Orphanage Report 2008
Report on Visit to St Joseph ’s Orphanage in
Jirapa Uwr , Ghana
By Glenda Singlehurst
On 21st of October 2008 myself and five other members of
the FREED UK Charity group Ann Hicks, Dominic Hoko, Sally Ghazali,
Jonathon and Joseph Devitt travelled from Nandom to Jirapa to visit the
St Josephs’ Orphanage.
Sister Lydia the manager of the Orphanage was there to greet us on arrival as we went in we could see straightaway that the children were relaxed, playful, and appeared very contented. We discussed the children’s welfare, enquiring whether they had received their inoculations. We were delighted to hear that indeed they had received their inoculations, and that they were now under the care of the hospital Paediatrician.
Sadly as we entered the building the environment
was dark and dismal. Jonathon and Joseph were introduced to sister
Lydia, who was happy to hear that they would be staying on there for a
further 2 months, to assist with the children, and to do whatever was
needed to be done .Together with sister Lydia, we decided to improve the
inside of the Orphanage by painting the dining room, and corridors.
Sister Lydia was left to choose the colours she wanted. The time spent
decorating by both Jonathon Joseph would vastly improve the environment
for both children and staff.
Sister Lydia expressed the need for milk, Formula 1 and 2 for the children. This would be taken care of by our Orphanage group funds, along with nappies and all other requirements highlighted during assessments of stock.
During our last visit in 2007 we were very distraught by the conditions in which the children were in, we came away with bright ideas of raising enough funds to erect an Orphanage in the grounds of the Hospital, but this would be a very big task to undertake. The present Orphanage building structure is strong and soundly built, improvement of the current building for the children is a more realistic way forward, and it was decided the present building would be made more habitable by decorating.
Another idea myself and Gai McKenzie feel is worth being put forward is the possibility of buying new cots and bed linen. Also we feel an area in the surrounding grounds could be developed as a play area for the children to develop further their interpersonal play skills.
We would like to thank Ruth Hepworth for the considerable amount of funds she raised which has been utilised for buying the children’s formula milk.
Orphanage Report 2008
Report on Visit to St Joseph ’s Orphanage in
Jirapa Uwr , Ghana
By
Joseph Devitt (on right in picture)
On the day the team left us in Jirapa we spent little time unpacking
in our room, and instead headed straight over to the orphanage. We met
with Sr. Lydia again and spoke briefly about what we could do for her
and the orphanage over the next two months.
We were told to go and get 'settled in' and that tomorrow we
should start work. We did as we were told!
The next day we went over to the orphanage early and took with us the
box of toys salvaged from Ko A school, and a bag full of baby clothes.
We handed them over to Sr. Lydia who seemed very grateful and
immediately handed out some plastic balls to some of the children who
were delighted with them! For about an hour we played with the children
who as you all know, crave and need so much attention.
Our play was put to an end by Sr Lydia who kindly reminded us
that we were here to ''work not just play!'' and so we took the short
journey to the paint shop and bought ten tins of white paint. We started
painting straight away in the main bedroom and had it finished by lunch
time, at which point we were told to ''go and rest and not to come back
until tomorrow.''
Over the next week we split our time between playing with the
children, and painting. We bought blue paint near the end of our first
week and began painting and finishing the bedrooms and some of the
corridor. We had the Thursday of this week off to visit Wa properly and
hunt out the formula milk.
By
the end of our second week we had completed painting all of the
corridor, both bedrooms, the office, and dining room white, but still
had to complete the fresh new look with the blue paint! Sr Lydia took us
to Wa for the second time on Wednesday to buy the formula milk and some
more paint. After running many an errand for numerous other people and
stopping to get out and push-start the van a couple of times, we were
finally on our way to get the milk. It took no time at all to count out
how much we wanted, but it
then took an absolute age for Sr. Lydia to negotiate a price! We were
then setting off yet again to run some more errands before visiting the
convent HQ and being treated to a couple of Star and many a hilarious
story by the sisters there.
We thought our trip
was over when suddenly Sr Lydia surprised us yet again by stopping
outside a very popular restaurant and treating us to jollof and chicken!
