Hope for Life, in photos

 

Many Hope for Life members are also part of other organizations for people with disabilities (PWDs), but they regularly tell us that what sets us apart is they can see we sincerely care about each of them. We give individual attention to our HFL members, going beyond just donations.

For example, over a year ago we (Fanny, the Administrator, George, the HFL President and I) resumed doing “car days” at least once per week. These are our home, workplace or school visits that make it possible for us to get to know HFL members and their families more personally. It gives us a chance to see a little more clearly how things are really going. We get to spend one-on-one time with our members, giving them a chance to talk at ease about more personal issues, and giving us a chance to offer more personal support and advice where it might be needed.

Some of our car day visits:

 

Rose (the HFL branch coordinator), me and Becky, who moves with calipers and crutches and prepares and sells omelettes and ramen noodles with veggies and more. Becky needs to repaint her container for selling, as the sea air has led to rust.

Constance, a retired teacher, uses his umbrella like a cane to stabilize his walking with his special shoe and calipers. He is standing in front of his snail farm and plans to expand into mushrooms, as well.

 

Amelia gets around with her cane. She is in the rented shop where she has a corn-grinding machine.

 

 

Joseph, a shoemaker who does his work at a table under a tree alongside his home, sits behind his shoe making table with his 2-year-old daughter, Lodi.

Aunty Maggie, sporting her cool sunglasses, has an amputated leg and makes her living selling charcoal.

 

Esther is taking care of her granddaughter while working on a beaded necklace in front of her bead shop.

Charles is the father of Benedict and John (not pictured) and 2 other sons. Charles was diagnosed with diabetes about 7 years ago and has lost mobility and is losing his sight due to complications from the diabetes. Benedict is 34 years old and has cerebral palsy. John, their son/brother who does most of the caregiving, is our new mushroom grow-house manager. He had already been planning to set up his own mushroom business to assist the family prior to having the opportunity for hands-on learning with us.

Dawood (on the left - I've written about him before) and Fusseini. Dawood was guiding us on this car day. I also knew Fusseini about 30 years ago, when he was a shy young man. Today, he is a confident married man with a couple of kids and he repairs motorbikes.

Dinah is a provisions seller. She is the mother of four kids - her husband, the love of her life, has passed away. She is pictured with George, the Hope for Life President, who is often able to adjust his schedule to join on the car days.

 

Esther, seated on the mat, is a 17-year-old with cerebral palsy. She is pictured with her grandmother, who tries to continue with the physical therapy that she observed being done on Esther when they used to have the money for going to the hospital for therapy.

Gladys is a hairdresser and mother of one 8-year-old boy. The landlord for the land where her hairdressing shop is located has asked her to relocate, so she is working that out.

Grace sells water and other soft drinks. She's been doing well with her business and we were recently able to give her a business boost to expand a bit more.

Martin, on the floor, is pictured with Michael, the branch coordinator who is also a tailor. Martin stays with his grandparents. He used to have a soap-making business, supplying some of the hotels, but COVID led to its collapse and since then he has struggled with deciding to rebuild it or to go another direction.

Joshua is 5 years old and has hydrocephalus. While waiting for a special chair to be made that will better support his body and head, we were able to get a wheelchair donated to help his mother to maneuver him around their home. Fanny (the HFL Administrator) is pictured seated on the bench, and Joshua has a little bit of a crush on her...

Kwasi, who has visual impairments, is standing in front of the pen where he raises goats to sell.

 

Divine, in the center, is an electrician who had an accident leaving him with his left arm and leg amputated. He now has an electrical shop he is trying to succeed with. He is pictured with Janet, the branch coordinator, and one of his sons in front of the house they are trying to build (where they also live).

Prince, 28-years-old, is a tailor. He had a Buruli ulcer when younger, which left his left arm deformed and with limited mobility. Hope for Life helped with the application for funds so he could have his own sewing machine, which he works on from in front of the family home. He hopes to set up his own shop in a better location.

Prosper is a Hope for Life member I've known for 30 years. He is trained in electronics and is currently working as an elevator operator at a shopping mall in central Accra. He is preparing for his retirement with land north of the city where he is already cultivating his gardens and planning to acquire a bore hole, when funds permit, as well as a grinding machine.

Rejoice, on the left, is another long-time member. She is a ramen noodle and spaghetti street-food seller and faithfully attends HFL meetings. When asked how HFL has benefitted her, she says she has never received anything from HFL. When next asked why she is still a member and attends meetings, she says that these are her friends, her family. She is pictured with Christie (our first mushroom grow-house manager and the branch coordinator) and George.

Salomey, center, sells school supplies on a church compound where there is also a school. She has a limited selection and we were recently able to give her a business boost to expand the options she has for sale. This school term has just begun, so there are no pictures yet. She is with Becky, the coordinator, and George, the HFL President also on the car day.

