Ghana

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for  me.”   – Matthew 25:40

In this unprecedented time, the selfless desire to protect the vulnerable is a visible expression of faith. We graciously ask for your support in protecting our brothers and sisters who are most at risk, restore dignity to the poor, and prevent the continuous spread of COVID-19.

Currently, the Grotto tower is being rebuilt since its infrastructure was too weak to survive long-term. By building a structurally sound tower, both the diocese and devoted pilgrims can safely visit the Grotto for generations.

The Stations of the Cross allows us to prayerfully reflect and appreciate God’s certain, unconditional love for us. Before the Marian Shrine had a designated area for the Stations, both the diocese and visiting pilgrims frequently sought-after its presence. However, they lacked the sufficient means to start construction.

Fortunately, numerous giving hearts understood the importance of adding the Stations within the sacred shrine. Through the combined support of local businesses, the Knights of Columbus of All Saints Catholic Church in Georgia, and the Ghana Friendship Project, the Marian Shrine now has a beautiful, life-size Stations of the Cross.

Although the Marian Shrine has made wonderful progress, the community still needs your help to finalize construction. We humbly ask for your generous support to help provide a reliable place of community, hopeful healing, and joyous worship.

August 2017 – Bishop Joseph Visits, Roof and Ceiling Installed

Bishop Joseph visited the build site in Enchi this month–what a treat! The roof and ceiling were also installed. The church is beginning to look like a church! See photos below.

March 2017 – Halfway there!

The church structure is halfway done and looking great! Check out the updated photos below.

January 2017

Scaffolding has gone up around the new construction. One of the most encouraging things about this project is the way the whole community comes together to help build–men, women, children, and even Monsignor Simon, the pastor!

June 2016 

Pillars and arches are up in the new church building! Progress looks great!

May 2016 – Construction Begins

Earlier this year the old church building was torn down because cracks in the walls and foundation compromised the structural integrity of the whole building. Today the people of Enchi have been working around the clock to reconstruct their church!

The villagers work tirelessly, everyone pitching in their own time and talent, to build a new church for all the families in the community; they want to finish before Easter. They constantly hold onto the hope that the young children and growing families that live there will be able to grow up with the opportunity that many of us have – the opportunity to receive the sacraments, worship, and gather together in their own home parish.

Now is the Time to Support the Enchi Community

The joy of the villagers – even in the wake of this hardship – is infectious. And it is so inspiring the way that the whole community gathers and works for the common good. Even Monsignor Simon, who ministers to the needs of the whole village, also works alongside the villagers as they rebuild their church home.

“[A parish] is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach.” – Pope Francis

• $100 = funds all of the labor (25 skilled workers) on the church construction site for one full day
• $32 pays for one worker for one week
• $10 = one sack of cement
• $25 = twenty-five concrete bricks made by hand on site
• $50 = one church window installed from glazing, to caulking
• $10 buys one wheelbarrow

Your gift today will give the children a spiritual home! Your best gift to the impoverished people of Enchi, Ghana will ensure all their children and generations of children will grow up knowing the love of Christ Jesus. Give generously, as Christ has called us to do. A generous donor has come forward to match all of the gifts for Enchi, dollar for dollar! Your gift today will DOUBLE in value to help the children and families as they rebuild their church! A gift of $25 dollars will actually cover 50 bricks, imagine what $300 could give! Your gift today builds the Church of Christ in Ghana.

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Portable water was a major problem facing this institution (Nana Brentu High School) for the past twenty years. Access to portable water had not been easy at all. Students had to walk miles before getting access to water. Due to this problem the District Assembly provided the school with a bore-hole water that was intended to minimize the situation in a way. Yet students had to journey long leagues before getting water which sometimes resulted in lateness to class. This situation also affected the teachers on campus.

The water situation keeps compounding with the increased number of students yearly. The school authorities appealed to corporate bodies and institutions for help. This caught the attention of Reverend Monsignor Simon Assamoah who came to the aid of the school by constructing the existing bore-hole. The construction of this additional bore-hole by Monsignor Simon Assamoah has helped ease the water problem at the school. The introduction of the bore-hole and taps has helped change the once problem of lateness. Now students go to class easy to join first lessons unlike those days when students normally missed first lessons.

The school (Nana Brentu High School) is very pleased to have a well pipe donated by Catholic World Mission. Previously, the major problem faced in the school was lack of access to water. Students had to walk about ten miles a day from the school before they could get water to use, which sometimes delayed students and teachers from going to class.

On the later part of the year 2015 Reverend Monsignor Simon Assamoah decided to solve the (water) problem for the school. With the good decision made (to install a water well) the following are the benefits the school has derived from:

Due to the good decision taken on our water problem, it has helped to provide clean and safe water for students and teachers on campus, which has therefore made the life of students and even teachers comfortable. This is because students and teachers on campus find it easier now to get clean and safe water to use. Clean water is used for cooking, bathing, washing and many more.

When a family does not have access to clean water in their village they often have to walk many miles to the nearest source, often times a dirty river. They have to wake up before dawn and walk miles and hours and then carry the water home with them. It leaves everyone’s bodies tired and more susceptible to illness.