We headed back to Jirapa after that (after another push-start), Sr
Lydia's van acting as a tro-tro all the way!
Although we were told to have the next day off by Sister,
really, what is there to do in Jirapa!?
Over the next week we were well on the way to finishing
painting everything, but unfortunately I took ill this week which slowed
us down somewhat with me having to go back to the guesthouse and sleep
at lunchtime most days leaving Jonathon to it!
Jonathon finished the painting by himself as I was treated for
malaria but I did manage to come in to paint the last door frame a few
days later!
With
the painting finished and my health recovering, we could spend more time
playing with the children. We took in an IPod and speakers one day which
had the children mesmerized at first and then up and dancing! We also
went in to take photos one afternoon for Sister Lydia. The children were
dressed in their best outfits and looked so cute (see photo right) as we
tried and tried to take a good photo or two, so we can send them back to
Sister.
The beginning of our last week in Jirapa saw us meet with the
whole orphanage team and Sister Lydia for a drink as a kind of staff
night out/goodbye drink! It was a great night where we got to know
everyone that much better, and were thanked continuously for the job
we'd done. Sister Lydia said prayers both in English and Dagaare for us,
and gave a very emotional speech thanking us for travelling all the way
out to Jirapa, which was then followed by another lady singing a
catholic hymn to also thank us. It was the most humbling moment of my
life, and we felt compelled to say something back in thanks to them for
having us, but no words could ever possibly explain the amount of
gratitude and awe I/we felt in that moment, so instead Jonathon and I
went back to our room to put on our matching Ghanaian shirts which Sr
Lydia had bought for us previously that week (we knew this would be a
crowd pleaser) and indeed as we entered we were welcomed by shouts and
cheers of approval!
The remainder of that week we spent the mornings in the orphanage
playing with the children some more and the evenings having a drink at
the convent (we found that playing
with the children for even one hour was a lot more tiring than painting
for a whole day, and well deserving of a drink)!
We left Jirapa a week before we were due to fly home, having
done what we set out to do in painting the orphanage and buying the
formula milk whilst having a fantastic time along the way and hopefully
brightening the lives a little for the children at St. Josephs!
We visited Luke in Kumasi before heading to Cape Coast and
Kakum, and then spending time in Accra before flying home!
I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say thank you to all of
you who made us feel so welcome whilst with the group in Nandom and for
showing us the ropes! It was a truly wonderful experience and one that I
am sure I will want to repeat again! We both send our apologies for our
absence at this meeting, but hope to see you all again very soon!
Possible Targets for the future:
Sister Lydia wishes to build a playground on the side of the
orphanage by putting a fence around the wasteland outside of the
northern gate. This is so the children can see the busy main street and
watch the school which is opposite, so to get a taste for life outside
the orphanage walls. Although little needs doing to achieve this,
fencing as we found out is very expensive and further manpower to erect
it would also add to the cost.
Although much happier than before, the children still
desperately need stimulating and something to do! With Jonathon and I
now gone, the only time I can see the children having any kind of
stimulative play or even attention is either when Sister Lydia has a
spare moment (she is very good with the children but rarely has time to
spend any time with them) although the time she does give to the
children is well received as the children simply adore her. Also Mika, a
Japanese lady studying nutrition visits the orphanage every Friday for
about two hours. Due to her being half way through her two years of time
in Jirapa, she can communicate quite well with the children and so can
organise something more constructive than utter chaos which is all
Jonathon and I ever seemed to achieve, albeit this chaos was much loved
by the children!
There is a desperate need for educated staff in the orphanage,
although it could be unfair of me to say this (as we never got a clear
cut idea of how educated or not the staff were) however the impression
we got as Sr. Lydia left anyone else in charge was that she herself was
genuinely worried about what she would return to. In fact at one point
she pleaded with her staff to ''please take the children to the hospital
if they get sick'' possibly suggesting that this duty has been neglected
in the past. Indeed at one point the clear illness of one child was
overlooked until Jonathon physically took the little girl to a member of
staff and told her she needed to be looked at.
