Ghana Travel Seminar: Touching the lives of children and teenagers

  1. Ghana Travel Seminar: Seeing the magnificence of God’s love
  2. Ghana Travel Seminar: Time for church!
  3. Ghana Travel Seminar: Elimina Slave Castle
  4. Ghana Travel Seminar: Learning at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute
  5. Ghana Travel Seminar: May Day
  6. Ghana Travel Seminar: The ties that bind
  7. Ghana Travel Seminar: Reuniting with alumni
  8. Ghana Travel Seminar: Singing without words
  9. Ghana Travel Seminar: Handcrafts with personality and stories
  10. Ghana Travel Seminar: Touching the lives of children and teenagers
  11. Ghana Travel Seminar: Hospitality and kindness
  12. Ghana Travel Seminar: Love and anger are the key

BY CAROLYN PEGRAM

Oh, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Psalm 133:1

The Ghana travel seminar has been a “once in a lifetime” experience!

As I’ve dwelled together with our brothers and sisters here, I’ve been inexpressively impressed at the genuine hospitality, friendliness, and effortless way in which the Ghanaians have made me feel welcome. From the oldest to the youngest, whether in churches or colleges and schools, the hospitality has been unmatched!

Equally impressive is the Outreach Ministry of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) and how it is touching the lives of children and teenagers outside of their community of faith. Today we visited the Wawuko (Accept God) High School for girls ages 13 -19. The school is funded by the church with some assistance from the government.

Founded In 1983 by group of women in the church who believed that girls needed a place to go where they could receive academic training and life skills, the school began a with the belief that “If you educate a boy, you train a mind, but if you educate a girl, you train a nation!”

As of today, the school has over 2,000 girls enrolled from all over Ghana and from different denominations. One thousand seven hundred of these girls live at the school and 300 commute daily.

The school’s curriculum includes science, at, Home economics, business, computer science, worship, and various sports.

Classrooms accommodate 55 to 70 students daily. In addition to their studies and extracurricular activities, the girls receive positive reinforcement, assuring them that when they leave the school they will have skills sufficient to be successful in life.

In addition to Mawuko, the church also has a school/ home for boys that do not have a parental presence or participation in their home. The school, Nenyo Harboror (Good Group), named by the students, has the capacity for 60.  The curriculum is similar to the girls; however, it includes welding, painting and gardening.

The EPC also has hospitals and clinics with reduced charges for patients.

I’ve been inspired by the dedication and commitment of the church and staff, that operate with limited resources but are dedicated to meeting the needs of girls, boys, and residents of Ghana.

Carolyn Pegram is a Master of Divinity student at the Richmond campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary.