth yet this wasn’t discovered until after the death of her older sister.

 

 

 

Christiana’s father runs his own mechanic shop and works very hard to provide for the family. Christiana’s mother, Kate, is currently not working but is trying to save up to start her own business. This is particularly difficult due to the strain of providing ART and constant care for herself and Christiana. The family rents a house in Maakro, Kumasi where they have lived for two years.

 

 

About Christiana

Christiana is a very playful, giggly little girl. She loves to laugh and will capture your heart when she smiles. She is full of energy and loves to play.

Christiana enjoys school but she is currently struggling with her lessons. Her father normally practices English with her but due to periods of absence she is beginning to fall behind in class. Currently volunteers are visiting Christiana to help her with her English and reading skills.

 

Christiana loves the socialization meetings and playing with the foreign volunteers. She is full of mischief and runs rings around everyone at the meeting. She is never still and is always running around looking for more fun and adventure

Light for Children January report

Written by: Melissa Russell, Volunteer (melissarussell@trentu.ca)

First and foremost, we would like to wish all of our Light for Children supporters a happy new year. May the new year bring you joy and peace. Light for Children has gotten off to a great start this January. Although our previous stock of volunteers have gone home. Two new Canadians have come to join our team. Melissa Russell, an International Development student from Trent University in Ontario will be working with Light for Children for the next three months, volunteering and doing research on HIV/AIDS in the Kumase area. In addition, Ciara Bray has come all the way from Sasketchewan for a 10 weeks stay and has been having a blast working with all of the children and also organizaing impromtu football games with the children in their area. Surely, these two will be able to contriubte much to the organization during their stay.

 

This month we have been busing, tracing all over Adum trying to get 2008 off to a strong start. In the third week of January we had our first socialization meeting of the year and we had quite a great turnout. Almost all of our families were waiting for us when we arrived and a whole whack of student volunteers came along to help out just for the day. Ciara and I got down to buisness, checking the health status of the children and we are happy to report that almost all the children have had a steady improvement in their health maintainence even over the rush of the Chirstmas Season.

It was great for us to finally meet the children we had heard so much about and too see how well they have been doing thanks to the Light for Children programme. After the formal stuff, the volunteers took the children down to the playing field where we began a steady session of fun and active games while Yaw remained behind, discussing new and important information with the parents. It was certainly challenging trying to have the rules to freeze tag, octopus and duck, goose explained in twi, but the children understood and we had an awesome time! After many exhausting rounds, we re-joined the parents for a really nice lunch, together in the park. It really was a great experience to see the strength of this support groups and to see everyone interacting well and getting along.

The importance of these monthly meetings is soo evident when you are a part of them. The Stigma and discrimination faced by peoples with HIV/AIDs in Ghana is extremely isolating and even humilating. Support groups, like the one set up by Light for Children, creates a community-of parents, children, community figures and foreign volunteers, helping to give people back their sense of belonging and dignity while also providing them with practical tools to stay healthy, not only phyisically, but also mentally and emotionally as well.

The meeting finished with the families recieving their medicines, the ARTS and blood boosters and any remaining fund required for this school term. I think everyone left with a strong sense of satisifaction with all that had been accomplished that day.

In other news our small team has been busy behind the scenes. We have currently finished a funding proposal for the Ghana Aids Commission so that we can keep both our programs running for the children, and to begin new interventions this year in the second cycle institutions and the apprenticeship schools. We want to encourage people to go to the the clincs in Kumasi to find out about their HIV status. It is our belief that knowing if you are positive or negative empowers you to protect yourselves as well as others. In addition, Ciara and Melissa have started working on a new presentation for the schools which will be based around the topic of sexual assult and rape. The overall purpose will be to empower the children in responsible decision making, self-ownership and the importance of listening to our feeling of what is right for us and what is wrong.

The presentation will be full of fun and informative activities that should really help to get the point accross. We plan to present this new deal to the Methodist Unit in the next month or so and hopefully do the premier presentation soon.

We have also been continuing our work with one of the vulnerable children we discovered before Christmas. Although we have found her suitable accomidation, it has been difficult to convince her to want to leave her home, despite the poor and even dangerous conditions found there. In the next month, we will continue to try to investigate the most effective way to help this girl and getting her into a position suitable for the the healthy development of a beautiful, young girl, that she is.

