22nd of April 2009
Light for Children January 09’ Report
We are progress; join our quest
Written by Sebastian Lindstrom, LIFOC Co-founder (Sebastian@lightforchildren.com)
We strive to constantly move forward by linking up with new partners, institutions and organizations to enable a steady and sustainable flow of funds and volunteers; this summer Light for Children will receive a bunch of volunteers who have signed up to various projects through our website. We are also getting larger groups coming to Ghana from Uppsala University in Sweden, a cluster of mainland Universities and Hong Kong University. Exiting times; please email me if you have any thoughts or ideas how we can make Light for Children more efficient and effective – communication is everything.
March Activities
Written by Mike Owusu, LIFOC Coordinator (inlawp5@yahoo.com)
1st March – Welcome!
Arrival of Kirsten Litke from Canada arrives!
4th March – Familiarization Meeting
Familiarization Meeting with PLWHA Associations New Metro Focal-Person on HIV/AIDS: A meeting with the various HIV/AIDS groups within metropolitan Kumasi. The goal of the meeting was to create a comprehensive list of local support groups whilst sharing experiences, frustrations, suggestions, and advice in an open, community forum. This meeting left the door open for continued collaboration between Kumasi’s support groups. The opportunity to share problems, concerns, and to simply be heard by compassionate and understanding peers was felt to be of great value to those living positively with HIV.
11th March – Meeting at High Academy International School
– Delivery of a letter of intent to present both the Journey of Hope, and a new sexual assault prevention curriculum to JSS students at the school. We were welcomed to come to teach either programme on Fridays.
13th March – Presentation at High Academy
Presenters utilized the Journey of Hope programme in one JSS class, and the Sexual Assault Prevention programme in a second class. Over 100 students were reached with these important messages. The resultant homework illustrated a high degree of understanding and respect for the material.
18th March – Presentation at Chirapatre Junior Secondary School
Presenters utilized the Journey of Hope programme to teach about 150 students about avoiding HIV/AIDS, STIs, and teenage pregnancy in order to attain their future goals.
20th March – Presentation at High Academy
Presenters continued talks at High Academy, reaching the final two JSS classes with the messages associated with the Journey of Hope.
21st March – Monthly Socialization Meeting
An opening prayer was given by one of the caregivers, once the majority of attendees had arrived. A high turn-out of children and caregivers added to the positive mood at the Cultural Centre. Lots of fun was had by all the children and volunteers. To the delight of all, a few children were shown to be improving (i.e. gaining weight, looking better) from previous months.
– While the children were playing, Yaw spoke to the caregivers about reliable and sustainable income-generating activities. Small-sized t-shirts were given out to some of the children, and medication and allowances were distributed to all. After lunch, everyone departed, looking forward to next month.
Light for Children - Ghana 