Each of the branches also has branch meetings at least once per month. We try to get to as many as we can…here are just a few of those:

George, the HFL President, on the left, and Tetteh (who I've written about, pictured on the right) can both be seen here.

 

Fanny, the HFL Administrator, and George are also pictured here.

 

 

 

Bernard, the branch financial secretary, is on the left; Emmanuel, the branch secretary, is in the center; and Moses, the coordinator, is seated.

 

George is on the left; Grace, the pure water seller, is center.

We're working on this branch. COVID and the loss of their coordinator has made it difficult for them to gather regularly...but, we're on it to see if they want to continue or not - up to them.

 

 

This branch had invited members of the National Health Insurance to come talk at their meeting, explaining how the system works, who and how it benefits, etc.

 

 

 

As I said, Hope for Life members often tell us that this personal touch, care and attention is not offered by other groups. During car days and branch meetings, we also reinforce the original spirit and purpose of Hope for Life – coming together as brothers and sisters to support each other, lift each other up, encourage each other, advise each other, etc., reminding the members that HFL can only be as strong as its members.

Prior to my return to HFL in September 2023, there had been fewer car days for a variety of reasons (notably a lack of finances and no driver). As a result, some HFL members forgot the HFL spirit and began to expect handouts. However, and with occasional frustration, we are gradually getting the original spirit back.

Car days are my favorite part of what I do at this time. Being able to sit and talk with people, hear what’s going on, laugh and cry together and work towards whatever their goal may be (or just trying to determine their goal in some cases), is what it’s all about for me.

I still need to deal with less pleasant parts of what is necessary – finances and fundraising, record-keeping, building up the mushroom and the bakery projects so I won’t need to fundraise as much in the future, etc. But, all of that is what makes car days and spending time with HFL members possible, so, even though I can’t say I “grin and bear it,” I can say I try my best to take care of it in a positive frame of mind by keeping our goals in sight.

Rachel

 

Joe, another SMA lay missionary and friend of mine who took over some of my work with kids with disabilities on the Liberian camp when I left in 2011, was also able to return to Ghana with me over a year ago. He had been on the camp for 8 or 9 years, but during COVID he needed to return to the US. At that time, the new leadership of the US province of SMA decided to cancel the lay program, so that’s how I ended up with the French SMA and Joe ended up being in the US for a while, working with an SMA missionary from the UK on a Zuni Indian reservation in New Mexico.

Now we are both with the French province and back in Ghana and he is continuing with his work with kids with disabilities on the former Liberian refugee camp. He has a wonderful team of 6 people working with him on physiotherapy, basic academic lessons, providing lunch to the children with disabilities, etc. The majority of his team also has some personal connection with a child with a disability. 

some of Joe's team

 

Rachel is one of those people. I first met her back in 2004, when the physical therapist (a French SMA lay missionary) on the Liberian camp referred her to me. Princess, her daughter, was a 1-year-old with cerebral palsy. Around the same time, a few other parents of kids with cerebral palsy had also found their way to me, so we formed a small group to learn basic physical therapy and provide each other with support, advice, etc. Rachel was amazing in her dedication to Princess and following-up on the therapy when at home. 

It was a couple of years later - - in Nov., 2006 - - that I first wrote about Rachel and Princess: http://steveupdate.blogspot.com/2006/11/

 

Princess, 2006

The blog post from then has a few pictures of her as a cute 3- or 4-year-old heading to school with a backpack bigger than she is. It was a beautiful day – she was walking on her own to begin attending school. She, her mom and I were all so proud of her.

 

Princess in her school uniform today

with a donated tablet

Now, Rachel is part of the team working with Joe, and Princess is doing incredibly well in high school. She has trouble with speech and drools a bit, often keeping a washcloth with her to take care of that, but otherwise is a happy, lively and intelligent young woman. 

 

Rachel (center), with the other member's of Joe's outreach team - L-R: Pauline and Sarah

Joe recently wrote about Rachel and her family today, so I’m sharing that here:

 

Rachel with her "adopted" kids

     I would like to introduce to you an amazing woman. Her name is Rachel Bestman, a Liberian refugee I met back in March of 2011 when I first came to Buduburam refugee settlement. 

     Rachel has not only been raising her 4 children, (one with cerebral palsy) and 1 grandchild but also 4 children with disabilities who have been abandoned by their birth mothers.

     A disability in Africa is not a good thing. Many believe the child has been cursed or the mother was cursed during her pregnancy and some see the child as a snake in human form. As a result, the child may be killed, neglected, or abandoned by the mother.

    Rachel on the other hand has this amazing faith in God. She has no steady income except for the little I am able to help her with by God's grace but yet she takes care of all these precious little ones on faith alone.

     I believe if the world had more Rachel's it would be a better world.