A new year has begun and as usually we are very busy at FHTH Ghana. Before New Years evening we held the annual Christmas/New Year party and again this year it was a great success. This party is a very good opportunity for all families in FHTH to say thank you for the year that has just gone and wish good luck in the New Year for all of us. Every single family values this event very much! The party also gives the families the chance to meet each, help each other and we all talk like we were one big family. Huge thank you to Thermit who sponsored the party and made this possible.

Employees / volunteers / visitors
In the beginning of January our new employee Tanko Karim started. The first three month is introduction. So far things are going really well and we are delighted to have him at the center. He has a lot to learn, but he is open, positive and genuinely interested in our work. In January a new voluntary, Alberte, also arrived. She is going to be with us until the end of April. Alberte is really good with the children and we are very happy to have her with us.

Late January, Lisbet arrived. She was a volunteer at the center in January last year. The reunion was great, and since a lot has happened this past year, there was much to talk about.
A week later we got another visitor Jesper, an employee of Thermit, and it gave us the opportunity to hold an opening ceremony of the kitchen building, which is sponsored by Thermit.
It was a really good brunch party with all the center’s residents and the craftsmen who enjoyed it to the full. Some days later Lisbet and Jesper moved on.

The car
Late January our car broke down in the town of Sunyani, three hours drive from Kumasi. Ben commuted several times back and forth and spent the night in the town to keep an eye on the mechanic, to make sure he did his work and to pay spare parts and so on. This is normal in Ghana, not like in Europe where we can deliver the car and get it when it is repaired and the bill is ready. So it has really taken a lot of our time, and in addition it has also been very expensive. When the mechanic in Sunyani could not solve the problem we got the car brought to Kumasi, where our mechanic got started the next following few days. There are still little things to be taken care of (something with the brake and the water tank), but it can run and it’s good.
There are big distances to everything in Kumasi, and we are therefore very dependent on the car to get it all done.

The building
We have come a long way on the building site, although there is still much to be done:
The wall is built and finished, the two gates are inserted, but the wall is still to be plastered and painted.
The kitchen building stands ready, but we are still looking for sponsors so we can make the kitchen cabinets, kitchen- and outdoor sink.
The tower to the water tank has been finished and the water tank is installed, here we just need to get the tower plastered and painted.
The four round huts have all got the roof on, here we need to make the ceiling, floor, getting the walls plastered and painted.
The toilet building is almost finished, but we still need to make the roof, ceiling, floor, plastering the walls, to get all painted and installed toilets, baths and sinks.
Septic tank is built and constructed so that it is both sewage and toilet waste.
We still haven´t got any electricity, this is not so easy because there are no electricity in this area at all. We are waiting to hear from the power company how much it will cost. Our dream is to get solar energy, and we therefore hope we can find some sponsors for this.
We send a big thank you to all the sponsors who have made this great project possible for us!
Although there is a long way to go, we are optimistic and pleased that we have come so incredibly far in just one year.
Since our donations to the building now have run out, we are looking for help to continue. We therefore hope that some of you will be interested in helping, or perhaps know of companies, scientists, foundations or individuals who would be interested in helping.
-In advance, we thank you all.

New (temporary) center
Initially, we had hoped that we would be ready to move into FHTHs own center when the contract expired in mid-February. Unfortunately it was not possible and we therefore asked the landlord to renew the lease, as you pay in advance for a longer rental period. When the landlord informed us that the rent would be put up by a third, we all agreed that we needed to just find something else. After a few days of searching, we found a fine house, the same size as the former, but half the price. Additionally, this house is closer to the site, so it will now be much easier for us. We have rented the new house for a year, which was the shortest period the landlord would agree to. We were fortunate to be able to borrow a small pickup to move, even if it meant we had to run many times. We were exhausted and tired when we were finished. There have been a lot to see for ever since: The children have had to move school as we now live in a new area. We have found a good school for them, where they started immediately. They take the school bus back and forth every day. Ben has moved the electric fence from the old to the new center. Now it just need to be connected by an electrician – as does the washing machine, which for a long period has teased us. We have done housecleaning in the old house, and we are now ready to hand over the keys.
The new house is really beautiful, with a lawn throughout the land, which we missed in the old house where all the outdoor area was cement. The only problem in the new house is that there is very bad phone line, and even worse internet connection. In addition there are in this area very often “Light off,” which is currently a major problem throughout Ghana as there is not enough power. We have power failure five nights out of seven (from 18 to 06), and almost as many day hours. It is expensive to have the generator on all the time, so every day we have to make a priority.

Our families:

Family no. 1:
Mother: Sidonia Dagaar
Children: Ernestina, Kwabena Joseph, Akosua Mary and Kwaku Emmanuel.

The family is well. They have moved from a shed into a room, in a half finished building. The mother, Sidonia, even arranged to have made a door and put boards on the windows, but came to us for help to pay 100 cedis (200 kr.) in rent. The family is happy to stay there, where conditions are much better, although it is still very simple. The house is within walking distance to the children’s school. Ernestina was home on Christmas vacation, and visited us daily at the center, together with the boys. She has since she starting school called us several times to tell us that she is fine.
Now that we have moved to another district, it is no longer possible for Kwabena and Emmanuel to come to the center in the afternoon. We are not quite comfortable with this, because we know how much they need our support. We are therefore considering now various options for still being able to help the children in everyday life.
They have been here in the weekend and the reunion with the other children at the center was huge, even when it is only a few weeks they’ve been apart.

Family no. 2:
Mother: Olivia Owusu (Yaa)
Child: Viola Owusu (Vera)

Yaa has opened her fine shop, which have already been very successful. She is happy and very dedicated about her work. The shop is open on weekdays from 8-18, and has already got several young girls in apprenticeship. The store front is decorated as a wedding party, to advertise that she also organizes parties. A buddy of ours has designed a great sign for the shop, it just needs to be put up. We are very pleased for Yaa and the success she has made already, but she’s away so many hours every day, and Viola pays the price. In addition, we also expect that she helps with the housework, and not just come home when food is served every day. We are therefore planning a meeting with Yaa, so that together we can create a work schedule for her that will benefit us all. Originally the plan was that Yaa and Viola had to move from center when Yaa had opened her shop. Because of the robbery last year Yaa is still not feeling secure enough to live alone, and we have therefore accepted that they can be at the center of a period.
Yaa have met a man, and they plan to get married in a year, if all goes well. We hope the best for them.
Viola is doing well, and is proud of her mother, although we can also see that Viola seeks her mother’s attention when she comes home in the evening. Viola is happy about the new school and has already made many new friends. Often she also talks about the old school and that she misses her friends there. In Ghana, it is not normal to meet up with classmates in private, and therefore it is difficult to stay connected. She is sorry about that.
Viola is well functioning, happy and loves to tease and be silly.

Family no. 3:
Children: Enock Akrugu and Samuel Akrugu

Samuel is still really happy to go to boarding school. Ben’s younger brother started this year at the same school, so they enjoy each others company. Samuels school results are still not promising, so this semester we have threatened to take his
football boots from him when football might take too much of his time. Last semester he didn´t pass all the important subjects that are necessary for him to enter the university next year. He admitted that it is not due to football, but he just can not concentrate on the school work. He promised to work hard, and we have said to him that it just has to be a promise to him. He has big ambitions, and we will be sad to see him disappointed in the end.
Enock has been registered to write the final exams, which takes place early summer. He has also completed his list of priorities over which schools he would like to attend to. We really thought that Enock would not want to go to a boarding school since he has always struggled with the school work. We thought he would choose a technical college. However, he has other plans, and he will start at an economy line. We have discussed it back and forth with him, but he is confident in his choice, and we support his decision. It is a big step for him but he looks forward to it.

