Geoffrey and his girls

 

One part of life here is administrative work. It is far from my favorite part – it keeps me at home, keeps me in front of a computer screen, can occasionally add worries and stress, etc. But, it is still a necessary part of the project – and I feel more organized after a day of focusing on these things. Time gets spent in a combination of several ways: updating the blog, meeting with Fanny and George, planning whom we can best help with what we have, working out the schedule for expanding the mushrooms, etc….and looking for resources so HFL can achieve its goals. Over the past years, some of our main donors have drifted away – some supporting organizations have left the country, some are no longer in a position to provide assistance and some individual donors have died (my mom had been a huge support and whenever I updated the blog, if it was about someone in need of something, she was one of the first to respond, asking how she could help).

So, we still try with international organizations, but due to the decreasing assistance out there, we started the mushroom project. 

half of our first batch of substrate....waaaaay back in June

And thanks to some very helpful and timely donations, we were able to get it off the ground and gradually expand it. Our initial order of substrate (the growing compound) was for 1000 sacs. What turns out to be fortunate for us is that only 500 were actually ready on the day we were told to come for them. Although initially disappointed, it worked out perfectly, as we could start small, learn the process of caring for and harvesting the mushrooms, figure out the market, determine how to expand and improve production, etc. In retrospect, I appreciate the delay because of how it helped us work things out. Gradually, we are adding more substrate. Gradually we are getting better at caring for and harvesting them. Gradually, we are growing our client list. And we are thinking that early next year, we will gradually increase the price. 

Inside the grow house today....it's not a mirror image...Geoffrey is to the right

 

 

 

 

Christy, our first farm manager, has been one of the key parts. 

Visiting Christy almost a year ago, before we were even considering the mushroom project

She will be leaving at the end of this week to build up her bakery with what she has earned while here. For the past month, she has also been renovating part of where she lives with her family to be her own mushroom grow house. We’ll be providing some start-up and partnering with her, as needed, for marketing her supply of mushrooms, thereby expanding our clientele list and how much we can offer. This is one of the goals – to train HFL members and help them get started up in their own business. 

 

Back at the ending of July

Her replacement (Godson) has been training under her for about a week and a half. 

Godson during a visit with one of the other Hope for Life branch members a few months ago

 

Geoffrey, the marketer and deliverer has been the other key part. While Christy was intended to be a short-term worker so that she could earn the capital she needed for her baking business and so that others could then have the same opportunity, Geoffrey is intended to be more long-term. I’ve known him for almost 20 years – we work well together. And as part of my administrative day today, I am trying to figure out how to provide Geoffrey with additional support for the next year, until the mushrooms are even more firmly established, all the basics are acquired, clients are in-place, and so on, and we can give him a good increment to his salary. I am attempting a new method for raising funds. For the first time ever, I have set up a GoFundMe account. As with many things here (doing a mushroom cultivation project, for example), I have no idea what I’m doing in the beginning, but gradually move forward step-by-step and somehow make progress and figure it out. 

Christy, Geoffrey and George opening the first batch of substrate back in June

Geoffrey, his wife Mary, a nephew they took in and their two daughters a couple of years ago

His story, and the GoFundMe account, can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-geoffreys-daughters-education

Hadasha-Kriss (L) and Dannica

 

Basically, until we can raise his salary enough (hopefully in a year, at most), he needs some help with his girls’ school fees. They are intelligent, lively girls – I look forward to getting to know them better as time goes on. They were born during my years away from Ghana, so we are just barely getting acquainted. If any readers here want to check out a little more of his story and consider helping, please check out my effort with GoFundMe…and if you have other suggestions, please let me know. And, whether you can help with funds or not, I would be grateful if you could help to share the link with others.

 

 

Tetteh

Hope for Life has 16 branches around Accra whose purpose is to make it easier for the members who live near each other to come together, know each other, support each other, encourage each other, visit each other, etc. Each of the branches meets at least once per month, some of them meet more frequently. Fanny (the administrator), George (the HFL president) and I try to get to as many of the meetings as we can. 