The Kitchen at the orphanage needs re-building, at the moment
they cook outside in a make-shift kitchen. Although they can make do
with the outdoor kitchen at the moment, Sr Lydia did appeal that
something was done about the chimneys in the kitchen which were not
built properly, so allow thick black smoke into the orphanage dining
room.
One child in particular desperately needs help, she sits all
day banging her head off the wall, refuses to talk to anybody and is
bullied by some of the older children there. Her family recently
requested to take her home but Sr Lydia refused, fearing that they would
think she was a witch. Sr Lydia hopes her mental state will improve with
time and that then she can go home, but I think this unlikely. There is
one mental health doctor for the whole of the upper west region, but
even Sr Lydia realises that if she is to be truly helped then she needs
to go to Accra. Her name is Mary Magdeline.
As for the progress of the orphanage itself I think we can be
very happy, the children are visited every week by a team of nurses and
we believe that the majority of the time if a child is sick, it is taken
to hospital straight away. The number of the children in the orphanage
decreased in the time we were there, as Sr Lydia constantly struggles
but succeeds to find new homes for the children. I am led to believe
that it has improved alot since the last visit and so long as it is in
the very capable hands of Sr. Lydia and with the help of our backing, it
can only go from strength to strength.
Other Notices
St. Aidans Catholic Primary School in Ashington Northumberland
(the school where my mum teaches) recently did a whole
topic on Ghana inspired by our trip. They learnt African dance, art and
I gave a talk to each class about Ghana in the week before we flew.
They raised money for St. Josephs Orphanage through cake sales
and other events totalling £250 . A cheque of £124 was sent out to
Jonathon and myself for us to hand over to Sr Lydia while we were there,
the rest we will send down to you!
Also inspired by the children in Ghana was a young boy called
Luke from St. Aiden's who raised money by walking 6 miles around
Northumberland. He raised £250 for St. Josephs and handed over a giant
cheque to Jonathon and myself in a recent assembly, even getting himself
and me in the local paper!
Both Jonathon and I hope to go back into St Aidans to tell them
all about our trip!
Thanks also go to:
- 'The daughters of Wisdom' (La sagesse order of Sisters)
- Morpeth county council
- Fr. Jim Doherty
- The staff and governors of our old school St. Benet Biscop Catholic High
- and many a drunken 6th former at our old school who helped Jonathon and myself get to Ghana in the first place!
Orphanage Report 2008
Report on Visit to St Joseph ’s Orphanage in
Jirapa Uwr , Ghana
By
Jonathon Devitt
Our first visit to St Joseph’s Orphanage was somewhat of an eye opener; semi-clad children in grubby clothes vying for our attention whilst we were being shown around the solid but rather dingy and musty orphanage building and its grounds.
Anne, who had had the opportunity to visit the orphanage briefly in March, told us that the children had seemed in far better spirits than during the previous year’s visit and they were most certainly lively; excited by the introduction of newcomers and wanting to be held – something which they had apparently not done the year before.
The atmosphere in the orphanage is definitely one of change, and for the better; Sr Lydia, the current incumbent of the position of manager of the orphanage has a larger than life personality, a wicked sense of humour and is obviously well respected in the local community. She has grand plans for the orphanage and is slowly going about realising them; slowly owing to the fact that it takes money to complete most of the work to be undertaken requires money – something which is in relatively short supply at St Joseph’s.
Sr Lydia has increased staff numbers to six carers,
ensuring that there are at least two on the premise at any one time,
though through the day this number is typically four. Additionally, as a
former nurse, she has gone about ensuring the children’s health is
monitored and tended to as best she can in the circumstances; she has
registered all of the children with Jirapa hospital. Furthermore, a group of trainee community nurses visit the orphanage once a
week to perform check-ups on the children. Sr Lydia has also gone about
training her staff to be able to administer simple medicines such as
Calpol where previously the children’s fevers may have gone untreated
and led to more serious conditions.
Joseph and I spent six weeks in Jirapa and six days a week in the orphanage, painting the interior as per Sr Lydia’s instructions and playing with the children, with whom we bonded very quickly....
Despite the advances which have been made in the last year, the situation at the orphanage is still far from ideal...
You can see the past 2007 orphanage report by visiting - the Orphanage History Page.