Back in Ghana

Almost 3 weeks since I returned to Ghana. My how the time has flown by. On Monday, July 14, 2014 I went to my doctor in the USA and was given the green light to go back to Ghana. Thanks, everyone for your prayers. That afternoon I began searching for a flight back to Ghana and found one of those “24 hour specials”. It was significantly cheaper, but I had to leave Tuesday morning. So Kelly and I made a mad dash to Wal-Mart and began packing. Because of some very generous people I was able to bring back two bags of story books and readers for 1st and 2nd grade. Believe it or not I arrived in Ghana with all 6 suitcases. That is close to a miracle here in Ghana.

It is so good to be back at SCEF and with the children. A BIG thanks to all of you who helped me get back in time for the grand opening of The Learning Hub. It was such a thrill to see the kids and the adults faces as they explored all that SCEF will be doing within the community. Since our grand opening we have had students, children, and adults pouring in to read, learn computers, and to have a safe place to congregate. For those who do not know SCEF (Street Children Empowerment Foundation) it is a Ghanaian grass roots organization whose purpose is to empower street and vulnerable children through education. We work to put street children in to government schools, and then monitor them so they will be successful. Just like in the U.S. public schools in Ghana are free tuition, but there are so many other fees, charges, books, etc. that street and vulnerable children cannot attend regularly. Most of our students are first generation literate, so they do not have much support from family, friends, and others in the community. Currently we are assisting over 200 kids and monitoring 125 students, You can follow SCEF on Facebook. What do I do? I work directly with Paul Semeh who is a Ghanaian that founded SCEF. I serve on the board of directors, and am the Project Coordinator for all the Social Work (kids in school), volunteers, and operations (including working with parents/guardians/family of our students). I have a great team under me.

Humphrey: is in charge of our students. His team goes to the schools each month, talking with the kids and their teachers to make sure they stay in school. Often he has to go to where the child lives and explain to adults why this child should be attending school regularly and how they can support this child’s education. He is assisted by volunteers.

Isaac: is in charge of our parents and the operations of SCEF. We have a village finance group where parents can save small amounts and then make loans to grow their business. With this we are teaching our adults how to be able to support their child’s education after 5 years.

Volunteers: We have volunteers from all over the world. Currently we have them from Germany, Finland, Spain, U.S., and England. We also have Ghanaian volunteers. Currently we have 4 from the University in Ghana who are doing 2 month practical. Many others come for 1-12 months.

And the in the USA I have a great support headed by my daughter Kelly and her family. Kelly handles all the collection of money each month that supports me and several of the students at SCEF through their godparent program. I could not do it without Kelly and her family’s support. A big thanks to each of you. Elaine