Family no. 4:
Father: Kofi Boakye
Mother: Afia Badu
Children: Kofi Boakye Frank, yaa Akoto, Yaw Awuah, Evans Boakye and Akwasi Adjei.

Frank has once again changed apprenticeship and is now apprenticed as a carpenter, at a family friend. Frank is very uncertain and can not seem to stay in one place for a very long time. We hope once again that he will settle down at this place, so he can learn a skill. If at all it is possible for him? We really want to help Frank further, but find it hard to see how.

We have been with Yaw to a check up the hospital, it went well. Yaw has for a long time been doing well, so we are very pleased. The mother was with us at the hospital, but she stayed in the background while Yaw (as always) told far and wide about the family’s problems and that the mother hasn’t given him any breakfast and even took his money. The mother just laughed and said he was lying and “I will pay him back….”The mother has a very low intelligence. Yaw also told us about the father hitting the mother when he is drunk, but all the mother said was:” I am stronger than him, so I am not afraid”. I tried to explain to her that it was good for the children to watch this but she just laughed.

The father still drinks. He has been doing really well after a long period of illness and we had given him a mini-loan to sell sandals. He closed down his bar, which is a good thing. Sales of sandals went fine for a period until he started drinking again and at an unexpected visit around breakfast one day, we found him at the neighbors bar drunk and without shoes. That day we took the shoes from him and then we heard he beaten up his wife, because he thought she has told us about him drinking again.We have not seen him since. When we come to visit, he hides in the room. He is ashamed hopefully.
We have offered to help him to the hospital, and our psychologist team is ready to receive and help him. He will not do it and we can not force him. He is a huge load full for the family.

The children go happily to school every day, and it’s really good for them to come out and mix with other adults and children. They are all well, and happy about their schools. The two youngest children still show clear progress in the new nursery, we are so pleased about that.

Family no. 5:
Mother: Christiana Serwaah
Children: Lucy Amankwa, Stephen Amankwa, Felicia Amankwa, James Amankwa, Elizabeth Amankwa, Philippa Amankwa, Nana Emmanuel Amankwa (Kwaku).

After New Year Felicia started at technical college on food and nutrition line. She lives at the boarding school, and are really pleased with the new surroundings. She has already made many friends, and really enjoy it. Felicia and her siblings are all very shy, and it is certainly very good for Felicia to go to boarding school, where she will function much more independently.

The four smallest children James, Elizabeth, Philipa and Emmanuel Kwaku are still doing well in their new school. The school is not far from their homes, so many of their class mates also live nearby. The children play together in the afternoon when they come from school until their mother comes home. She still sells soya kebab, in the area where they lived before. We have often talked to her about this, as it seems illogical to travel straight through Kumasi to sell every day. She says she can not find other places to sell, but maybe it’s because her husband lives and works in the area where she sells?
The mother, Christiana, is physical doing well and she hasn’t been ill since she was last hospitalized. She regularly goes to the doctor for a check up, and we help her pay for medicine.

Family no. 6:
Mother: Talata Felicia Kobina
Children: Harrote Kobina (Bebee) and Angela Kobina

Angela came to us with the desire to visit her mother and Harrote during Christmas holiday. Angela was proud and happy when we packed a bag, and she went home with her mother. She came back a week later and it has all gone really well. Angela had been a little upset some nights where she wanted to go home to the center.
Subsequently, she talked a lot about her mother, her work, the food they ate and so on. But when we talked about repeating the success, she was not open to the idea. She’d rather be at the center. We will try to regularly send her off for a weekend, so she stays in touch with family, but it’s hard, because there is no support from the mother. We have not heard from the mother, Talata, in a really long time, and she has not visited the center since Christmas party.

Harrote is still pleased with his new school, and he is doing really well academically. The mother, who can not read, handed us his examination report, and only when she saw our happy eyes, she knew he had done well, to her surprise. Harrote was completely embarrassed.

Angela is doing well at the center and she thinks that the moving house and changing school has been really exciting. She is happy.

Family no. 7:
Father: Kwabena Awuah
Mother: Mary Akomah
Children: Stephen Akwasi Sarpong, Francis Sarkodie Awuah, Stella Owusuaa and Liane Konadu.

Often when the mother came to us at the center, to beg for food or money, because the father did not regularly came home with money for the family, we agreed to help. Again we offered the mother to give her a loan to sell, and she was so pleased. Previously we have helped her to sell, but every time the man has destroyed the business, as he will not want her to work. She started again to sell underwear, which she carries around on her head, and the business has since gone really well. Her husband, the children’s father, is as expected not happy about it, and since then has not talked to us or visited the center. He is rude and weak. He sees money as power, and he wants the control over his wife, which simply means that he will let the children suffer at any cost.
We are happy for the mother’s business, and that she now every day come home with money -and a little power and can take care of her children.

Stella seems to have overcome the abuse in the fall. She will probably always have scars, but she’s happy again and functioning both in school and at home. The kids miss us after we have moved from the center, just a few hundred meters from their house. The mother says that they ask for us every time they go past the center on the way to or from school.

Family no. 10:
Mother: Ama Bonsu
Children: Vicencia Gyasi Baye, Anthony Twuniasi, Akua Bonsu and Kojo Kliti

Akua and Kojo are doing both well in their kinder gardens. The mother says that all the kids are always excited to get going in the morning. When we visit them, either at home or at school, they always meet and embrace us. It’s wonderful. They always have a lot to tell, and the parents and grandparents who Akua live with, always ask questions in relation to the school. They are very interested in their children’s schooling.

Family no. 12:
Mother: Georgina Atta
Children: Mizpah Eshen, Daniel Eshen, Magdalena Eshen, Habeku Eshen, Nehemiah Eshen + 3 older children.

The biggest problem in this family is the mother who is very difficult for us to work with. She often seems like she doesn’t care about the children’s welfare, or maybe it’s her pride, and fear that we are interfering too much. It is therefore difficult for us to advise her, as we otherwise do in all other families. It’s hard to catch her attention, and she is always busy with everything else when we visit them. It’s sad for the kids, especially Nehemiah and Habeku who need extra support and they do not seem to get. Luckily the triplets and Daniel are now regularly in school, and we have moved our focus on schools rather than at home. The kids are excited to go to school and are always very happy when we come to visit. Daniel talks and talks, and tells us if there are problems, or if there is something he needs. The triplets teacher always calls us if there are any problems or if there is something missing, so it works very fine.

Family no. 13:
Grandmother: Mary Adugyamfi
Grandchildren: Joyce Adugyamfi and Erica Adugyamfi.

In the fall, the relationship between the girls and their father got worse. We tried to advise them, but their father would not listen to our advice, and it was therefore difficult for us to help.
After Christmas we found out that the father had punished the girls by not allowing them to write their term’s exams, it was too much for us. As it was not the father who had paid for fees or examination costs it was totally disrespectful to us as sponsors. We therefore decided that we would be forced to stop sponsoring the girls if their father would continue to be their guardian.
Fortunately it did not take long before the grandmother deeply unhappy came to us at the center. She had heard what had happened, and her son had spoken bad about her, when she had tried to speak her mind on the matter. She wants the best for the girls, and knew it would not continue to go well, if they stayed at their fathers place. She felt powerless because she did not even have the financial means to take better care of the girls. To see them in conflict with their father, who is unemployed and even drink, made her very unhappy.
We, therefore, offered to help Erica and Joyce to start at boarding school, and the grandmother was very pleased. –and so were the girls.
Unfortunately the school they should attend closed their boarding school down due to renovation, so we were forced to find another school for them. We contact “Gods Grace” (where the little ones in family 19 attend) and visited their boarding school to look at the facilities. We are already very pleased to work together with the school and we decided to register the girls here. The grandmother and the girls’ aunt were with us, and were both really happy and grateful. The following day we bought all the necessary things the girls needed, and then we drove them off to school. They have now gone to school for two months and has settled well. They are delighted with their new lives.

