Why I Continue

Besease Swimming Hole

I will not pretend it is easy to work on something like Enliven Mama Africa and still be a full time student with extracurricular involvement. Sometimes I do wish my schedule was a bit more typical.

However, making the video brought me joy. Watching the fundraising bar grow everyday brings me joy. But what brings me the most joy is the idea of working with the young mothers of Besease. I can't say I know them the way I know my best friend. However, while in Besease, I could sense their great need and great potential.

It is the hospitality of Ghana that makes it such a second home for me. These young mothers opened to Mavis, our translator, telling her their stories. They "took us as their friends," even teaching us how to cook Ghanaian food and showing us the swimming hole at the river. The strength and kindness of these people are the rule, not the exception.

Maa Aggie Adinkra, my Ghanaian Mother

Exchange Student Life

I continue working on this project because of my love for Ghana. My host family and friends there endure in my heart and mind. There is a large part of me called "Afia Adinkra." She is a piece of me that could easily have disappeared upon my return to the United States. But I have chosen to allow my experience to completely transform how I spend my time. It is not easy, but I know life could be much harder. I will never have to worry about my basic needs.

No matter how hard this gets, I will continue. I have given my word to Maxwell. I have family in Ghana, who are so supportive of my endeavors. I have friends there from many walks of life.

I may never live in Ghana again. I can't say for sure. But Enliven Mama Africa lives there, and lives in the USA, too. Sarah Bibbey and Afia Adinkra co-exist within my very self.

Help keep Enliven Mama Africa going by giving at: http://www.gvcoca.org/fundraisers/enliven-mama-africa/


 

Enliven Mama Africa Fundraiser and Updates

Welcome to the Enliven Mama Africa blog! We hope our readers will be interested in hearing more details about our work...beyond our website and Facebook posts. The work Enliven Mama Africa has been conducting until now has largely involved networking with a local organization called
Global Visionaries. Global Visionaries has brought students to Guatemala for 17 years, and now they are acting as our incubator. In July 2014 we will travel to Ghana together to meet with Maxwell, our managing director, and enroll ten young mothers in learning the trades of sewing and hairdressing. When these women have skills and means to start their own businesses, their children
will have opportunities for education and their day to day strife will be lessened. To make our project a reality, we are conducting a fundraiser from February 14- March 31. With your help, we can give these single mothers hope, and also foster intercultural learning through our volunteer program. To give, visit: http://www.gvcoca.org/fundraisers/enliven-mama-africa/.

Enliven Mama Africa is committed to the communities of Besease and Nkawie. In Besease, the single mothers are eager to begin learning new skills from their local business women. There, too, schoolteachers are looking forward to volunteer tutors. In Nkawie, the farming families are excited to host volunteers and share their knowledge about West African agriculture. The three branches of the project are intimately connected. As American money supports the young mothers' education, the mothers' community will inspire American youth to work for change. As American volunteers bolster farmers with labor, the farmers will show them how they live. Enliven Mama Africa's vision is to be more than a charity or volunteer organization, but to be an exchange of life, resources, and culture. 

With this in mind, understand that your investment in Enliven Mama Africa will support ten specific young mothers, but that it will also impact their community and yours.

Give today at www.gvcoca.org/fundraisers/enliven-mama-africa/.