Christmas Parties 2011

NAWA (North American Women's Association) hosted a Christmas party for our children the week before Christmas .....

 

  

 

 
 
Kunta Kinte hotel also hosted a Christmas party.  They arranged for a bus to pick all our children and staff to their premises.  Lots of delicious food was served, games were organized with prizes, music allowed for dancing competitions (sorry didn't take photos to capture all the fun the children had!).

We are very thankful to NAWA and the proprietors of Kunte Kinte hotel for sharing with our children this Christmas (and also last year Christmas!!).

Crafts and Cookies

One morning of crafts:

 Another morning decorating Christmas cookies:

The children were invited last week to Ghana International School (GIS) for songs, food and Santa.  This weekend NAWA (North American Women Association) will be hosting a party for the children at Beacon House.  See upcoming post.

Beacon House Volunteer Music Video

Hi, Everyone.  One of our volunteers this summer was Laura Roy, a student and musician from Canada.  While at Beacon House, she played her guitar and had the children sing children's songs along with her.  They loved it!  She made this video while in Ghana which I thought our families might enjoy it.  It's not about Beacon House or her volunteer work but was filmed here in Ghana and is a testament to the versatility and talents of our volunteers.  Mary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh1oqtxL9Eg

MEMORY PROJECT - Lincoln Community School

In early November, 2011, Beacon House received a visit from Mrs. Jardin’s eighth-grade art students at Lincoln Community School in Accra.  The class was participating in its own version of the Memory Project.  The Memory Project is a program that allows students to make portraits of children around the world whom have been orphaned, neglected or disadvantaged to inspire caring, global friendship, and a positive sense of self.

Each of Mrs. Jardin’s students was assigned to produce one painting, one drawing and one collage of one of our children.  After the students completed their work they picked their favorite of the three pieces, wrote a message on the back, and gave the artwork to the child.  The students spent 6 weeks working outside of school to complete their projects.

The children at Beacon House were so excited to receive their personal pieces of art.  Each portrait has been held in the classroom for safekeeping so that the children can have them forever.

                                                                                                     

DONATIONS

At Beacon House, families and friends are constantly asking Romana and Mary what would be helpful to donate. After long consideration, the staff has put together a list of a few essential items that would benefit the children and staff. 

Since the children’s education is one of Beacon House’s top priorities, educational DVDs are greatly appreciated. We also need DVD players that are multiregional/system and preferably work on 220V. 

In our office, each child (whether living at Beacon House or sponsored in schools) has a file. We are always needing to print and photocopy documents. We need ink cartridges for our printers (HP 98 or 45).

Diapers, diapers, diapers ... we have new babies and are in need of diapers.

 

Disposable and kitchen gloves and toilet paper are always needed. 

If you’re in Accra, Mercy, our cook, could use donations of protein foods - fish, chicken, goat, beef and eggs. These items would be helpful when preparing nutritious meals for the children.  We give our children daily vitamins ... so we're always in need of vitamins.

 

Soap ..... if you stay around Beacon House for a few days/a few hours, you will inevitably see children and staff washing ... washing clothes, washing dishes, etc.  We always need washing powder/soap for clothes and bar soap for bathing.  Bleach and disinfectants are needed for general house cleaning and dishes.

We need backpacks and lunch boxes, since we have 5 new children starting school this year. 

We appreciate all the help and feel very blessed to have such caring families and friends at Beacon House. 


Thank you for everything!

Go to this link for further items we can use: http://beaconhouseghana.org/?page_id=56

Farida Doe

Last week we were asked to see a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit at a government hospital in Accra.  Farida is 2.5 months old.  She was born at the hospital and due to her multiple birth anomalies she was abandoned.

We are looking for funds to provide Farida with palliative care.  Farida has multiple birth anomalies to her arms and legs and possibly other skeletal anomalies.  We need immediate funds for the doctors to fully assess her conditions.  Among such tests will be for her heart (echocardiogram) and lungs (xray to monitor pneumonia).  We are looking for a foster family willing to provide Farida with a comfortable, loving environment.  If we are unable to find such a family, we can provide Farida hospice care at Beacon House but we will need to hire another staff member as our ratio of housemother:children is at maximum.

All/any support is appreciated.

Thank you.

Pen Pals

When I was younger, I remember how exciting it was to write my first letter to a new pen pal. It was an opportunity to make a friend in a different country and that alone was mind-blowing. The children here at Beacon House are just as fascinated with the concept as I was when my teacher first introduced the idea.

During these last few weeks, Erika has begun to help the children start writing letters to their pen pals. The pen pals will be from a variety of classrooms in the United States and Norway. Our goal after continuing to write the letters back and forth for a while is to hopefully be able to skype with one of the classrooms. Erika and I thought it would be fun for the children to be able to interact with their pen pals face-to-face.

To help the children understand where their pen pals live, Erika brought in a large map of the world and we help teach the children the different countries and states their pen pals are from. The children have been fascinated with the map and they have made up a game where Erika and I name a country and then they attempt to find it on the map. Who knew learning could be so fun and exciting?   