Family no. 16:
Mother: Esther
Children: David and Liane

Both children and Esther are well. Liane grows really well and Esther still takes her to the nurse once a month to be weighed and get vaccinations. Esther came to us at the center during the Christmas holidays and was worried about David. She said that she felt that in the nursery there were too many kids and not especially good conditions and it worried her. She asked us, therefore, for help to find an alternative for David. We were open to the idea and together with Esther we went out to look for another nursery for David. He has now started another place where there are better conditions and where he thrives much better, so that’s good.
Esther cares a lot about her children’s welfare and we see her often frustrated because there is not enough money, because there are problems with the man or other things.
Very unexpectedly, we got a call from the man who thanked us that we have found and paid for a new nursery room for David. It has never happened before in the almost four years, we have supported the family. Esther was equally shocked. We were delighted.
Esther really wants to start working again, but finds it difficult to sell sandals, as she did before. In particular, it will be difficult with Liane on her back. She therefore suggested that she rather wants to sell grocery items, on a table in front of the house where they live. We think it sounds like a good idea, and will therefore introduce the idea to ​​the sponsor.

Family no. 17:
Mother: Stargina Ama
Children: Nana Aquah Lord, Henry Obinim, Louis Obinim and Benedict Nhyira Appiah.
Grandchild: Kobii

All the boys take the school bus together every morning, and are really happy to go to school. After school they are mostly left to themselves, and we have often experienced the oldest of the boys strolling around the streets. The mother just looks down at the ground when we confront her with the problem. She knows it’s wrong, but fails to look after them any better. We talk often for a  long time with the boys and give them good advice, but now that the center is moved, we live far from them and  in the future primarily we will meet them in school. In school they are always happy and love when we come to visit. Louis, the oldest goes to kindergarten 2, and is one of the best students in the class. It is fortunate that they understand how important it is to keep up at school, which is in great contrast to their lives outside school.

Family no. 18:
Mother: Doris Apana
Child: Benjamin Apana

Fortunately, it turned out better than we ever dared to hope with Doris. During the month of December, she was feeling much better, and she has since New Year only a few times had psychotic episodes. We therefore decided in January, in consultation with the psychiatrist and psychologist to let Doris start school. School is going really well. Doris is happy to be going out every day, and although she is tired when she gets home, she has yet more energy than before. She has received a daily structure again and it’s really good.
We have informed school management and teachers about Doris’ situation, and they have been very understanding. Doris has once had a seizure at school, but the teachers were very helpful, whereas the other students ran away and were afraid. Doris must avoid getting stressed, as it can easily trigger the disease. She is still in a process where she must learn to manage the disease. We remain with her to check with the psychiatrist, now once every four weeks.
It has been very hard for Benjamin, his mother has been so ill. He worried a lot, and it is obviously not healthy for such a small one. He is very observant, and was always the one that first discovered when Doris was about to have a seizure. He was watching over her. Benjamin lived for several months inside with Ben and I, but is now moved to Doris, and it means a lot to him.

Family no. 19:
Father: Williams Asamoah
Mother: Stella Antwi Asamoah
Children: Christabel, Kingsley, Kelvin, Armstrong og Nana Aduah.

Christabel is really happy to be in  Senior High School. She calls when there is something she needs, and then we visit her at school, or she comes over to the center. Both her and  the mother show great appreciation for our support, it’s lovely.
Kingsley is registered to having to write the final exams here in early summer, and be so after the summer also start in Senior High School. He has also completed his priority list of schools he wants to enter. He has high ambitions and we support him as best we can.
The three smallest, Kelvin, Armstrong and Nana Aduah have it all really well. When they come home in the afternoon Kingsley looks after them until the evening when their mother comes home. The mother is no longer selling donuts, as it went up and down with the sale, and she easily had spills. She now sells rather different smelling things in the city.

Family no. 20:
Mother: Ama Francisca
Child: Liane Amponsah

After Christmas we found out that Ama was no longer an apprentice hairdresser. When we confronted her with it, she told me that she had quarreled with the other girls on the learning space, and therefore had been away from there. We asked her to go back there and solve the problems that might be, so she could continue her education. That she promised to do!

We have now found out by visiting the salon, she never went back there, and then the last three months has not done anything. Ama says now that she will not back there, and that she will find another place. We have made it clear to her that we do not agree, and that we are not ready to pay for a new apprenticeship for her. It’s obviously disappointing both for us and for the sponsor that she could not complete the training. We hope that she can find another place, or perhaps find some work, so she will be able to support Liane.

Ama is frivolous and lying often for us. We always find out that she is lying, and so she becomes upset. She is like a little child who fails to take proper care of themselves. On top of that she saw Liane, so it goes without saying that she has a hard time taking care of her. Liane is too often ill and Ama always rings us if there is anything wrong with her. We want the very best for them, but it is not always we have time to jump and it is a problem that Ama is always awaiting our help. Their family doesn’t help them and we are the only support they have. Luckily Liane goes to nursery every day, and she is really happy.

Family no. 21:
Father: Thomas
Mother: Patience
Children: Joshua and Freda (Mume).

Since the new center is located far from the family home, Patience has been forced to stop working at the center. We now want to help her doing something else, for example, to sell eggs as she did formerly. It is a great loss for us at the center because Patience has been a really good nanny for Fredrick and a good extra help in everyday life.
Joshua and Freda are doing very well. Joshua enjoys his Junior High School. They are both really excited to go to school.
For Christmas they got family gifts from one of their sponsors in Denmark. They were all delighted. Freda got a nice doll with a doll bed, standing right next to her bed. Enock got a used iPod, and one of our volunteers has helped him to open an account so he can download apps, it’s really exciting for him.

Family no. 22:
Grandma: Cicilia Owusuaa
Children: Akua Nhyira first
Akua Nhyira second

After Christmas the girls started in nursery. It is already clear to see how beneficial it is for them to get out among other children. They have become more active and they are already far better stimulated in language, movement, play and so on. The grandmother has started selling soap, which she sells from a basket on her head. It’s good to finally see progress in this family

Family no. 23:
Father: Kingsley
Mother: Esther
Child: Fredrick Osei

Fredrick is doing very well at the center. He is a happy and curious boy who is always exploring. He is still behind in his development, but he’s healthy. He now has four teeth and the next one is coming. Fredrick is now big enough to start in nursery, and because Patience no longer comes to the center, we are now looking for a good nursery for him.

Esther, Fredrick’s mother, still visits Fredrick regularly, most often on Sundays. She still does not work, but now has at least found a place to stay. She does not have much and often she asks for money for the bus or money for medicine when she is sick. Fredrick and the mother have no special relationship. Maybe Esther simply can’t have a relationship with anyone? Mentally, she is not very old and probably she has never had any adult she could have a relationship with?

