VISIONS’ Ghana partners are Missahoe Children's Home, the community of Agbenoxoe, and the Joy Family Association, an NGO that serves 21 surrounding communities. Joy Family Association is a public health organization that works directly with churches, mosques, schools and other community-minded groups, and village elders to bring critical health messages to communities at large. Joy Family focuses on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, clean water, hand washing, malnutrition, infant and maternal care, to name a few. VISIONS’ contacts at Joy Family Association have intimate knowledge of the area, and they been willing liaisons between VISIONS and community leaders in the surrounding villages.

The children's home where we work is in the village of Kpando, about seven kilometers from Agbenoxoe. There are about 50 orphans between the ages of 18 months and 16 years who together share four bedrooms. After a couple hours of chores first thing in the morning, school starts at 7:30 am Monday through Friday with a one-hour lunch break before classes end at 2 pm. Some students stay for tutoring while the rest break for the day. Responsible for the orphans are a single house mother four other adults who live at the orphanage, helping cook, clean, and care for the children. We will assist the teachers in the classrooms and the house mothers with care for the children. We also may assist with some renovations and construction projects for the home.

The home also functions as a private Montessori school for students from surrounding communities who pay a modest tuition to support the home. With little adult supervision, the children are starved for attention. You will be the light of their school day lives during our time there.

In addition to our work at the children's home, in our home community of Agbenoxoe, village elders have provided a plot of land where we will help them construct a children's home, school, and youth center. This is a multi-year project, and the community is thrilled for the partnership, assistance, and long-term friendship offered through the shared labor and goals of the project.

Another service project will assist the Joy Family Association with public health outreach and presentations at schools in nearby  villages.