Mercy, Afi, and Their Sons

Mercy and Silas

Mercy, a beloved member of Beacon House's teen moms program, is the mother of 5 month-old Silas.  At just 19, Mercy admits that her pregnancy wasn't planned and that she was a bit apprehensive towards being a mother. She came to stay at Beacon House when she was 7 months pregnant.  She delivered at a clinic nearby. Mercy has quickly grown to embrace motherhood and today is fully devoted to raising her son.  Raising Silas on her own has not been an issue, and she plans to one day move back to her childhood town, in the Upper East Region of Ghana, to be near her family. She looks forward to the day that Silas begins going to school.

  Afi and Richmond

18 year old Afi has been part of the Beacon House family for about 2 months now with her 15 month old son, Richmond. She has been helping out in the the kitchen and has been heartily welcomed by the staff and children. Eventually, she will be enrolled in a catering course to improve her cooking skills. Even though she wasn't planning on having Richmond at such a young an age, Afi  loves being a mother.  She dreams of Richmond one day becoming either a lawyer or a doctor.

Helen and Mary

Last week Beacon House said goodbye to two longtime inhabitants, sisters Helen and Mary.  While their presence will surely be missed, we are all thrilled and excited for them as they embark on their journey with their 'forever family'. We know that many of you who have visited Beacon House in the last 4 years would surely have met them.

I had the pleasure of interviewing them during their final night at Beacon House. Here's what they had to say:

What  do you love the most about Beacon House?

Helen: I like to mop and sweep the compound, and play just a little bit. 

Mary: Beacon House is nice, and also beautiful! And I like to play.

Can you tell me anything about where you’ll be moving to and what are you looking forward to the most?

Helen: We’ll be moving to North Carolina. I’m happy because next week we’ll be leaving for America, but tomorrow I’ll be a little sad when we leave Beacon House with my mommy and daddy.

Can you tell me about your parents?

Helen: They were living in North Carolina and now they came to Ghana to pick me up. But they were also praying for the papers to be finished, so they prayed and prayed and prayed until the government said it was finished.  So now they came to Ghana to visit today and tomorrow I’ll be leaving, so that’s all I can say.

Is there anything you’re worried or scared about leaving?

Helen:  I’m worried about all these people, my friends here and that I won’t be able to see them again.

Helen with her friends in 2009.

Is there anybody you’d like to thank?

Helen: Thank you for the love of mommy Romana. God gives her money and she buys us food to eat. We also pray for her that God will give her more knowledge.  Thank you Matthew for coming to play and watch movies with us, for being with us and helping us with homework.