Kingsley, Fredrick’s father phoned one day to tell that he had been arrested for rape, but said he was innocent. He probably wanted our help to resolve the matter with the police. We told him we would not have anything to do with it. The day after another person phoned (perhaps a family member or a friend), to tell that Kingsley had confessed and that they would come to discuss it with us. Again we said that we would not have anything to do with it. Esther has followed up on the case and came on a Sunday and informed us that Kingsley has now been on trial, and was sentenced to 15 years for raping a four-year old girl. We are still shocked! He is now in Kumasi Central Prison, and Esther visits him once in a while. I do not know if she fully understands what it is he is sentenced for!?

Family no. 24:
Mother: Doreen
Mother: Dorcas
Child: Stephanie

We visited the family and found that Doreen and Stephanie was not home, Stephanie was not in school either. It turned out that they had traveled to Stephanie’s father’s hometown, as family members here had asked them to come. Stephanie’s father (she did not know him) died last year, probably to AIDS. Doreen claims he is the only man she has been with, so he must therefore have infected her. The family wanted Doreen to bring Stephanie, so they could perform various rituals, so the father’s ghost will not be able to haunt her and also kill her.
A week later they were back and Doreen rang us. We made it very clear to her how disrespectful it was just to leave everything without letting us know. After all we do pay the school fees, canteen- and pocket money. When she later came to visit the center to ask for forgiveness, we told her our opinion about rituals. We also questioned why she follows the family’s commands when they do not even help her financially to look after Stephanie.
Doreen is weak and had been afraid of what the family would say and therefore she did it.

She promised to inform us better in the future. We took her to the chemist to buy her medicine. Doreen is now showing up to all her appointments at the hospital, and each day she takes her medication. She is obviously far better now than when she was not on medication.
Dorcas is still selling fruit. We helped her with the starting process last autumn and we are glad she is still doing well.

A Merry Christmas to all of you from Liane and Ben, they wish you a Happy New Year, too.

Another year was given to us.

Year 2014 has for From Heart to Hand been a year of both tragedy and the feeling of powerlessness but also a year of great joy. Myself, I think with great joy and gratitude of my experiences in Ghana in January. Liane and Ben spent their precious time to give me an insight into the daily work in and out from the center. I am deeply grateful for the knowledge I got. It is a great ballast in my daily work for the association.

In January we were told about the great donation that our German department had provided to FHTH Ghana. The money was earmarked for building plot (s) and suddenly the dream of having our own center in Kumasi came closer. We could now take the first steps toward building our own place. In the Board we considered how we in the future could provide more funds for the construction. Earnings in Lianes Bazar was just covering the daily expenses for the Center in Ghana, so we had to think about alternatives. In May when Liane and Ben came to Denmark we could celebrate that the land was purchased. Our landlord, architect Hellsten was contacted and he offered free of charge to make drawings for the construction. Liane and Ben told him about their wishes and Hellsten immediately started the work and his drawings, largely covered Liane and Ben’s wishes. We thank you for the great and good help.

In the middle of all the joy the center was exposed to armed robbery. Furthermore, two of the center’s residents were raped. Everyone in Ghana was in shock and so were we here at home. Liane and Ben went right back and since then they have fought hard – and still do – to try and make things fairly normal again. The feeling of powerlessness has been hard for all of us. How was it possible for the people at the center to get back to a normal life? Could Liane and Ben, who were all of a sudden on their own with all the tasks, cope with this both mental and physical strain? They have done it, but it has been a very hard time. The Board is deeply grateful for Liane and Ben’s endurance, it is admirable. They have really shown that working for FHTH Ghana is what they want. From the bottom of my heart thank you to both of you!

Amidst the tragedy we were all overwhelmed by the fantastic support FHTH subsequently met from all sides. Pouring in sympathy and financial support. Many warm thanks to all private and companies who have made contributions to FHTH. The contributions were still pouring in throughout the year. It is a great pleasure that the economic stimulus has led to an acceleration of construction, so the new centre may be ready in the beginning of 2015. At that time, there is room for everyone to stay there while the building goes on. We hope that the move will serve as a new beginning for everyone at the center. It is amazing to think that the association’s new center in Ghana has been able to be built and ready to

move in just one year. Thanks to all of you who have made this possible. Thank you to the volunteers who during the year have spent time and money to make a difference at the center. You have been an invaluable help in everyday life! Thank you to the many visitors to the center. Your interest in FHTH make us very happy!

Thank you to all you loyal members and sponsors.

Thanks to Nicolaj Hygebjerg for the draft of the new website and thank you Ditte Bang Jørgensen for all that you have done so far on the website. It is a big job and a process that never ends. It is a good bridge between Denmark and Ghana. In Denmark, there has been plenty to do during the year. In Lianes Bazar summer and autumn has been very busy, partly because of the tourists but also because the number of new asylum seekers who daily visits us. Thanks to all of you who deliver fleas, so we have good things to sell and thanks to all who come and buy fine things. Special thanks to all the faithful volunteers, without you we could not operate our second hand shop. Your dedication is worthy of admiration – and customers notice it! In the fall, we welcomed Liane, Ben and Alfred who stayed here for a week. Busy, but intense days. We had the pleasure that Ellen Flyvbjerg and Nicolai Kornerup offered to come and entertain in the shop on December 23. It was a great experience for all and everyone from the association and the many customers / listeners send them their thanks. Also thanks to Santa and his elf girl.

  

Sorrows and joys, common human conditions. We remember friends and faithful supporters, who are not here anymore. Good to have known them. They made a difference! The association’s work in 2014 involved sorrows, but also many joys. We have much to be thankful for. Liane and Ben makes a difference for many people in Ghana, but they also make a difference for everyone who know them. Thank you, Liane and Ben, for being there.

A big thank you to all the good people who support From Heart to Hands work. Each and every one of you is the stone, From Heart to Hand is building with in Denmark. We wish for everyone of you to have a peaceful and joyful new year.

The association’s work in 2014 involved sorrows, but also many joys. We have much to be thankful for.

As the thriving and busy association we are, we still need funds for future plans J

We welcome the new building project, but when they all move to the new centre it will not be a completely finished centre.

We need funds to build a house for Liane and Ben, a house for volunteers and a workshop building.

We also need funds for the actual relocation.

 

Info:

Website: www.fromhearttohand.dk  Please remember the code to the reports: zztop55 Username word: bruger  Meet From Heart to Hand and Lianes Bazar on facebook. .  German facebook page: www.facebook.de / FHTHde

Membership and sponsorship can be agreed on: contact@fromhearttohand.dk or paid at Lianes Bazar.  The membership can be paid into the association’s account at Spar Nord: 9028-457-18-99286  DKK 150 for an individual, 250 per. household, DKK 500 for associations, DKK 1000 for firms.

Please remember half price in Lianes Bazar the last working day of the month.

Vouchers for the association can be obtained in Lianes Bazar or the association’s address.

We accept all kinds of bric-a-brac and we can pick up larger things. (30 72 21 95/50 42 49 77)

Please tell us if there are special things that you want from Ghana.

Please remember to let us know if you get a new email address.

To you who get the newsletter by mail, please send us you email address.

In FHTH Ghana we are overwhelmed by the great support we face from sponsors, members, volunteers and many others. Economically, this support has meant that a dream is about to come true: The most beautiful buildings are springing up from the ground, the outer wall is completed and the beautiful ports are being put in. The water runs, the cement is being mixed and the heavy stone being dragged and divided, in order to fit in. At the same time the red sun bakes and makes it, in our eyes, unbearable to be there for a very long time. The builders do not complain, they perform their work with joy, and ask only once in a while to get a bag of rice, or something else as an additional payment. Ben’s mother has gone out in the countryside, to a small village, where her older sister lives, cutting down trees to be used for roof structures. The tree arrives in Kumasi before long, and the carpenter is already ready to start his work. The craftsman’s tireless efforts overwhelm us, some of them come from the capital Accra and on Sundays they take the bus home bringing some of their salary to their wives and children. The project is exciting and it’s also the excitement that keeps spirits up with Ben, who is a builder and many times a week, may run out on the ground to check the craftsmen’s work, bring materials or repair the water tank. We look with great pleasure forward to the day when FHTH Ghana’s new center is ready and we can call ourselves independent.