When there is clean water for a village, mothers don’t have to risk waking up at four o’clock in the morning to walk in the dark with their children in search of water before they go off to school.

With your help Catholic World Mission can fund four more water wells in the villages around Enchi, Ghana to improve the lives of men, women and children, reduce sickness and hunger, improve nutrition and improve the well-being of the communities.

Together with the help of St. Helen Catholic School in Vero Beach, FL and all the parents and volunteers we collected uniforms for students to use in Ghana!

Having collected over 600 uniforms, the Burgener family drove from Florida to a local parish in Atlanta to deliver the uniforms so they could be sent to Ghana on a shipping container. Monsignor Simon helped facilitate the donation to the school. He is a crucial ambassador for Catholic World Mission. The uniforms went to a school in Enchi, Ghana called Immaculate Conception school. We are so thankful for their help in embracing the beatitude to “clothe the naked.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony began the construction of the Pope Francis Home and School. Bishop Lodonu attended the ceremony and gave his blessing.

Phase 1 is nearly 100% complete! This first phase includes building two dormitories, a medical clinic, a kitchen and housing for the sisters! See pictures below:

The Dining Hall construction is underway, and the Generator Electric Backup system has been purchased!

In the middle of Lake Volta not far from the future site of Pope Francis Home & School is the Gabikpo Island were 40 young children attend school. The island has 310 residents some are just innocent children who live simply without electricity or running water. The school the children attend has a dedicated teacher who works tirelessly for them so they are not coerced into the fishermen’s schemes and have greater opportunities because they are receiving an education. Education will save the children from a life of servitude.

Before Catholic World Mission partnered to step in to help, the children had no textbooks, notebooks, or writing utensils. They sat on the floor of a gazebo while the teacher and class helpers tried to give lessons from their two notebooks and small blackboard. As a child it is extremely hard for information to be retained when you cannot practice reading or writing what you are hearing and you are sitting on rocks and dirt floor.

Their Hope

Desks for the Gabipko Island School were delivered early in October 2015 ahead of schedule. Gabipko Island School assumed when the desks arrived in their classroom overnight that they were from the government. To their surprise missionary Michael Barry, and his team arrived the next day to celebrate the gift from Catholic World Mission.

Many missionaries from other organizations have visited the Gabipko Island School in the past promising to return with supplies for the school, but no one ever has. For them this blessing from Catholic World Mission was a first. Michael, and his Ewe speaking missionaries gathered the community to give a speech on the importance of education; to let them know they will be coming back every month to check to see that the desks are being put to good use; and if they are being taken care of then they will receive more school supplies. Michael and his missionaries also brought some school supplies with them for the children. They brought crayons, pencils, and notebooks so each child could take charge of his and her own learning.

Your gift today will help give these children a safe place to call home, and empowerment to learn and grow.

You can take action now to support the missionaries in Ghana, and spread the gift of faith through out the country. The missionaries have several outstanding needs that you can address financially now:

• Provide bibles and Catechism of the Catholic Faith books for different age groups for the next phase of training, which includes practical faith application and living out of the faith.
• Fund two more motorbike’s for the catechists.
• Bring the Word of Christ, including sacraments and pastoral care to people in dozens of villages in Ghana

We are thankful for your support and generosity thus far. Without you these missionaries could not fulfill their mission.

CWM Philanthropists Provide Medical Supplies Directly to the Hospital

Catholic World Mission donors have made it possible for us to ship millions of dollars in medical gift-in-kind to Ghana- just this past year. Supplying short-term clinics and stocking hospitals with essentials such as ECG machines, patient beds, incubators, respirators, anesthesia machines, exam tables, anti-biotics and lab supplies, we feel certain that this program has saved lives.

But there is much more to do!

On a recent trip to Ghana, our missionaries took pictures of the rusty operating table (right) that is being used in the Enchi District Hospital. There is another table in the O.R. room, but the broken hydraulics will not allow the surgeon to move the table up and down.

Dr. Frank Agbemordzi in Ghana Reaches Out to CWM for Aid

Our hope is that we can furnish a new operating table in our next shipment of medical supplies to Ghana.

Dr. Frank Agbemordzi, Medical Director of the Enchi Hospital, is counting on our help. He talks here of the urgent need for supplies at his hospital.  Dr. Frank also has expressed much gratitude for the supplies sent over the years. “Catholic World Mission donors have changed the way this hospital operates,” the doctor tells us. The Enchi Hospital in Ghana had a critical shortage of hospital beds, for instance. Patients in overflow areas were often placed on the floor, awaiting turnover. Catholic World Mission recently shipped dozens of hospital beds to the Enchi District Hospital, providing for a higher standard of care at the hospital.

CWM Donors Spread Clinics Across Ghana!

In addition to hospitals, supplies are used for short-term clinics in remote villages, where residents have virtually no access to medical care. For some villagers, it would require a two-day walk on unpaved roads with no electricity to find a medical center. In times of distress, people stay put and rely on the natural remedies they have on hand: often limited and sometimes dangerous.

Missionary doctors holding short-term clinics provide medicines and transportation to hospitals if needed, potentially saving thousands of lives over the course of time.