Mamprobi Hope for Branch meeting

When I arrived last year, one of the branches, Mamprobi, faced some challenges when they went for their meeting on the local church compound where they’d been holding it since I was here in the 1990s. The security person was new, as was the parish priest, so they weren’t familiar with the group. We worked all of that out and finally, in March, they were able to resume their meetings. Their first meeting didn’t have a huge turnout, but it was good - - people talked honestly about what is going on in their lives, what they thought of Hope for Life, and how things could be better. 

Joseph's room

Joseph, 77 years old, was present at that first meeting. I remembered him, but never knew him very well. He had leprosy in the past and is an amputee. Leprosy can easily be cured, so he is no longer contagious and hasn’t been for decades. He complained of eye problems and other aches and pains throughout his body. In addition to the below-knee amputation, he does have other effects from the leprosy, yet he lives alone, takes care of himself and gets around - - often with a prosthetic leg, sometimes without the prosthetic and using only crutches if he has a sore on his limb or if the prosthetic isn’t fitting well that day. 

Accra’s leprosarium is close to where I live. They have an SVD missionary priest from Ireland, Fr. Campbell, who has been involved with the place since the 1970s. We go there on Sundays for Mass with whoever is in our house and wants to go, so we had become familiar with the priest and some of the staff, as well as with some of the residents. We are often the only outsiders coming for Mass, so the people know us and it feels like community. I promised Joseph I would check there for any recommendations for doctors. 

The team at the leprosarium asked me to get some of Joseph’s background details, and when I shared those, they invited us for a couple of visits so he could meet those in charge and see the place, to determine whether he would like it or not. 

waiting out the rain during one of our visits to the leprosarium

 

The priest and the administrator invited him to come live there and receive the medical care and attention that he needs. In fact, it’s a great opportunity for Joseph - - Fr. Campbell has friends in high places and receives a lot of support, making it possible for the residents to get excellent (and free) medical care, free prosthetics, other mobility devices and wheelchairs, regular meals, water, electricity, etc. – even some pocket money. 

Hawa, Joseph's "sister", and Friedl - a former SMA lay missionary back for a visit

 

But, Joseph had several concerns: would his son agree? would he be free to come and go? or would it be like a prison for him? could he get visitors? etc. etc. If he chose to come live there, he would be leaving where he had been living for years, leaving his familiar environment and people and be in a new, unknown place, with new people – so, in spite of the benefits, his concerns were understandable. Joseph wanted time to talk with his “sister” in the neighborhood where he lives – she’s a sweetheart who looks after him – and talk with his son prior to making a decision. 

in front of entrance to compound with Joseph's room

 

Joseph's new room

 

It took a while, but finally, a month and a half after that first branch meeting, a couple back and forths to the leprosarium and meeting with his “sister”, reinforcing most importantly that his health would be taken care of for him, Joseph decided to go stay at the leprosarium. Immediately, the day after he got there, he joined others who were going to get their eyes checked. Two days after that, he had a complete physical and they began addressing his pain and other issues. 

during one of our visits - discussing family matters with Fanny

 

I now see him at least once per week. During one of my visits, he told me that I should call him Tetteh – that’s how he is known, rather than Joseph. We pick him up on the days that his HFL branch holds its meeting. He often discusses with Fanny some family land concerns he has, as, being the eldest, he is seen as the head of his brothers and sisters, and Fanny is a wealth of information. 

call me Tetteh

 

At the end of June, the leprosarium’s administrator called me to say that Tetteh had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. They asked me to go talk with the doctor about the options, which turned out to be either having a couple of further tests to see how contained it might be – or just letting it go since Tetteh is 77, has high blood pressure and does not like to take the medication to treat it. Joseph and the leprosarium decided upon the tests, and the results came in a couple of weeks ago. It appears that all is fine – nothing needs to happen at this time. 

A week ago, his son, Noah, was back from an extended time at sea and came to visit as soon as he got on land. He told his father that he wanted to meet me, as well. Noah’s emotions and gratefulness poured out of him to an extent that I rarely see here. I felt it… 

L-R: Noah, Tetteh, Joseph (nephew)

 

All of this is to say that the most important part of our role here is not about raising and giving money, even though that is necessary and often takes up an unfortunately huge amount of our time and energy. What matters more, though, is making these connections and giving time and attention to people. Tetteh is happy where he is, getting the care he needs, and his son is brought to tears seeing it…all we did was listen to Tetteh and give some of our time and love.