Annelise, Linda and Karin have been a great help to us as active volunteers at the center. This year we have encountered much hardship: robbery, lost our employees, Doris has been sick and so on. Ben and I have had a lot on our shoulders, and it has been a great relief for us to have extra hands who could relieve us, especially at the center where every afternoon seven children stand ready for fun and games. We are now looking for new permanent employees who will fit into our atypical work. They must be ready to do many different things and have the desire and the will to work hard to make life better for others. In October Ben, Alfred and I were in Denmark for a week and a week in Crete with my family. It was a wonderful holiday! The time in Denmark, I used extensively by holding lectures different places. At one of the places I was asked if I never wanted to give up. “Yes,” I replied. Just after the robbery, when everything looked black, and I was full up with emotions.I stopped and pondered for a moment … But instead I went out and hugged the children, did some cooking, took the girls to the doctor, I saw the sun was shining and so were the kids and then I knew that it would not do any good to give up!

 

Our families:

Family no. 1:

Mother: Sidonia Dagaar

Children: Ernestina, Kwabena Joseph, Akosua Mary and Kwaku Emmanuel.

Ernestina was home with her mother on summer vacation. Every day she came to the centre with her brothers. We helped her to renew her health insurance so she can get medical care if she is going to be sick while she is studying at the boarding school. After the holiday Ernestina began the second year in Senior High School. The school is located in northern Ghana and she is only at home in Kumasi, when she has a holiday.

Ernestina showed great concern for her family housing. The shed they live in are of very poor quality, the roof is leaking and the walls rot. We wanted to find sponsors to help pay the rent, so the family could move to a better place. The man, who owns the shed they live in, has long ago promised to build a small house for the family. It does not seem that it is going to happen, so Sidonia has been out to find an alternative herself. We have now helped her by paying 200 kr. for a room in a half-finished building, which is far better than where they live now. Soon they will move.

Only in periods the mother makes the beer “Pito” and sells it afterwards. At this moment she tries and makes a living finding empty cement bags, which she sells in the city. She says, however, that she will start the beer again when they have moved.

After this holiday Kwabena started in 6th grade and Kwaku Emmanuel started kindergarten.

Both boys are still at the centre every afternoon after school and on Saturdays. They are doing their homework, play and eat in the evening before they go home to the mother.

 

Family no. 2:

Mother: Olivia Owusu (Yaa)

Child: Viola Owusu (Vera)

In early summer Olivia graduated with good grades and she is now a trained seamstress. Olivia had a really hard time after the robbery. She could not imagine that she ever would be ready to open her own shop, which was otherwise scheduled before the robbery. She was initially very passive and had a hard time making decisions. The psychologist, who has come to the center once a week since the robbery, has worked extensively with Olivia about this. She has slowly gained courage again, and in late September, she found a store room. We helped her to pay rent, for a seven year lease period and she was presented with the keys. She was so proud! The last month Olivia has slowly started to renovate and paint the shop, which she expects to open shortly. Viola is after the summer holidays started in the first class. It’s a big step to start school, and she loves it. Now she has homework every day for several subjects, and she proudly displays her books forward.  Viola has difficulty concentrating for longer periods of time. In school, they sit down for many hours, but Viola would rather play actively. We hope that she will eventually grow out of it. Viola is very active and always very happy; she is doing very well at the center.

 

Family no. 3:

Children: Enock Akrugu and Samuel Akrugu

During summer holiday Samuel lived at the centre, where we enjoyed his good humor and helpfulness. After his holiday he has started his second year of senior high school (gymnasium), which is a boarding school. He still has a great interest in sports, especially football, and he is playing on the school team. Samuels exam results before summer vacation was not too promising, and we have therefore advised him, in this school year, to focus more on the academic, and not only on football. He wants to study architecture at the university after senior high school. Enock also spent part of his summer vacation with us at the centre. Samuel and Enock enjoyed being together. The boys have been donated a used lap top and a digital camera from a sponsor. A lot of the time was spent with that, they were really excited. In the beginning of September we were to pick up a voluntary, Annelise and we invited Samuel and Enock with us to the capital Accra. Here we spent two good days together. It was incredibly exciting for them to experience such a large and developed city. The costs were covered by the remaining money from the collection “Run Out Of The Trash”, which earlier this year donated rent etc. to the boys’ family. Enock is after the summer holidays started in Junior High School in the third year, which is the last year of primary school. Before long, he will be registered for the final exams, which is in the springtime. He has to make the decision of witch Senior High School he will start at after the summer holiday next year. His first choice is to find a school that is located in the same area as our new centre. I think he sees it as a comfort to be near us.

 

Family no. 4:

Father: Kofi Boakye

Mother: Afia Badu

Children: Kofi Boakye Frank, yaa Akoto, Yaw Awuah, Evans Boakye and Akwasi Adjei.

Frank has stopped his apprenticeship as a shoemaker, as he, for unknown reasons got in a quarrel with the owner of the shop. Frank does not really know what he wants. He is 18 years old, but is not mentally age-appropriate, and therefore he often runs into difficulties. He has difficulties making decisions and even harder to keep at the decisions he finally takes. He needs extra support, but it is difficult for us to provide more support when the family lives far from the centre. Frank has now started an apprenticeship as a mechanic. He says everything is fine, but we have often experienced that he does not get there in time in the morning. We motivate him by giving pocket money so he can pay for transport and for lunch. Yaa and Yaw continues to receive their daily pocket money from a teacher at the school. We hand over money at the teacher every other week, and then she pays for them every morning, so they can buy breakfast and lunch. It works fine. Yaa is after summer vacation started in 6th grade, and doing very fine. Yaw has started in 2nd grade. He is still far behind his age, but he is happy to go to school. For a long time Yaw has not had any problem with his blood disease. We have been with him to check ups at the hospital, which went so well that he now only need come to check up every half year. We take care of his medicine, and encourage him to take it daily. After summer holiday we moved the two youngest, Akwasi and Evans to a better kindergarten. They are both really excited about the new institution, and the staff has commented that they slowly see improvement in their development. Since the boys were young thy have been very reserved     and had social difficulties. We hope that this will help with the extra support from the kindergarten. The father, Joe, has closed the bar and we really want him to start another business. He also wants to stop drinking, and therefore we have for a long period observed him when we visited family. He still drinks, but a lot less and in periods he has not had a drink at all. He has been very sick the last few months, and he realize that he will have to stop drinking. He has also lost a lot of weight, and has no appetite. He really wants to start a new life, and we want to help him, as it would certainly be good for the whole family. We have now, after long consideration, helped Joe out by buying him sandals, which he must sell. The sandals are given as a mini loan, which he continually has to pay back. He has now been working with this for about a week, and it seems promising.

 

Family no. 5:

Mother: Christiana Serwaah

Children: Lucy Amankwa, Stephen Amankwa, Felicia Amankwa, James Amankwa, Elizabeth Amankwa, Philippa Amankwa, Nana Emmanuel Amankwa (Kwaku).