Next month will continue to be busy for Ciara and I. We will be starting our Journey of Hope Presentations at the Aswansi Methodist School, first with the Junior secondary students and then the primary as well. Hopefully, we will also be able to start home visists to the childrens homes to be able to provide our supporters with updates on their lives.

We ask for your continued love, feedback and support. It is our network of care, which extends beyond Ghan, that makes us so effective for the children and that network, we consider so vital, is nothing without people like you!

Until Next Month, Take care!

Light for Children December report

Written by:Tarin Duncan, Super Volunteer (tarin22@hotmail.com)

The Ontario Co-operative Young Leaders Program (CYL) is a leadership programme managed by the Ontario Co-operative Association that teaches adolescents about the Co-operative Model as well as instilling leadership, communication, and team building skills in them.

A donation of $630 US was made on behalf of the CYL Participants to Light for Children to sponsor three children for a year: twin 7 month olds, Edward & Edwin, and a 4 year old boy named Vincent. It will pay for their visits to the clinic to receive proper nutrition since they are not yet old enough to go on anti-retrovirals or to attend school.

Light for Children volunteers painted the Nutrition Center room and purchased toys for the children, it was a wonderful surprise to the mothers and babies. Completed Journey of Hope presentations for the season, will resume again after the New Year. Presented the awards and prizes for the outstanding work completed by the Adum Presbyterian students, after the finale of the Journey of Hope presentations.

December 2nd:
Light for Children volunteers made a home visit to LiFoC child

December 6th:
Carol Concert performed by the KO Methodist students. 2000 children in attendance, recited bible verses, and performed short drama pieces as well as enjoyed the huge dance party. Light for Children presented the school with 6 soccer balls, one for each stream of classes.

December 7th:
Departure of two Light for Children volunteers: Jacqui Lowe and Carly Moran have left us to return to there countries. They will be missed by all, we thank them for all the hard work they did and for bringing some light into the lives of many children during their time here. We wish them a safe journey home and hope that they will return some day soon.

Guests arrived to accompany Light for Children on some home visits and learn more about the organization. They made a generous contribution to the Light for Children organization which will go towards the organizations activities.

December 11th:
Regional Aids Day Celebration- Light for Children erected a booth displaying posters and pictures of events and activities that LiFoC is apart of. We sported Light for Children t-shirts and the children from KO Methodist school performed a short drama and sang two songs they created about HIV/AIDS. The audience really enjoyed the performance and Light for Children received lots of attention and praise.

Light for Children volunteers, transported 14 drumming and dancing students from Atonsu Presbyterian school to the Edwinache Rehabilitation Center for the Mentally and Physically Disabled. The children performed their original dances and drumming and encouraged the residences to join in with them. It was a brilliant exchange of respect and love of dance and music.

December 16th:
Light for Children volunteers made a home visit to one of the Light for Children homes.

Light for Children volunteer, Juan Guinle, has generously donated :

• one lap top computer
• wireless router
• one pin drive
• file stationary

Juan has also become the proud sponsor of 2 Light for Children: Vulnerable Children (Abigail and Constance)

December 21th:
Departure of Light for Children volunteer, Juan Guinle.

December 22th - Light for Children Monthly Meeting and Christmas Party:
The Atonsu Presbyterian drumming and dancing students accompanied us to the meeting and did a special Christmas performance for the LiFoC group. The children were shown how to do some of the cultural dances, while the parents listened to our special guest speaker Mrs. Diana from the Nutritional Rehabilitation Center.

December 23rd:
Light for Children volunteer made a home visit to one of the LiFoC children.

Ongoing:

• updating web page
• expanding LiFoC children profiles
• networking for sponsorship of children
• event planning
• search for an office

The Volunteering experience

Written by: Georgia Tanner, Volunteer (georgiatanner@gmail.com)

Background

• Toronto High Schools HIV/AIDS peer educator
• Volunteered in Costa Rica at an eco-tourism destination
• Bachelor’s Degree from University of Western Ontario in Political Science & English, where Georgia spent more time on various extra-curricular and volunteer projects than on class material
• Spent 2 months at Light for Children doing HIV/AIDS education, outreach and intervention programs, following her dream of becoming a fufu connoisseur and consuming as much of her host mum Maria’s “red sauce” as humanly possible
• Currently in Canada working on Light for Children fundraising initiatives and wishing she was back in Ghana

BLOG

I decided to volunteer with Light for Children Ghana without knowing what to expect; my knowledge about Ghana came only from a travel guide book and what I read online, and the scope of my knowledge about HIV/AIDS in Africa was equally limited. Although I knew about the AIDS pandemic in Africa and was aware of the problems of accessibility and the complex funding challenges that many countries face, I don’t think I was able to fully understand the way the disease affected so many aspects of life in Ghana, nor was I able to put a human face to the disease in an African context.

