Our trustee, Jean Edusei, visited King Jesus Charity Home this week and has sent this report:
“I visited KJCH and was delighted to see that all the children and staff are well and very happy. There is enough food, thanks to local churches and people making donations, and to the money the Ghanaian Children’s Trust has been sending (a total of £9,500 since 1 January 2017). The kindergarten, primary and junior high school pupils have all moved to a new school, Mispah Mission School, in the nearby district of Kentinkrono, thanks to the generosity of the director of the school who has awarded scholarships for all the children and paid for their uniforms herself. It was lovely to see them all looking very smart in their new uniforms and the children told me they like their new school and teachers. The children are taken the 2 miles to school in the back of the orphanage’s lorry and it takes 2 or 3 trips to get them all there, and back again at the close of school. Unfortunately the orphanage’s bus is no longer roadworthy.
A few junior high school pupils who completed their final exams last month are helping out around the orphanage, keeping the place clean and tidy, checking visitors in and out and general helping out. Their exam results are expected in September and they will then know whether or not they can proceed to Senior High School or whether they will need to seek an apprenticeship or other employment.
Several new children have come to live at KJCH since I was here in October 2016, some orphaned, some abandoned and some whose background is still being investigated to find out how they came to be living on the streets. The twin babies who came to KJCH last year are now a year old and, although small for their age, are thriving thanks to the excellent care they have had from the orphanage’s staff.
Quite a few of the older residents who had completed their higher education have now left KJCH to find work and live independently. The university students are back home for the holidays and will soon be joined by the Senior High School students who are boarders at school.
The main building is in need of decoration. Part of the building is incomplete and it does not have a proper roof. It is becoming urgent that the building work gets done soon as rain is soaking through the ceilings. It has rained almost every day in Kumasi in the past couple of weeks so the sooner money can be raised to pay for the new roof the better.
In 2 weeks’ time, 12 Girl Guides from Newcastle UK will be visiting Ghana for 3 weeks, spending 2 weeks at KJCH doing projects on First Aid, geography, The Gruffalo and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – something for all ages. The staff and children are eagerly awaiting their arrival.”
