​An additional 22 children that were recently rescued from labor trafficking are now here at the GMAD home are getting their childhood back, their potential back and their dignity back. They are also attending school, many for the first time in their lives.
 
Approximately ⅕ of children working in the fishing industry in Ghana are six years old or younger and more than half of all children working on southern Lake Volta were trafficked into forced labor (International Justice Mission). We are grateful that our 22 survivors are now here with us at GMAD.
 
What is child labor? According to the International Justice Mission, child labor is “work that deprives children of their childhood, potential, dignity, and that which is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that deprives them of the opportunity to attend school.”
 
It has been a beautiful things for us to witness our recently-rescued children have a childhood again. Things like doing crafts, reading books, playing soccer, singing and dancing are things that they haven't had the chance to do for a really long time. During their interviews with our social workers, almost all of them have mentioned how much they love to play and we are happy that we can offer that for them here at GMAD.
 
Often times when we read stories of children being sold by their parents into child labor we can’t comprehend how they could do that to their children and to their family. While parents are complicit in handing their children over for even 25 USD, parents often think they are doing the best for their children.

Many times they are only able to provide one meal a day for their child, so they take comfort in knowing that their child will at least be fed two meals a day on the fishing boats. They also believe that learning the trade of a fisherman at such a young age will be more valuable to them than an education.

With the proper intervention and education from the Department of Social Welfare, the Ghana police service and our GMAD social workers, our children can be successfully reunited with their families. In all societies and in all conditions, there is no better way to raise the next generation than a family. We provide vulnerable children with a place they can call home as we work to reintegrate them with their biological family or to place them in a new family. We preserve families and make a sustainable difference by providing a path to self reliance through shelter, life skills, education and medical care. That is our mission.

GMAD has just finished up new housing so your family can bunk together with the comfort of A/C. Why should you bring your family to GMAD for a family volunteer vacation?

• To create a culture of service in your family.
• Explore and experience Africa safely with GMAD.
• Have new experiences that will unify your family.
• Make a difference to so many and have fun doing so!

The @thetravelingsheppards have been a joy to watch on instagram these past months as they make a difference together in Ghana!

We have been hard at work revamping a large chicken coop into a small school and our kids couldn't be more excited to move in. We've also installed pavers and wheelchair accessible bathrooms so the school is ready for our students with special needs. Our children with special needs will have their own classroom and will be attending school for the first time in their lives! 

Because of labor trafficking, poverty and other special needs, most of the kids living in the GMAD home haven’t been able to attend school in the past and are significantly behind. We started the GMAD Academy of Learning in October 2017 because the local government school isn’t equipped to meet the educational needs of these children. The children have been temporarily attending class in the dining hall and library, and are looking forward to having their own school.​

​Kobi was a friend of GMAD’s from the village nearby who died from malaria (pictured on the right). In his honor, the Kents raised money to purchase and distribute mosquito nets to prevent this from happening to other families and to save lives. GMAD volunteer, Chandler Kent made this awesome video of them distributing the nets to those that needed them. Way to make a difference in so many lives!

2015 was a GREAT year for Ghana Make A Difference. ​Here are some highlights:

• sheltered and cared for 47 children,
• unified 21 children with permanent families,
• constructed a new house for children with intellectual disabilities,
• provided audiology care and hearing aids for Esther, a 9-year-old girl in Ghana,
• started a poultry farm with 200 egg-laying chickens and achieved greater self-reliance by eating and selling the eggs,
• purchased 1,000 more chickens for delivery to the home in early 2016,
• formed an alliance with Ghana’s Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection to shelter children rescued from child labor,
• formed an alliance with Acacia Shade to shelter and care for children with disabilities, and
• formed an alliance with Look At Us to provide children with hearing aids and surgical procedures.

Our successes mean that we are helping more families and caring for more children, but we desperately need more monthly donors to keep up. Unleash your healing power and become an MD today.

QUESTION: What is the relationship between the following two groups of items?

(1) two hours of parking, a movie ticket, a popcorn, a soda
(2) clothing, school supplies, food, shelter

ANSWER:  The items in group #1 can supply a child in Ghana with the items in group #2.

We don't need a lot, but we DO need a little. The average cost of popcorn at the movies is $8.15. Pass the popcorn please, and become a monthly donor now.

When you sign up, you can pledge any monthly amount, but here are some ideas that cost between $5 and $200 a month.

• CLOTHE: school uniforms for a child for a year = ​$5/month
• SHELTER: help pay a utility bill and keep the lights on = $10/month
• FEED: food for one child for one month = $45/month
• ​CARE: a nanny's monthly salary = ​$100/month
• ​EDUCATE: books, computers, internet = ​$150/month
• EMPOWER: support our farm - help us help ourselves = $200/month

With a sufficient and predictable monthly cash flow, we will successfully house and nurture children by avoiding the paralysis caused by cash shortages.

As a reminder,

• GMAD has no paid staff, and
• 100% of our administrative costs are paid by a specific donor, so
• 100% of your donations feed, shelter, nurture and educate vulnerable children.
• Really, 100%. For example, when you make a donation using PayPal, another donor makes another donation to cover the PayPal fee associated with your donation so 100% of your money goes to Ghana.

2015 has been a great year for Ghana Make A Difference, but with your help, 2016 is going to be even better.

Pass the popcorn, and have a HAPPY HOLIDAY season!

Thanks to many generous donors, we have kept the construction of our new orphanage home funded for 4 weeks, and the project has progressed accordingly.  BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP!  This project is not totally funded.  Please help us provide shelter for parentless children.  Make a donation now at www.ghanamakeadifference.org.

People transport their goods in Ghana by balancing them on their heads.  I’ve seen people walking hands-free with eggs, firewood, bricks, water, cloth, and even engine parts on their head.

Keeping an appropriate balance in life is a constant struggle, but something worth struggling for.

A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.  Proverbs 11:1.

If you are looking to strike a better balance in your life by doing more good, visit www.ghanamakeadifference.org.

The Dabanyin land has plenty of good sand, so we are making our own bricks to build with.

The bulldozers moved the soil and pushed the sand into a pile.  The workers brought in a poly tank to store water being pulled to the site with long garden hoses form the adjacent school.  The appropriate mixture is made, shoveled and packed into the molds.  The molds are removed and the blocks dry in the sun.

The blocks are then transported by wheelbarrow and placed in strategic piles around the building site.  Yikes!  Very hard work.

One day, to encourage our tiring bodies, I divided the 16 block movers into 4 teams of 4 and issued a challenge:

20 Ghana cedi ($10) to the team that can transport the most bricks from here to there in 10 minutes.

Each team had to have one obruni (white man):  I was on one team, Coleson (my son) was on one team, Mario (my son) was on one team, and Austin (my son-in-law) was on one team.  All other team members were local workers.  Mario’s team won, two days in a row!  It lifted our spirits and accelerated the work, but it sure wore us out.  We were tired (or maybe I should say, this old man was tired)!

Help keep the work moving; make a donation at www.ghanamakeadifference.org.

The village elders came to the land and blessed the ground in preparation for the building of our new children’s home.  The elders prayed and poured schnapps in libation, after which a goat was jugulated and bled out on the ground.

Construction of the home commenced, and a few days later we were formally welcomed by the village with singing and dancing.

We could use a few of your financial blessings.  Please make a donation and help us build a great home for these parentless children.  Visit us atwww.ghanamakeadifference.org.