The school where the four youngest started at after New Year, turned out not to live up to our expectations. The school has a good reputation and is therefore very expensive, but we did not experience the professional could live up to the price. Therefore, we decided with their mother that the children after the summer should start at another school. The mother found a school near where they live, and we had the children registered. They are all happy about the new school. James started in Junior High School ,2 Elizabeth in 6th grade, Philipa in 4th grade and Kwaku in 3rd grade. Filicia is now preparing herself for starting at a boarding school, a technical high school. She has chosen the line food and nutrition, and is looking forward to getting started. We gave the mother money so she and Felicia can go out and buy all the necessary things for school. Early summer Lucy started at a new apprenticeship, which is paid for by a sponsor. She is deeply grateful and very happy to be there. Lucy is very helpful and responsible at home. She looks after her younger siblings very well. So does the eldest son, Stephen, who works at a shoemaker. Early August the mother, Christiana, married a man who works as a bus driver at the school where she sells kebab. He is an elderly man and his children are grown up and moved away from home. It is not their plan to move in together, but they visit each other often. We talked to Christiana about the house they live in, told her it was build for her children. We were worried that the new man would come and “take over” the house. She made it very clear to us that her children are the most important to her and that she is completely agree that the house is for the benefit of the children. It was great to hear. Only a week after they were married Christiana was seriously ill. Stephen called us an early morning, to tell the mother had been admitted to the emergency department at the university hospital. She was hospitalized for nearly a month, and we assisted in paying for her medication and later part of the hospital bill. She was very grateful and chocked by the situation. It turned out that since New Year she had not been to check up with the enlarged spleen, and that her condition had therefore been difficult deteriorated. It really has been a lesson for her, and she now takes her hospital check very seriously. The same applies to her medication; she must take three times a day.

 

Family no. 6:

Mother: Talata Felicia Kobina

Children: Harrote Kobina (Bebee) and Angela Kobina

After summer Harrote moved to a new school where he started in the 2nd grade. We chose to let him change schools because the old school was right next to a church. The church held very noisy church services every Wednesday and Friday in school hours, so it was impossible for students to concentrate on their lessons. Harrote have been very pleased with the new school, which is located in the same area, near the family home. We hope it will benefit him professionally. For a longer period the mother, Talata asked us for help to pay rent. She had been thrown out of the half-finished house she lived in for free, along with Bebee and other family members. The house had to be built for completion. Since we didn’t react on it, she found the money herself to rent a small room in the same area. It was nice to see that she took responsibility herself. She still makes and sells porridge etc. in the morning. – A breakfast-street kitchen. Several times Harrote has been at the center in weekends, but since we have had a chaotic period, it is not as regularly as we would wish. It is still the long-term plan that Harrote visit the centre regularly, to create a good relation between him and Angela. The mother is visiting from time to time, but it is not as regular as we would wish. Once she also visited the center together with Angela’s father. It was over a year since he had last visited Angela, so she could barely recognize him, and was very shy. Angela is doing very well at the centre. After summer holiday she started in kindergarten 2, which corresponds to preschool. She is smart and doing very well academically. Angela and Viola, who also lives at the centre, are best friends and they have great joy of each other.

 

Family no. 7:

Father: Kwabena Awuah

Mother: Mary Akomah

Children: Stephen Akwasi Sarpong, Francis Sarkodie Awuah, Stella Owusuaa and Liane Konadu.

Finally, after a long period, the parents paid back the loan, and apologized many times for the delay. After paying the loan they have started to visit us at the centre again asking for help and advice. Father, Kwabena, continues to work on a farm outside Kumasi, and is rarely at home. Once again we have recommended the mother, Mary, to find a job because there is not enough money now to take good care of the children.

After summer holiday Stephen started in 4th grade and Francis in the second class at the local municipal school. There have been some problems with Stephen, who repeatedly stays away from school. Apparently he find it hard at school. We have talked to both Stephen and their parents about the problem and asked them to be extra attentive and listening. After summer holiday Stella started in kindergarten 2 and Liane is still in nursery. Recently the parents came to the centre with very sad news: The week before Stella has told them, with fear in her voice, about how two teen-age cousins, has repeatedly abused her. This has happened in the grandmother’s house, where children often have been left unattended. The parents had Stella to the doctor, who had filled in a police report. The parents, however, later dropped the notification; the family wanted the problem to be solved internally. The family has not spoken to Stella’s parents again, and the boys have now escaped any punishment. We have made it clear to the parents how much we are against this decision, and we feel so sorry for little Stella. At least the parents don’t let Stella or their other children come to their grandmother’s house anymore, where the boys also live. Stella suffers a lot from what has happened and therefore we have made sure that she has weekly conversations with Dorcas, who is the psychologist who since the robbery has been associated with the center. We have been with Stella and her mother to a specialized gynecologist who stated that Stella has not been raped, and fortunately not have suffered any physical abuse. It’s an absolutely horrible story, and we wish we could do more for poor little Stella.

 

Family no. 10:

Mother: Ama Bonsu

Children: Vicencia Gyasi Baye, Anthony Twuniasi, Akua Bonsu and Kojo Kliti

After summer holiday both Kojo and Akua are still in kindergarten. They are fine and do well in each their own schools. Kojo go to kindergarten at the school where the oldest siblings are and Akua go to kindergarten at the school where his grandfather drives the school bus. We have visited the schools and paid for everything they needed for this semester. The mother is as always deeply grateful for our support. We are so pleased that this family is doing so well and that they are in control of things. The father continues to work in another city, and is home only on occasionally weekends, so it’s rare we meet him.

 Family no. 12:

Mother: Georgina Atta

Children: Mizpah Eshen, Daniel Eshen, Magdalena Eshen, Habeku Eshen, Nehemiah Eshen + 3 older children.

Before summer holiday, it was a big problem that the children did not regularly go to school and kindergarten. We gave the mother a warning and threatened that the children would lose our support, if they did not go every day. After summer holiday everything goes much better, Daniel started in 4th grade, Magdalena in kindergarten 2nd and Habeku and Nehemiah in kindergarten 1. Daniel has been very open; he’s happy and talks a lot when we visit him at school. Magdalena is also always happy and charms everyone. Habeku and Nahamiah are more cautious and do not say a lot. They are still behind in their development, but have now moved from nursery to kindergarten. They are very different from their sister, Magdalena. Although they are very shy, you can easily get a cautious smile on their lips.

 

Family no. 13:

Grandmother: Mary Adugyamfi

Grandchildren: Joyce Adugyamfi and Erica Adugyamfi.

The girls have now started at a private school. The plan is that they are been registered as boarding school students after Christmas. After summer break Joyce and Erica started in the class. Academically it is a big challenge for those who so far have gone to a municipal school where the level is very different. However, they are optimistic and willing to fight. Both girls are incredibly grateful for our help. They say that their dream of good schooling, now come true. We haven´t seen the grandmother for a very long time, but we have talk with her on the phone. By contrast, their father returned, and this time decided to stay in Kumasi, together with the girls. However, it is really difficult for them to adjust to suddenly having a father, when they have been so used to being alone. They feel, of course, a great failure of their father’s side and he finds it difficult to gain their trust and respect. It has cost many battles, especially between the father and the eldest daughter, Erica. The father is worried and asks us for help. We have now agreed to have a meeting with all three of them, in the nearest future.

