Humanitarian Trip: Ghana Make a Difference Children's Home

When I knew for sure that we were going to travel to Ghana in Africa, I really wanted to have the opportunity for a humanitarian effort, to help my kids get their hearts involved in the country. At the same time, we realized that my oldest son was in need of an Eagle Scout project idea, and I had the lightbulb-in-my-head idea to combine the two. My dad has been working with The Hoffman’s at their newly built children’s home, Ghana Make a Difference, and suggested we get in contact with them about a project idea. I’ll share more details about the actual project in the next post, but this is all about the home. Since this is my record of the trip, I’m sharing LOTS of pictures, enjoy the beautiful children!

First of all, let me share that the term children’s home is preferred to orphanage.

At this particular home, they hope that the children will someday soon be re-united with their parents, as opposed to adoption options. A kind man named Richard and his wife run the home, and all the children call him Uncle Richard, which I think is adorable.

We got to cuddle with that adorable baby, she is so sweet!

The home is set back off of the main road, behind a school, with the most beautiful landscape behind it.

Then here is a picture of the actual home (I’m standing by the fence you see in the above shot). It’s an “L” shape with the living quarters on the right and the kitchen and eating hall on the left.

Better shot of the view, with a game of soccer/Futbol in the background.

The home had murals all around, to help make it a happy place for the kids.

After some introductions, it didn’t take long for all the kids to warm up to each other.

Playing with the children was the highlight of my trip. They were so warm and loving, and grabbed our hands right away.

My kids, who weren’t sure what to do, just went right along with it when their hands were grabbed.

Then, while my oldest son was working on his Eagle project (with a bunch of other helpers) we played with the kids.

The hair of ours was quite fascinating to them…

The children were playing a Ghanaian game that involves clapping and foot motions

They tried to teach my girls…

I’ve got so many pictures, I have to share all of my favorites!

Nearby the home is the school that not only teaches the kids from Ghana Make a Difference home, but also from the nearby community. No electricity, wooden desks for school.

There was a bit of an uproar on Facebook when I posted that the “speak English only” sign was posted in the classrooms (see bel0w). The native language is Twi, but the official language of Ghana is Twi. People were concerned that their language would be lost, but rest assured, Twi is spoken in their homes and it is well preserved. Learning English is actually a benefit that will take them far as an adult.

Above is at the school, below, they continue their learning with numbers on the walls of the children’s home

I love this pic of this beautiful Ghanaian girl making dinner, smashing palm seeds.

I brought my Instax camera, which produces prints just like the polaroids of “olden” days. I thought it’d be fun to leave the children with pictures right then, and boy were they excited about it!

It was so fun to watch them wait for the picture to show up!

One of my favorites, below.

The kids helped us with the project, and played intermittently. I love this picture of my dad pushing the kids in the wheelbarrow. It started with one, then a handful of others jumped on!

Brought some life savers for the kids, and they didn’t hate that!

After the project was done, my oldest got to play for a bit with us.

I love the wood stick soccer goals at the home. Simplicity at it’s finest.

I’m so grateful that our lives could be touched by the happy children of Ghana. Those faces just brighten my heart. I wished I could visit them more often, but the harsh reality is that I’ll likely never see them again.

This adorable girl, Blessing, kept finding me. You’ll see her in a lot of pictures here, she was our buddy both days we visited the home.

Steven, too, he couldn’t escape me.

If you have felt your heart strings tugged at today with these beautiful children, you might find you want to help. If you look over the Ghana Make a Difference Children’s Home website, you can donate funds, or even plan a trip of your own to help in Ghana at the home! I know the Hoffman’s would love to hear from you. They started the home a few years ago, and love helping hands whenever they can have them! Click on the image below for more info!

These amazing children stole my heart.

{Blessing and Steven}

As we walked the dirt road between the children’s home and the school, we felt grateful for the opportunity to meet these precious children, and provide something that they would love for their school.

Our hearts grew 100 fold with these children. My hope and prayer is that their families will be able to take care of them very soon, but in the meantime, they are in a happy place with Uncle Richard.