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.

mushroom people, part 2

Over the past few years, some Hope for Life members have become a bit less active for a variety of reasons. Many have still been attending their branch meetings, but because finances were down, some of the other activities that encourage and support HFL members, such as home visitations, significantly decreased, if not stopped entirely. Since I have been back in Ghana, we are building Hope for Life back up with a heavy focus on its original spirit and purpose: coming together as brothers and sisters to support each other, lift each other up, encourage each other, advise each other, etc. Fortunately, there were some minimal funds available that made it possible to resume a few of the activities – in particular our home visits and participation in HFL branch meetings. At the same time, we are planning for and working towards being able to do more in the future. 

So…this is where the mushroom project, introduced in the previous post, comes in. An early donation we received partially went to renovating the mushroom grow house and purchasing the initial supply of substrate (the growing compound). There is minimal overhead to this project, and we are fortunate to have a strong, initial group of people involved.

Christiana, Farm Manager:

We brought on Christy as the farm manager. She is the coordinator for one of our Hope for Life branches and uses crutches and a leg brace and adapted shoe to get around. She was one of those who was trained in mushroom cultivation years ago (mentioned in the previous post), and is fully capable of caring for the mushrooms, watering them, harvesting and weighing them, packaging them, etc. 

Watering her "babies"

 

She is also a baker and was facing some financial difficulties with her baking business. This is an opportunity for her to receive some income for a few months (perhaps longer, if she wants and if there is still a need) to boost up her baking business.

at a program with Steve and Joe

 

Christie loves her selfies

Geoffrey, Marketer and Distributer:

Geoffrey (R) chatting with George

delivering mushrooms

We also hired Geoffrey for marketing and distribution. I worked closely with him from 2009 – 2011 when he was HFL’s executive secretary. He has a below-knee amputation, training and a background in business and a driver’s licence. He has been an uber driver for the past few years, but his car is even more tired than our own and is in need of expensive overhaul repairs. His wife is a school councillor and they are doing their best to continue paying the school fees for their two smart little girls. 

Christie, Geoffrey and George opening a new batch of substrate

Fanny and George, Supervisory Team:

In addition to Geoffrey and Christy, we have George, the HFL president, and Fanny, the HFL administrator we hired back in 2010 (so as to have leadership continuity whenever the lay missionary presence changed). The three of us make up a management/supervisory team. Fanny and George have also been trained in mushroom cultivation from the efforts of 10 years ago.

George also makes traditional umbrellas and other ceremonial decorations for traditional chiefs.

 

with a smaller umbrella and other ceremonial items he has made

Fanny does “beading” work on the side, creating bracelets with Ghanaian beads, doing a decent online business.

 

Fanny is my faithful interpreter at many meetings...just to be sure I get it clearly

Fanny and George, goofing around at home

A story in itself - - someone donated a wheelchair to Dawood to pass on to someone in need...it makes it much easier for Fanny to get around while at home

We have started the mushroom cultivation on a small-scale. Our plan is to build up the business over the first year, increasing production and a customer base. Next year, if all goes well, we will begin training at most 3 people each grow cycle, with plans to help with their start-up costs and to provide follow-up support upon completion of their training. 

New and old substrate

 

acting farm manager while Christie recovers from malaria

Christie, Geoffrey and George, opening up the new substrate

mushrooms...

 

I have always loved the part of Hope for Life that involves getting to know the members, discussing directly with them about their goals and dreams and then working with them to determine how best to go about achieving these goals.

In the past we were very fortunate to have some donors who made it possible for us to assist with orthopaedic surgeries, mobility devices, education, vocational training, business boosts, etc. But things change – some supporting organizations are no longer in Ghana, or simply no longer in existence, some private donors are no longer in the position to help, or are simply no longer around…add to that the time since I’ve been away, and it’s as though we’re starting fresh with this. 

In the long run for Hope for Life, it is also not realistic or helpful to depend only upon outside donors. When I was here from 2009 – 2011, we started going around to local businesses one day per week with letters asking for support in cash or in-kind. After following up time and again, we had some minimal tangible success: once we were given what felt like a lifetime supply of toilet paper; other times we were given some support in basic provisions. So, no complaints and it was a good experience. Businesses began to recognize Hope for Life’s name. And, just as importantly, the HFL members who were with me were the ones who presented HFL to the people in charge. I was only the key that opened the door to get us into the CEO (or whoever the contact person was) since, as an able-bodied foreigner, I wasn’t seen as a beggar. It was an opportunity for the HFL members to be treated on equal footing with some powerful people, to learn to speak with confidence and to use their voices without fear.

That was years ago, though, and those contacts and connections are no longer in place. There are also fewer and fewer international organizations providing assistance. So, over the past few months, we have been brainstorming income-generating options. Two have stood out, and the easiest and most promising to begin with at this time, since basic structures are already in place, is mushroom cultivation. (The other, a group workshop setting for PWDs who are skilled in tailoring, shoemaking, etc., will hopefully come about in the future.) Over 10 years ago, another NGO proposed and began a mushroom cultivation project focused on training about 30 HFL members per year and then setting them up with start-up support and follow-up visits. After a few months, though, that NGO faced some difficulties, and, unfortunately, the start-up support for the trainees never played out, and the trainings came to a halt as the NGO drifted away.

pre-renovation grow house, with managing team: George (HFL President), me and Fanny (HFL Admninistrator)

 

But there is a market for mushrooms. The basic structure of the grow house is still standing, but in need of some renovation. A few basic supplies needed to be acquired, and a project written out. 

 

George, with 1/4 of the mushroom-growing substrate

Fortunately, even before sending the project proposal out, we received a donation that helped us with the initial stages and we got the mushroom project off the ground. We are now in the beginning of our first harvest cycle and are trying to find our market. All the signs give us hope.

opening the mushroom growing substrate, top to bottom: Christy, grow house manager; Geoffrey, marketer and distributer; George, HFL president and part of management team

 

Christy, first days of watering

Mushroom Queen, Geoffrey, Christy, me, George

first un-official harvest - mushrooms that were growing before their bags were opened...delicious sauce that night

There are a few primary and ongoing goals for this project: to generate funds to help HFL support people with disabilities to achieve their dreams; to provide employment for some PWDs; and in a year’s time, to start training a few HFL members each grow cycle, and then, post-training, assist them in starting up small-scale mushroom cultivation efforts of their own, facilitating their efforts to be productive members of their families and communities.

part of today's harvest