 

Family no. 16:

Mother: Esther

Children: David and Liane Esther sold sandals until she in her seventh month of pregnancy was too sore at her lower back and therefore stayed at home. Late in June, she gave birth to an adorable little daughter, who later was baptized Liane. Esther called us before 4 in the morning, and asked for help to get to the maternity ward. I drove straight away to their place. Out on the porch was David ready in both clothes and shoes, totally confused. Esther had much pain, and I could see we had to hurry. “Where is your husband?” I asked, “He’s just gone in the bath” she replied. I knocked on the bathroom door, the man yelled hello, and I asked him to come out. I waited for about 10 minutes, but he did not come out. He was hiding. Whether it was because he was ashamed, or he just did not care to be involved, I don’t know. Later Esther told me that he on the previous night had asked her to go outside because she made so much noise when she had the contractions, and it was disturbing his sleep. I explained to Esther that we could not take David with us the maternity ward, but Esther was distraught and did not know where else to leave him. Her husband could not be trusted. I arranged with a neighbor that she would look after David, and follow him in the nursery later. Esther could hardly walk out to the car. Liane was born just an hour after we arrived at the hospital. Everything went as it should. In the afternoon they were discharged, we drove them home, and brought David to the nursery. Esther’s mother arrived to help around the house, and we left them a little money for food. All the necessary things for the baby, we had helped Esther to acquire in advance. Subsequently, we often visited the family and followed the baby’s development. Esther has been good at visiting the health care nurse and we have checked the hospital record subsequently. Liane is gaining weight fine and feel good. Shortly after birth Esther called us as she was worried because the baby had some blue stripes on the chest. She asked for money to take the baby to a Medical examiner to have it cured. I asked her to wait until I came around. I lifted up in Lianes little sweater, and then I smiled. I stretched my arm forward so Esther could see: “It’s veins”, “yes” I replied. Only one month after the birth Esther took herself to the hospital to get a contraception. She was proud when she brought us the news. I was also quite proud and praised her to the sky. What a success – a good step in the right direction. David is doing well, although it has been tough for him being the big brother, with a mother who has the full responsibility for the two children. He is always very happy to see us when we come to visit and are always very sad when we go again. Several times when we have visited them David has not behaved particularly well, I think it is because he is hungry for attention. The mother is struggling with her money. With the man’s contribution it doesn’t get them far and he has been ill, and therefore unable to work. We hope Esther  can start selling shoes again within too long so she partially support herself and the children.

 

Family no. 17:

Mother: Stargina Ama

Children: Nana Aquah Lord, Henry Obinim, Louis Obinim and Benedict Nhyira Appiah.

Grandson: Kobii Kobii (Amas grandson) has started in nursery and so is the family’s youngest, Benedict. They go to the same institution as the other children in the family and the children who live at the centre. The boys are doing well, although they sometimes have been sick, most of the times with malaria. We paid for health insurance for Kobii so that all children now have a health insurance. Ama has slowly started to pay back the loan, even though she might never get the whole amount paid back, it’s good to see her take responsibility. She doesn’t come to the centre so often anymore asking for help and it certainly shows an improvement. The boys are still very left to their own, and we have repeatedly recommended Ama, to look after her children in a better way. It is difficult for her to handle all the boys and at the same time taking care of the customers in her salon. In order to earn a little extra she sells sandals that she wears on her head around the area.

 

Family no. 18:

Mother: Doris Apana

Children: Benjamin Apana

Doris has really struggled after the robbery. Slowly she developed a depression, which became worse and worse. The psychologist, who has visited us every week at the centre worried about Doris and early October he sent her to a psychiatrist. Doris started on antidepressant medication, but it just got worse. Meanwhile, when Ben and I were in Denmark on holiday in week 41 and 42, Doris was acute admitted to the emergency room and later transferred to the psychiatric emergency room. She had become psychotic. Ben’s mother, who was at the center to look after it all during our vacation, sat at Doris’ side at the hospital throughout the hospitalization, day and night. Our volunteers, Annelise, also made a great effort. Psychiatrists said Doris had a depressive psychosis. Doris’ family in the Northern Ghana did not agree with this, they felt that Doris had been possessed by evil evils and wanted her home. When Doris had her bright moments she was confused and split between the two cultures. Time has taught the family, however, that Doris in her condition would not be able to travel across the country. They have since then showed us gratitude for our help and support. Doris was discharged the day after we returned home from vacation, on the Friday of week 43. She was still not well, and she still had many psychotic problems. The first weeks two of us had to sit guard by Doris constantly because we never knew when she would have an attack. Ben’s mother and a companion, Christian, was a huge support in this period. Slowly it started to go a little better, but it is still very up and down. She may have a week without something, and then it suddenly breaks out again. She hallucinates, has OCD symptoms, and is not present when she has a seizure. She also has depressive periods where she cries loudly, like a little baby. She is now on both antidepressant and antipsychotic medication. Further, she is on medication for epilepsy. She has to go to check up every two weeks where the psychiatrists continue to regulate her medication. We hope soon she can be stabilized, and that it can start heading in the right direction again. It is a very hard period for us, for the whole centre. Benjamin has been struggling after Doris was discharged. It is hard for him to see his mother so sick. On the other hand it is also hard for Doris that she in her condition can not take responsibility for her son. Benjamin sleeps in our room, and when Doris has good days she helps looking after him, and perform some of the daily chores. We try wherever possible to keep Doris in her room, when she becomes psychotic, to spare the children. However, we are also open to children around Doris’ disease, and we talk a lot about it. Just before we left on vacation, we had found a technical college where Doris was supposed to have started on the designer line. However she was hospitalized the same day that she should be started school. It’s been really hard for her, and she thinks a lot about when she can start. We hope that she gets so well that she can start after the Christmas holiday.

 

Family no. 19:

Father: Williams Asamoah

Mother: Stella Antwi Asamoah

Children: Christabel, Kingsley, Kelvin Armstrong and Nana Aduah.

Christa Bell is going to start at Senior High School. Before we left on vacation, she had not yet been given the location of the school by the government, that is, about which school she should go on. We said to the mother that we would go on vacation and hope that her position in the meantime would come. When we came back we found out that the mother behind our backs had chosen another school to Christa Bell and borrowed money to pay school fees. She had also chosen to let Christa Bell be an ordinary student instead of a boarding student. Transport etc. will now be far more expensive. She expected us to pay the bill, expected us to do what she said. We made it clear to her that it is certainly not the way we work. She has no right to “use” FHTHs funds without our judgment and decision. The mother was very upset, and later met up at the centre along with a priest to ask for forgiveness. She had a great understanding of what she had done was wrong. Christa Bell has now been re-registered and starts as boarding pupil at the same school, the nutrition line. Last years exams result for Kevin was not particularly good and the mother showed concern. We looked through his reports and saw that it was the class in general, which had poor results. We could only conclude that in order to perform better academically he would benefit from a better schooling. So far he had gone to a municipal school. After the summer holiday he started at the same private school as his younger siblings. In order to fit into their professional level he was tested before starting school, and to take 5th grade again. He didn´t mind as he was just so excited about the new school. After summer holiday Armstrong started in 3rd grade and Nana Aduah is still in nursery. Both children are very happy that their older brother, Kelvin, now goes to the same school as them, and they take the school bus together in the morning. Kingsley has started his last year of Junior High School, and this spring he will have his final exams. After this he will start at Senior High School like Christa Bell. He wants to go on a scientific line though. The mother has been given a used cell phone from us and financial assistance to start a small business, where she makes and sells donuts.

