My name is Victor Owusu-Ansah, the program coordinator for Mpobi and Ejuratia. I coordinate the Income Generation, Education, and Family Health programs in these two villages.
Mpobi and Ejuratia are small communities with a population of about 400-500 people in each village. They are deprived areas and therefore most of the people are very poor, with their main occupation susbsistence farming.
Since Rising Village began working in these villages, there has been a very positive impact in the lives of many people who had little hope of reaching their dreams. Four of these villagers are Dorcas, Emmanuel, Sampson and Emmanuel Koduah.
Dorcas and Emmanuel:
These two siblings dropped out of school several years ago after their parents died. Their dreams seemed to be shattered as they were left with a grandmother who had no employment and no way to meet their needs, including school fees. Rising Village stepped in and now, with the help of sponsors in the U.S., these teenagers are back in school and have received bedding and a bed net to protect them from malaria. Dorcas is in her final year of junior high school and will take the exam for senior high school this spring. Emmanuel is working hard to become the boys' prefect next year when he is in his final year of junior high.
Emmanuel Koduah and Sampson:
These two boys are also siblings, and their parents died when Sampson when they were very young. They live with their grandmother who could not afford adequate food for them, and was unable to send them to school. They slept on the floor, and were often plagued with malarial symptoms. They had to drop out of school after their parents died, and they were running around the village without purpose and sometimes getting into trouble. When they were given the opportunity to go back to school, they were more than willing to end all their waywardness, and when sponsors stepped in to provide school fees, they were enrolled and are now doing well. They were also given bedding and a bed net so they could move off the floor and be protected from mosquitos at night. In addition to the school fees provided by sponsors, they also receive food supplements, which gives them the extra nutrition they need to perform well in school.
We can provide for all these physical needs, but if we don't also offer them the good news about Jesus, we've not given them enough. I meet with the students once a week to share scripture and help them see the love God has for them. This helps motivate them and has given them a spiritual foundation, and we give God the glory for this.
I pray that Rising Village will be able to expand to other villages, and seek out those who are in need of both physcial and spiritual help so they can look toward a brighter future. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. I want to thank those who have determined to be the solution to the numerous challenges in the lives of these families. You are not just helping the village to rise, but are bringing a bright light to the village. God bless you for all your support.