My experience of the disease was confined within the context of the Western world. Although I had lost a family friend to AIDS when I was quite young, in my world, the fight against AIDS seemed to be one we were winning. I knew that the ART drugs were getting better all the time, that the disease appeared to be under control, and that medical research was constantly making progress. Realistically, I knew that the situation wouldn’t be as promising in Africa, where a variety of problems make access to the latest drugs, medical care and education difficult. However, until I arrived and saw firsthand how difficult it was to be living with AIDS in Ghana, I didn’t understand just how frustratingly unfair the situation was.

As soon as I arrived in Kumasi to work with Light for Children, I began to hear stories of AIDS and meet those who were most affected by it. As I listened and learned, I realized that even though I knew about the AIDS pandemic, even though I was aware of the shocking statistics, I had never before faced the human element. Confronting the reality of the disease and its devastating affect on people who I would come to call my friends was the hardest part of the experience for me. At times it was difficult to keep a positive attitude, and sometimes I gave in to very bitter sentiments over the unfairness of it all.

However, the example set by Yaw Otchere Baffour, my host father and the founder of Light for Children Ghana made it easier for me to approach the problem and realize the ways I could help to make a difference. Although Yaw deals with serious and disheartening situations nearly every day, he remains unwaveringly positive. I distinctly remember the first night we arrived in Kumasi at Yaw’s; he told us it was his dream that every HIV positive child would realize that he or she could be an achiever. Throughout the experience I saw again and again how dedicated Yaw was to this dream; while I was there I watched him work tirelessly on committees and boards, saw him visit the homes of those affected by HIV/AIDS and give them support and advice, and I saw the hope he gave to the AIDS support group he helped to organize.

Although I knew there would be a local response to AIDS, I am ashamed to say that I didn’t expect it to be as widespread, innovative, and effective as it was. People like Yaw impressed me with how much change and hope they could bring with so few resources. Because of the local connections Yaw has, Light for Children is able to help people individually in a personal way, which is important to fighting the feelings of isolation that HIV/AIDS can bring to a family. Before I went to Africa, I thought that the Western aid organizations would be the biggest presence in Ghana, which simply isn’t the case: the locally-run NGOs dedicated to fighting AIDS were the ones I saw making a difference.

As I realized how effective these local organizations were, I felt a little ashamed. Although I was making a difference and helping the organization, wouldn’t it have been better if I had just given Light for Children (or an organization like it) the money I had spent on the plane ticket? In one of our frequent conversations about aid NGOs, Yaw explained to me why oversees volunteers are important. My presence in Ghana with Light for Children showed the people there that many of us in the West do care about the AIDS pandemic, and we were able to trade information about how each of our countries were dealing, and what kind of support they offered. International volunteers at Light for Children were even able to speak about these things on the radio in Ghana, and share our experiences with a larger audience. In addition, so many people see or hear about AIDS in Africa only through the Western media, which only shows a small part of the problem. The stories that HIV/AIDS volunteers bring back to their countries help to put a human face on the problem, which encourages and inspires people to take action on this distant problem.

Back in Canada, I feel as if my perspective on Africa and the AIDS epidemic is forever changed. Problems, issues, and people that once felt distant are now close to me, and I hope that even though my time in Ghana has ended, my work for this cause has just begun.

Light for Children November Update

Written by: Jacqui Lowe, Kumasi District Volunteer

KO School visits
Prize presentations and recaps at KO Methodist continued and were completed this month, discussions are taking place about which Methodist school LiFoC will be visiting next term.

Presby School
Journey of Life presentations to JSS classes at Presby School, Adum, took place throughout November. Light for Children are proud to of covered all the J.S.S classes, and will be moving on to other units after the Christmas vacation.