 

Family no. 20:

Mother: Ama Francisca

Child: Liane Amponsah

Ama started as an apprentice hairdresser. The salon is located not far from where they live, so she can walk there. She does, however, need help to buy lunch and other things and we give Ama money to cover that. Several times Liane has been sick. The mother phoned one evening to tell that Liane was very ill. We met them at the children’s hospital the next morning, where Liane was acutely hospitalized with severe malaria and anemia. We stayed with Liane on the ward, while the mother went with a nurse at the university hospital for blood. Fortunately Liane recovered quickly and after a few days discharges.  Ama and Liane lack of support from the rest of the family, it seems like they do not care about them. We have therefore contacted Amas mother and other adults in the family. They all told us how rude and insolent Ama often behaves. The family is tired of her. We encouraged the family to think of little Liane, and told them that she needs their support when the mother has difficulty coping with the responsibility alone. We also had a talk with Ama about the problem and have urged her to respect her mother and the rest of the older generation in the house. It’s hard for Ama to adapt under others when she grew up without guidelines, and has lacked many different things throughout adolescence. Ama rang us one day to tell that Liane was lost! We quickly went to her and got the whole story: Lianes father and his mother had come to visit with one of Amas family members. Liane barely knows her father and not his grandmother, but they had been talking back and forth. As they left they took Liane with him, and said they would get back with her later in the day. They did not come back and it has now been more than a week. It surprised us first and foremost that Ama had not previously responded to her daughter being away? Ama was just staring down into the ground, perhaps she was ashamed. We asked Ama what she wanted us to do to help her. She replied that she wanted her daughter back.

We tried to call Lianes father, but he was just angry and hung up. We then went to his father’s sister and asked her to tell his brother that the next day we would report the matter to the police if Liane did not come back. The next day Ama and her mother travelled to Lianes grandmother, and brought Liane back to Kumasi. It turned out later that it was one of Amas aunts, who had arranged the whole thing with Lianes father’s family when she thought it would be easier for Ama and their families to be without Liane. Ama is fighting a hard battle with her family, but also with the responsibility to look after Liane. We try to support her through everyday life, and provide everything they might need in order to succeed. Liane is still in nursery, and we have paid all her expenses, books, uniforms etc.

 

Family no. 21:

Father: Thomas

Mother: Patience

Children: Joshua and Mume.

Early this summer the family moved to a new beautiful apartment, where rents are sponsored for three years. The apartment consists of three rooms, kitchen and bathroom. It was very overwhelming for the family suddenly getting so much space. They have so far lived six people together in a room, which also served as the living room. There was money left over from the donation, so they could buy paint and the family decided to paint a happy bright green color in all the rooms. Still there were some money left and we bought mattresses and beds for the children who otherwise slept on a blanket on the concrete floor. We also bought bikes, so kids can bike to school, since they now live further away. The children very so excited and they would immediately go biking on the dirt road in front of the house. However, we later heard that after we left the bicycles were locked up, until their father came home on the Sunday and together they could pray and thank God for the beautiful gifts. The mother of the family, Patience, has never gone to school and has for long periods been unemployed. We therefore offered her a job at the center when we needed a nanny to look after Fredrick in the daytime on weekdays. She enjoys the job and Fredrick enjoys her company. Patience is very calm and loving, and she fits well into the centre everyday. After summer holiday Joshua started in Junior High School and Freda in 3rd grade. They do both really well in school and are happy to go to school. We have several times visited the school this semester and have paid all their school expenses. No family. 22: Grandma: Cicilia Owusuaa Children: Akua Nhyira first Akua Nhyira second The girls have learned to walk and they are also beginning to talk. Their weight is still too low, although they slowly gain weight. The grandmother is once a month with them at the nurse where they are weighed. We follow up on this when we regularly visit them, and check out the girls hospital records. We have paid for having their health insurance renewed, and at every visit we bring different things: Diapers, soap or other things. The girls seem very insecure, cautious and inactive. They are still far behind their age. If all goes well, it will probably benefit them to start in the nursery after the New Year. In a crèche they will be far better stimulated and it will benefit their development.

 

Family no. 23:

Father: Kingsley

Mother: Esther

Child: Fredrick Osei

In August Fredrick’s mother, Esther, suddenly came and visited the center. In the half year Fredrick had stayed with us, it was only the father, Kingsley, who occasionally had passed by at the center. Esther asked for forgiveness and said that she has now found out that she would not lose her child. Kingsley and Esther still fight, as we saw it when we first met them at the children’s hospital. Since August Esther more or less has come to the center once a week, to visit Fredrick. She has in this period had no work and no place to stay, so she has been begging us for help. We have made it clear to her that she can not stay at the center, and we cannot offer her any work. She is always hungry when she comes; she eats tea with us and stay at the centre until evening. She is definitely not just coming to see Fredrick, but more likely to get food, and to be in good company. Since Esther has begun to come here regularly Kingsley slowly stopped coming here, or come now only very rarely. We have only once seen his mother, so the plan that she should look after Fredrick in the future might not be so. Fredrick has come a long way in his development. He has started to walk and trundle around the center. He hums and is beginning to say the very first words. Fredrick is now eighteen months old, and still much smaller than his peers, but his development is fine and he grows like he should. Just before he turned a year, he was discharged from rehap. department and has since not been given special diets. He eats all kind of food and loves it. His first teeth are now also about to break through, and we are pleased. He is now only rarely ill, whereas he the first six years he lived at the center was constantly hospitalized. He was very fragile and slept in Ben’s and my room. Since he now has become stronger, he has been moved down to the other families who live at the center, and now sleeps on Yaas room.

 

Family no. 24:

Mother: Doreen

Mother: Dorcas

Child: Stephanie

The grandmother has not yet come to pay back the money she owes us. Neither has she brought the girls, to talk about their future, as we have encouraged her to do. On the contrary the grandmother has been hiding for us the last six  months and have come up with excuses the few times we have surprised her in their home. She is, in other words not to be trusted.

In June we discovered that Doreen hasn’t picked up her medicine from the hospital as agreed.. We picked up Doreen and Dorcas and drove to Hagar, who is our contact at the hospital and HIV counselor. We held a meeting where Doreen said she feels sicker when she takes her medication, especially because she is not getting enough to eat. Hagar told about the importance of the medication for her in her situation, but Doreen would not listen. We concluded that it would be a waste of time to take her to hospital after medicine if she did not intend to take the medication afterwards. We asked her to make up her mind about what she wanted to do and told her that she could contact us if she needed our help again. After this incidence we only supported Stephanie for several months.. Stephanie’s teacher complained that Stephanie always came to school hungry and without diapers. We therefore decided to leave the pocket money to Stephanie at school every other week and then the teacher would help her to buy breakfast, fruit and diapers. A doctor called an early morning, to inform us that Doreen has been hospitalized and had acute need of help. We changed plans for the day and drove straight to the hospital. Doreen’s condition was critical, and the doctor told us to drive to the university hospital after two units of blood. She had severe malaria and severe anemia. Dorcas drove with us, and we met with the girls’ uncle, who works in the blood bank. The uncle, who normally never helped the girls paid for the blood and also gave Dorcas a little extra money. We drove back to Doreen, who was so weak that she even found it difficult to sit up to eat the food we had brought her. We left them with money to buy food. The day after Doreen had it much better, and after five days she called to tell that she had been discharged. We drove to her and helped paying her bills for hospitalization. Doreen was very grateful and said that she had faced death, and that she did not know what she would have done without our help. During this period she also realized how much she needs her HIV medicine, to become stronger. Doreen, Dorcas and Stephanie have since then come to the center every Sunday, and Doreen is beginning to take her medicine again. Last Sunday we gave Dorcas 100 kr. to start a fruit stall, and we really hope that she will succeed. We hope the best for them. Doreen still needs a sponsor.