Currently, the children are writing to a class from Fall City, Washington. The classroom is Diane Tatum’s Kindergarten class from Fall City Elementary School.

Another one of the Pen pals is my eight year-old brother, who is currently in the 4^th grade. For me this really hits home, because I get to help one of the children write to my brother and watch the experience unfold before my eyes. It has been an amazing experience helping Erika with the children.

I will continue to keep you posted as this new experience unfolds, so stay tuned!

Coming Up: The start of Beacon House’s new preschool…

Swimming Lessons

Last Wednesday marked the first day of swimming lessons here at Beacon House. That afternoon as Erika and I walked to catch a chro-chro to start our usual journey to Beacon House we were filled with excitement, because our idea to start a swimming program once a week had come to fruition. When we got to Beacon House the children were dressed in their swimming attire. They had their bathing suits, flip-flops, towels, a beach ball and water balloons ready to go. All four of the children were itching to get to the pool and start swimming. Thanks to the Dufie Court Hotel’s generosity we are now able to go to their pool each Wednesday to practice swimming. As we arrived at the pool, the children’s first instinct was to jump right in. They had all told Ms. Mary, Erika and I that they already knew how to swim, but that didn’t seem to be the case once they jumped in. Luckily, Erika and I were there to scoop them up. Therefore, we started with basic lessons, such as floating on their backs and holding the side of the pool, while kicking their feet. Near the end of the lesson, the kicking and floating turned into contests like, “Who can hold their breath under the water the longest?” Every time one of the children got closer to floating on their back or swam a little farther than the time before they would jump for joy and a round of high-fives was always in order. Every child by the end of the lesson was beaming with happiness and would have stayed longer if it had not been late and starting to get cold. Honestly, I think if it had been up to them they would have stayed long into the night even though they were shivering uncontrollably. When they got out of the pool to dry off and change it was adorable to see all the children concerned that their eyes had turned red from the pool. Erika and I then went on to explain that their eyes were red from the chlorine in the pool and that they would eventually turn back to their normal color.

     It was so rewarding to be apart of that day. To be honest, I think Erika and I had just as much fun as the children. I believe that sometimes it is easy for people to forget that what they might view as a common part of growing up, like swim lessons, can often be rare in other people’s lives. Again, I would like to thank Dufie Court Hotel for their kindness. All the children can’t stop talking about the pool and the other children who have yet to go can’t stop asking when it’s going to be there turn. This Wednesday will bring more swim lessons! So, stay tuned!

Coming up this week at Beacon House: The start of pen pals with children in the United States… 

Two New Interns

Hello! My name is Victoria Yundt, but please feel free to call me Tori. I attend Santa Clara University in northern California. I’m majoring in Political Science and once I return from my semester in Ghana I plan to begin my minor in creative writing. I came to Ghana through a study abroad program called CIEE. Currently, I am enrolled in classes at the University of Ghana. I have been in Ghana for three weeks now and two weeks ago I began interning at the Beacon House. As one of my tasks, I have the responsibility of updating the Beacon House blog for the next four months. I will be informing Beacon House's families and friends on the new and exciting projects that will be taking place in these upcoming months. While in Ghana, I will attempt to learn Twi, intern here at the Beacon House and continue to work on my Political Science major. Also joining the Beacon House team, for the next four months, is intern Erika Murdoch. Erika is a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she is working on her International Studies major and her African Studies minor. Like myself, Erika has come here through CIEE and is enrolled at the University of Ghana.

During our time here at Beacon, we plan to start a few new and exciting projects with the children. These projects include: pen pals with children in the United States, swimming lessons once a week, arts and crafts, music sessions to help stimulate creativity and working with Solo. Throughout my time here, I will continue to keep you posted on these projects and other activities that take place at Beacon House and include pictures whenever I can. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share with readers the inspiring work that transpires here at the Beacon House. So, please stay tuned!

Erika (left) and Tori (right): First Day of Swim Lessons 

Upcoming this week at the Beacon House: 1st day of swimming lessons…

A big THANK YOU from all of us at Beacon House

To the people who donate their time to play and teach our children, to the nurses and doctors who donate their time to provide healthcare for our children, to the families who donate food items, toys and clothes, to the organizations/churches/individuals who donate money for educational sponsorship and to help families establish income generating activities.  To everyone else who assists us in taking care of our children in Accra and families/children in the Upper East Region .... THANK YOU

Dinah

To all our friends, volunteers and visitors who have stayed/visited Beacon House in the last six (6) months, we wanted to let you know that Dinah delivered a healthy baby girl, Daniella, on 1st April 2011.  Both mom and daughter are doing well.