Rehab centre
As part of a longer term goal to add Childrens nutritional education to Light For Children programmes, work began this month at the Maternity and birth clinic. Volunteers provided information and support to the mothers of undernourished and malnourished children. They also had plenty of time to play with the children, and even help prepare the food! We hope the partnership will allow Light For Children to increase their contribution to Childrens welfare in the Ashanti region. Light for Children were also pleased to discuss contributions that we can make towards the food provided to the children, which we were informed is in short supply. A presentation was made to nurses of rice and milk for the centre from Light For Children.

Monthly Meeting
November saw the first of a regular monthly meeting with the children under Light for Children’s care who are infected with or affected by HIV. LiFoC were proud to provide the first instalment of a years supply of ART treatment, paid for by LiFoCc, and some financial assistance for the children’s upkeep. For more information please see separate news report.

World AIDS day
LiFoC staff and volunteers were busy in November organising our attendence at World AIDS day activities. See back next month for more information on the event.

 

Carol Concert
Plans have been taking form for the Carol Concert, which is supported by LiFoC. The KO Methodist school was chosen because of the close relationship they have had with LiFoC. The concert will be held 6th December 2007. Watch this space.

New Volunteer
This month saw the arrival of new Light For Children Volunteer Tarin Duncan who will be with us till January. She arrived from Canada, and got stuck straight into work.

Light for Children October Update

Written by: Jacqui Lowe, Kumasi District Volunteer

KO Methodist School
Presentations continued at KO Methodist School this month. Presentations were given to classes J.S.S. 4,5 and 6, and recap presentation and prizes were awarded to classes.

Home Visits
Light for children visited some children at home at the beggining of October who are infected or affected by HIV. The children and their families were introduced to the new volunteers, and support and advice was given to them.

Presby School
After hearing the Light for Children feature on OTEC fm in September, The Presby School contacted Light for Children with an interest in us visiting them for presentations-discussions were held and October saw the start of these presentations which are going very well.

Vulnerable Child
October saw the case of Abigail addressed. After Light for Children presentations at KO Methodist school last term, Abigail disclosed to her teacher that she was being sexually abused. Light for children handled the issue, taking Abigail to the hospital for testing and providing her with medication. Please see the vulnerable child report in the news blog for more information.

Zoo Visit for Children
The volunteers and staff at Light for Children organised a fun day out at the zoo for children in the area who are HIV positive. A great day was had by all, please see seperate news blog for more information.

Leaflet
Volunteers produced a leaflet for Light for children, highlighting all the aspects of our work. It will be used as to inform schools, potential sponsors, future volunteers and any other relevant group of the wide reaching work which we carry out.

Summer School
Light for Children Volunteers and Staff began preparations for the ‘Ghana Summer School’ for deprived children which is due to be held for the first time next summer. Please see the summer school section for more information.

Charity Registration
Work has began to have Light for Children registered as a charity in the UK. The purpose of this will be to assist ex-volunteers to fundraise on return to the UK, and aid the promotion of the summer school to potential future volunteers.

Outreach Visits
As the beginning of an outreach programme to smaller towns and villages in the area, two Light for children volunteers visited the town of Ensuta to give presenations to a small school in the area. Later on in the month, more volunteers visited the villages of Obo and Adjofou at Lake Bosumtwi, and covered two schools in two days with HIV presentations. We believe whilst it is extremely valuable to reach a wide range of children within the larger city schools, we are also going to be addressing smaller schools in rural areas where HIV/AIDS messages may not be reaching, and priority may not be given to the issue.

Bon Voyage to volunteers
October saw Canadian Volunteers Nathan and Georgia’s departure. They contributed to the project for two months and will be missed.

Light for Children Fun Day

Written by: Carly Moran, Co-Ordinator / Volunteer and Jacqui Lowe, Kumasi District Volunteer

Light for Children volunteers and staff were keen to meet all the children in a group, and give the children an exciting day out at the same time, so it was decided what a better place to do it than the zoo! Twenty children under Light for Children’s care who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, attended with their family members for a memorable day out.

After meeting all the children and families the day began with fun and games in the cultural centre grounds, Kumasi. The children were taught playground games by the volunteers, such as ‘stuck in the mud’ and ‘ladders’ amongst others. After the children had worn the volunteers out, more relaxing games were played!

Whilst the volunteers and children were busy getting stuck in the mud, parents and Light for Children directors, Mike and Yaw, held a meeting to discuss the provision of medication for all the children, and advice and support was given.

A quick snack break to refuel was followed by a gift presentation for all the children attending the day. Packs were given with token gifts of sweets, bands and pencils etc. and were appreciated by all.

Next stop for the group was Kumasi Zoo, where the excited children were given a guided tour, and all listened intently to the in depth descriptions given by the experienced guide. The highlight for the children was undoubtedly seeing the mighty lions up close, but other highlights included the Gorillas, spinning Chimpanzees, and the Crocodiles.

Once the fascinating tour was finished, the group still had energy left for balloon fights!

Lunch was provided for all by Light for Children of fried rice, chicken and sweets for the children, which was much appreciated after the busy day. The day ended with many young smiling faces and fond farewells.

 

Sexually abused girl

Written by: Carly Moran, Co-Ordinator / Volunteer

Abigail Agyei, 13, was identified as a sexual abuse victim after being given a lesson in her school on the effects of early sex on the body. She disclosed to her teacher after the lesson that she had experienced sexual abuse when she was in class 2, (3 years ago). Since the abuse she had been experiencing white vaginal discharge. Abigail identified her abuser as the husband of her older cousin whom she still currently lives with.

Abigails mother is a farmer in Enchi (western region) and her father is mentally unstable so it was decided by the family to send her to Kumasi to receive better schooling and hopefully a chance at a better life. Since the attack happened Abigail has bee afraid to tell her aunt what has happened as she may not believe her and it would put a huge strain on the family. At the moment Abigail tries to ignore the man at home and will sometimes shout at him when she sees him which makes her aunt think she is a bad child. The family is not providing enough money to enable her to fulfill basic needs for school such as clothing, shoes, books and other learning material. She is only given 5000 Cedis daily by her caregiver for food.

In conjunction with the school Light for children contacted the aunt for a meeting to disclose the incident to her so that she could help Abigail. Unfortunately the aunt refused to believe the allegation, so because of the little evidence and because the incident involves a family member LIFOC decided against trying to bring the case through the courts. The main priority was then focused on Abigail’s health and her ability to keep attending school, as this would help her create a better future for herself.

LIFOC staff and a teacher from the school took Abigail to the STI clinic, without the knowledge of her caregivers on the 4th of October. The clinic gave Abigail a full check up and HIV test funded by LIFOC. Thankfully the HIV test was negative. The discharge that Abigail was experiencing came from an infection that occurred because of the early breaking of the hymen, and is treatable by medication but if it had been left it could potentially effect Abigail’s chances in later life of bearing children. The medication was given to the teacher so it could be administered at the school without the knowledge of the family. One week later Abigail attended the clinic once again for a check up to make sure the medication was working. The infection was healing and the doctor was pleased with her progress.

The main priority LIFOC is now focused on is securing funding for Abigail to help her complete her schooling. One years sponsorship for Abigail will cost 1,350,000 cedis which will cover her school fees, uniform, books and food.

LIFOC September Update

Written by: Georgia Tanner, Volunteer

Classroom Presentations
Classroom presentations continued at the K.O. Methodist School in Kumasi. The entire school school be completed by mid October (side note: it is!). The children are responding well and we’ve created colourful posters for the school with information that the children gathered themselves from the presentation as well as outside sources.

Radio Presentations at OTEC 102.9 FM
Beatrice, a senior administrator at the K.O. Methodist School, invited the Light for Children team to speak live on-air on her radio show, ”Kids in Action.” On-air, we discussed HIV/AIDS in Ghana and abroad and what children can do to avoid the virus and stop it from spreading. The program was very informative for children listening and also resulted in several phone calls inviting Light for Children to new schools in Ghana.

 

Follow up meeting on Abigail
The Light for Children team met with school administrators at the K.O. Methodist School in Kumasi to arrange for Abigail to be taken to the hospital since she is displaying sympoms of a possible STI infection.

 

Visit to the Cultural Centre
Light for Children visited the Kumasi Cultural Centre to record some prices for a possible day out for some of our sponsored children and their caregivers. We are currently planning a day for the children to take part in some ceramic crafts while parents meet each other.

Other Projects
Light for Children is also looking into the cost of producing canvas grocery bags with a child’s drawing screened on as a fundraiser.