Program: Home for Hope

Home for Hope (HFH), located in Asebu, Ghana was established by Alliance for Youth Development (AYD) in June 2007 through collaboration with community leaders and AYD’s Executive Director and Founder, Elvis Morris Donkoh. In Asebu many people live on less than $1/day. Most of the children living at HFH have lost parents to HIV/AIDS and have no other family able to care for them. Without HFH they would be living and fending for themselves on the streets. Instead, these children are receiving the care and nurturing to ensure healthy physical and emotional development, and the basic education and vocational skills necessary to provide for themselves once they reach adulthood. HFH is currently housed in a former post office building on loan from the Asebu community. However, this building will soon be reclaimed for use as a police station or library, and without a new facility there is the real possibility that these children will again become homeless. Land has been purchased and a foundation laid for these children’s new home, but Home for Hope needs additional financial support to complete the new facility and ensure continued care and education to these vulnerable children.

 

Meet the kids who have Hope

Joseph (l), age 11, and John (r), age 9

Joseph and Joshua are from Adonose and have been living at Home for Hope since 2007.  Their parents died from AIDS in 2005 and for 2 years they lived with a foster mother, but the burden of caring for them became too great and the boys were referred to Home for Hope by the home-based care program for people living with HIV/AIDS. John is in 1st grade at a local public school.  Joseph passed a placement test to attend private school and is in the 2nd grade.  Neither boy has any serious health nor emotional issues and both are doing well in school.



Paul (l), age 14, and Grace (r), age 9

Paul and Grace are originally from Asebu and have been living at Home for Hope since 2007.  Both of their parents died from AIDS and had been clients of Elvis’ home based care program.  They died 6 years ago and until Home for Hope was established the two children lived with an elderly aunt, but her care giving was inconsistent and both children were often not in school or eating properly. Since living at Home for Hope, both children are doing well and attending private school; Paul is in 5th grade and Grace attends 2nd.  Paul is the oldest boy in the home; he is quite shy but is a good helper to the house mother and is very protective of the other children at Home for Hope.



Emmanuel (l), age 13, and Angelina (r), age 12

These children are the most recently arrived at Home for Hope and have lived there for 2 months.  They are originally from Moree community, one of the poorest in all of Ghana. Both parents died from AIDS 3 years ago and the children had been living with extended family members but the conditions were not good and the children were not being fed, nor were they attending school. They were referred to Home for Hope through the home-based care program.  They are making a good adjustment to the orphanage, and both are currently attending public school; Emmanuel is in 4th grade and Angelina attends 3rd grade. 



Ruth (l), age 10, and Clement (r), age 8

Ruth and Clement have been residing at Home for Hope since 2007. They lived with foster parents in Moree after their mother died of AIDS and their father abandoned them but the conditions were very poor and neither child was attending school.  Subsequently they are behind in grade level, but Ruth excels in school. She currently attends 2nd grade in a private school.  Clement attends 1st grade in a public school.  Upon initially arriving at the orphanage, Clement had noticeable behavioral issues – temper tantrums, fighting with the other children, etc., but over time these issues have greatly subsided.  Ruth often assumes the role of “mother” looking out for the younger ones.



Margareth (l), age 7, and Christie (r), age 5

These girls are from Abaka community and were abandoned by their mother, who is mentally unstable and neglectful.  They had no extended family to care for them in their community and Elvis had been sponsoring their basic needs and school fees for several years prior to Home for Home’s establishment. They have lived at the orphanage since 2007 and when they arrived both girls were malnourished with many health problems, which have been resolved. Both girls attend private school; Margaret attends 2nd grade and Christie is in kindergarten.    



Joshua, age 9 –

Joshua’s parents died of AIDS 4 years ago and had been clients of the home-based care program and he has lived at Home for Hope since 2007. Prior to arriving at the orphanage, he lived with his very elderly grandmother, but her failing health prevented her from being able to provide proper care and there was no other family able to take him in. He is very smart and was the first child at the orphanage to qualify for private school and currently attends 3rd grade. He also has a hernia which at some point in the future may require surgery but which for the time being is stable.



Elvis, age 9 (also known as Elvis Jr.) –

Elvis is originally from a village in northern Ghana (9 – 10 hours away from Asebu) and in 2008 he was referred to Home for Hope by an aid worker in his community, who had previously worked with Elvis Donkoh on other development projects.  Elvis’ mother was not mentally stable and was not providing proper care - he was not attending school – and his father had abandoned the family. Initially he had a language barrier as his native dialect is Bono, but he learned the local dialect, Fante, and English, quite rapidly and now has little difficulties in this area. He currently attends 3rd grade in public school and wants to be a pilot when he grows up.  He also tends to the goats at the orphanage, and the kids jokingly refer to him as the Goat Man. He has a great sense of humor and loves to play practical jokes.



Charity, age 8 –

Charity is originally from Moree community and has lived at Home for Hope since 2008 after her mother died of AIDS and there was no one in her local community to care for her. She was referred by one of AYD’s board members who knew her mother. She attends private school and is kindergarten. She is currently in good health and wants to be a model when she grows up.



Samuel, age 12 –

Samuel has lived at Home for Hope since 2007 and is originally from Abaka.  His mother has been very ill for several years and likely has HIV but doesn’t want to get tested and she does not believe in the existence of the disease.  She was not providing proper care for him and he had been living on the streets and was being fed by Ruth & Clement’s foster mother. Samuel had a difficult adjustment to living at the orphanage, experiencing temper tantrums and difficulty at school, both of which have greatly improved.  He currently attends private school in 2nd grade.



Kojo Langston, age 16 months –

At the age of 3 months, he was found left in an abandoned building by one of the HIV clients in the home-based care program, who referred him to Home for Hope.  Despite numerous efforts to locate his family, no one has ever come to claim him.  He was extremely malnourished, with a distended stomach, and had to be hospitalized initially for fear that he may not survive. Once he was stabilized at the hospital, he came to live at Home for Hope and has been there for about one year.  He is currently in good health and is a very independent child, now walking and feeding himself.  All of the other children dote on him, especially the older girls, Ruth and Grace.



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