Going, Going, …..Ghana

A lot happens and changes in a child’s life in one year. This past year has been one full of changes for our kids in Ghana: the closure of the orphanage; being separated from each other (their ‘new family’ essentially); sent off to live with any remaining family member they may have; for some, being returned to live with Bernice in a new place; and now some are preparing for boarding school. There is no doubt a lack of constants in their lives and this will remain true for a while until the Hopkins Foundation is truly well established.

At this time, there is only one small constant I’m blessed enough to provide: continuing to spend time with them, albeit a short amount of time each year. To my surprise, the kids made it clear last year just how much it meant that I came back to see them and especially that I brought my mom. They truly do hold on to those promises of ‘I will come back one day.’ I had no idea when I left them the first time when or how I would get back, but I knew I had to….one day. I had no clue that I would go back a year and half later and again a year after that!

Yes, that is right, I am going back to Ghana again!!!! YEA!!!! And so is my mom!!!! We made a last minute decision earlier this month that we couldn’t wait any longer, we had to go see them this summer! We will be there again for two weeks, leaving St. Louis August 10 and returning August 25.

Once again, this trip will be completely different from the last. We don’t have the orphanage to stay in this time and all the kids are in different locations (this is probably going to be the most difficult part for me). Our plan right now is to stay a few days with Auntie, maybe one or two with Bernice, and probably most of the time will stay at a hotel/guest house in town that is supposedly really nice. I’m leaning towards that option because it will give us our own space to use as a central location for the children. We could gather them all up in the morning and bring them to our place. We are also planning on at least one trip to the pool and a one day trip to a nearby waterfall area. We want to provide the kids with an opportunity to all hang out together but also get away from their current environments and doing something they never get to do! I have still not traveled up north to the elephant reserve, which involves a little trek on foot to get up close to wild elephants (uh, not behind fences). My mom wants to take the kids (I don’t think I have shared ALL the details with her-like the no fence part)….but if this actually happens….well, it is a day/night trip there and then back on a tro-tro on some very rocky roads with a bunch of kids and my mom! Kind of sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but if we could pull it off, could you imagine the look own their faces when a elephant is 15 feet away from us…..could you imagine my face OR my mom’s!!!! =)

So, leaving in less than two weeks!!!!!! 2nd yard sale tomorrow and Sat!!!

A special thanks to several friends and family that have made donations since learning about our new trip. Maase, my mom's friends Gina and Pam, my aunt, and Kendra's Aunt Mary have all given or offered donations to be used for either the Foundation or for toys/clothes/food/etc for the kids while we are there! Thank You!

How Noble

Two more children will be enrolled in boarding school this year, which makes for a total of five currently!!! Oscar, who is one of volunteers my mom and I met last summer from Spain, is sponsoring one of the children and has said that he can raise enough for a second child! What incredible news! When Oscar first learned about the Foundation and the option of sponsoring the children, he asked if he would be able to indicate which child he sponsored. The answer was yes, but then internally I started quessing which child he was considering. I was betting on one of the boys because of the huge bond that was obvious between Oscar, Leo and the boys. I was right! Oscar requested that his donation be used to enroll Noble into boarding school! This makes my heart so happy!

Noble has been one the main kids that has had my heart since my first trip to Ghana. While he is behind in some of the major learning areas, he is truly such a smart boy. He would always make me think up math problems for him to solve and he rarely got them incorrect- and when he did he wasn't happy until he got it right. He dominated the dominos game my mom and I took there last summer and he LOVES football (soccer)! He is also the one who we had the birthday party for last year with the cake. Before coming to Bernice and the orphanage, Noble lived on the street by himself in one of the villages. I can't even begin to fully grasp how incredible this new attention and investment in Noble could affect him in so many ways!

The second child that Oscar will be sponsoring with the money he is raising is one of the girls, which is equally as adorable. Priscilla (really it is Princilla but my mom always say it wrong =)), the peanut-but toughie of the group, will now also be enrolled this Fall!

Thank you Oscar for impacting these children and all the SWODC kids!

Will Someone Please Buy this Goose?

The first of the two benefit yard sales occurred this weekend at Jeff’s house and raised $300 for the kids’ boarding school costs! I am definitely pleased with that amount and excited to see how much can be raised later this month!

I had this weird dream (wait, aren’t dreams always weird?) last week that we raised $300 at the sale. I happened to mention this to my mom and suddenly, $300 became our unofficial goal. Most likely, we could have raised more than that but we had serious rain nonstop Saturday morning that required the yard sale be moved from the front yard to the back alley garage! Needless to say, our sales were hurting on Saturday but some people did surprisingly come out to shop! We had over $207 the first day and then with the help a few purchases on Sat and a nice donation from one of my mom’s friends we had $260 in the end. My mom was either really set on the $300 goal or maybe just loves to make me happy (I’m thinking both), because she made her own donation to make our proceeds an even $300!

In addition to raising money to help the kids and getting rid of some old stuff, we enjoyed discovering others’ connections to Africa. One of our first customers knew a lady going on a mission trip to Ghana later this summer, one person’s neighbor was from Ghana, and there was a mom and son who knew a couple from church that recently adopted from Uganda. There were also several people that asked further about the Foundation and added a few extra dollars onto their purchases to help out!

Jeff and my mom deserve a HUGE THANK YOU because by default of being my family members they both got stuck doing a lot of work this weekend! Uh, I love you both….a lot! =) My mom was great because she likes to chat with people (no surprise there) and enjoyed the opportunity to talk about her kids in Ghana which helped us with more donations. Jeff’s muscles were of course a big help when it came to setting up and tearing down, but even more helpful was his willingness to entertain me on the slow, rainy day in the garage (and to ensure no one abducted me from the alley)! I may be able to obtain some of the pictures of the great outfits he pieced together from the clothes for sale! He also was great when I made him be a pretend shopper when a car would drive by! =)

The wooden goose from the picture is still left and will be waiting for a new owner at the Champaign garage sale! Really, I thought it would be a top seller when I pried it from my mom’s hands in her basement where it has sat for six years.