Abigail

Abigail is 16 years old and the eldest of six children.  Her mother recently passed away and the family had to move from a town, Nkawkaw, in the Eastern Region to a village in the Tongo Hills (in the Upper East Region) to be closer to their extended family, especially their grandmother.  Because of the move, her father had to leave his job (pushing carts in the bus station) behind.  He has been unable to find work in the village and, as a result, he’s had problems providing food for his children.  The family struggled to stay together.  Two siblings are staying with a family friend in Nkawkaw, two other siblings are in the village in Tongo and recently Abigail and her younger brother came to Beacon House in Accra.  When both parents were working (mother selling food on the roadside), all their children were in school.  Now none of the children are getting an education.

In many ways Abigail is a typical 16 years old.  She enjoys playing soccer and reading.  She looked forward to going to school and excelled in her studies.  She completed JSS (Junior Secondary School) and did very well in the National Exams (receiving a score of 15).  She would like to attend SSS (Senior Secondary School) and then proceed to nursing school - eventually becoming a nurse.  Abigail is a very caring girl and wants to enter the nursing profession so she can help others when they are sick. 

Abigail arrived at Beacon House last month (March 2011) and is staying temporarily as we look for sponsorship so that she can attend school in September 2011 and pursue her dreams.

In order for Abigail to attend a boarding school to finish her high school diploma, she will need USD 800/year for 2 years.  Please help sponsor Abigail – either donating a full school year’s fee ($67/month for a year) or donating some monies towards her schooling.

Romana: “When I first met Abigail about a year ago in her remote village in the Tongo hills, I was very impressed that she spoke good English and could give me the birth dates of ALL her siblings.  Since birthdays are not traditionally celebrated in Ghana many people (young and old) do not know their birthday.  I inquired more about her schooling and found that she did very well in the National Exams.  Unfortunately, she was sitting at home doing nothing.  I tried talking to her father about schooling but he was still mourning the death of his wife and worried how he would be able to feed all his children.  Even when we offered to send Abigail to boarding school to alleviate feeding one more mouth, he refused.  My concern for Abigail was that she might either get married or get pregnant. 

We went back this month to Tongo and Abigail was still doing nothing, not going to school. I tried again to talk with the father.  This time he agreed that we could send her to school.  We then went to Abigail’s former school to get her National Exam results, and the headmistress said that Abigail was a very good student and would have done even better on her exams if it wasn’t for her family circumstances of her mother’s illness at that time.”

Looking Back...Christmas at Beacon House 2010

Beacon House started the holiday season by giving a Christmas Party for some of Accra's senior citizens at HelpAge.  Alex, our student intern from NYU whose major is theater, worked with a group of BH children three days a week throughout the fall on a Christmas program.  Their hard work culminated in traveling to a senior center in Accra where they performed for the group.  The other children made Christmas cards for the seniors which were given by our performers along with fruits, cookies and juice.  Everyone had a great time and it was a wonderful way to start the holiday season.


Redeemed Christian Church Accra
Two weeks later, members of the Redeemed Christian Church of Accra visited Beacon House and provided a morning of food and fun.  They prepared lunch for everyone as well as brought extra food for the kitchen.

NAWA
The North American Women's Association (NAWA) in Accra sponsored a party at Beacon House on December 18.  Instead of bringing presents, NAWA members and their children came to Beacon House and played with the children.  The group had collected supplies to use for baking Christmas cookies later in the week.  More about that later!

Kunta-Kinte Hotel - Kaneshie
On December 22, the owners of the new Kunta-Kinte Hotel in Kaneshie, Frances and Cynthia Fuster, hosted a party at the hotel for everyone from Beacon House.  Arrangements were made by Shirley whyte, a teacher at the British International School.  A big bus arrived at Beacon House at 10 in the morning to pick everyone up and take them to the hotel.  Along with lots of music and organized games, we were treated to lots of great food including chicken, spaghetti and rice.  Santa passed out presents to everyone so we left not only with our stomachs full but also loaded down with toys and games.



Great music!




Great food!



















And Santa!!!

Now about the cookies.  Two days before Christmas, we set up an assembly line in the dining room to make Christmas cookies.  Rolling out the dough was the hardest part but once the kids got the hang of it, the cookies were made quickly.  Lot of them.  Thanks to the NAWA group we had plenty of icing and candies to decorate the cookies, although some of the children had more icing on them than the cookies.  It didn’t really matter, though.  They loved making the cookies and loved eating them even more!

Christmas morning at Beacon House ..... after a big breakfast, Shelter, one of our house mothers, discussed the meaning of Christmas to the children.  Each of the house mothers spoke and then one of the children read from the Bible the birth of Christ.  After the morning snack, it was time for the presents.  Everyone sat in a circle in front of the tree.  The first to go picked up a present and gave to the child it was addressed to. 

 Solo is blind and receives music on headphones.

Everyone watched and cheered while each took their turn opening their present.  There were lots of smiles and happy children thanks to the Ghana International School who made sure each child had a gift box filled with things chosen just for them.  

Christmas dinner was also special.  Mercy and Vero worked hard to fix a special meal that everyone enjoyed.  That afternoon, following the custom, everyone gathered around and watched the Wizard of Oz.

Hitting Pinata full of candies!

It truly was a wonderful Christmas at Beacon House this year, thanks to the generosity of many caring people.