Current Be A HERO Project: Expansion and equipping of the Agape Children’s Village in Accra, Ghana, in partnership with the Agape Gospel Mission by adding:
- A new laundry Centre at a cost of $800.00
- Purchase of Girl’s Home (currently a rented facility) for $250,000.00
- Agape Academy - School for $200,000.00
Agape Gospel Mission
Rev. Rick Whitcomb is the Founder and International Director of the Agape Gospel Mission, a mission agency working in West Africa. He and his wife Donna have spent the last 21 years ministering on the mission field. They spent 11 ½ years in Nigeria, and have been in Ghana since 1994.
In 1999, Rick made a ministry trip to the war-torn nation of Liberia. During his visit, he saw first-hand the deplorable condition the orphans there lived in. Thousands of orphans lacked food, clothing, adequate housing, medical attention, and education. Touched by their plight, Rick promised the Lord that he would do something for Africa’s orphans – if only God would make a way. Shortly afterwards, the Agape Gospel Mission received a large, unsolicited gift to help feed and house needy children. Thus, the ministry of the Agape Children’s Home was born in July 2000.
The Home began with nine needy orphans from Liberia. Today, there are 57 children from Ghana and Liberia living in the two facilities. They operate a full-service residential facility with live-in staff Mothers. The Home provides food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, and spiritual development. Their goal is to embrace children that are true biological orphans who have lost both parents.
Location and Overview of the Current Situation
Accra, the capital City of Ghana, is located on the coast, in the south-east. Sub-Saharan Africa is a poverty stricken and war torn third-world area in which to live. Economically, it is in bad shape. The people are poor and the standard of living is low. Death and suffering are routine due to the constant Civil Wars, leaving children without anyone to care for them. Aids is spreading rapidly—taking lives daily. Others die of simple sickness and injury because there is poor quality healthcare. When someone falls ill, they do not have a doctor or a clinic to go to. If there is a doctor—they are not well trained, nor do they have the supplies and facilities to care for the patients. Trained doctors are very expensive and most people cannot afford treatment. Many simply die from malnourishment.
When parents die in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is not like a wealthy nation where family members raise the child. Family members do not have problems taking in babies because they do not eat much and they are easy to clothe, plus they are cute and you feel for them because they are helpless. When they get older it is harder to take care of them because they start to eat more, then they start school and there are school fees and such. Such a large amount of orphans becomes a strain on society. Kids are everywhere, just living in the streets—they have nowhere to go. Many are working hard to earn only a dollar a day to feed the eight mouths that already live in their house, now they have nine or ten. It falls back on society to give benevolence.
13 Million orphans in Sub-Sahara Africa do not have a mother or father.
Agape Children’s Village
Agape Children’s Village has six acres, purchased for $25,000.00 with donated funds. They have built a wall around the compound to keep it secure. The existing Children’s home was built for $200,000.00. It consists of: a kitchen, a dining hall that seats 80, and four apartment complexes. Each apartment houses 10 children and one mother in four bedrooms - two that sleep four children, one that sleeps two children, and a bedroom for the mother. The apartment also has a common room, and a bathroom. The mother’s room has its own bathroom. Agape is also rents a house (for $200.00 per month) to house 13 more children, until more buildings can be built.
The staff at Agape Children’s Home includes an administrator, a chaplain, a cook, a driver, an office assistant, four security guards, a gardener, and six Mothers. They have volunteers coming in from time to time to help out.
Monia Najem is the Administrator. She has been there for 2 ½ years, and is doing an excellent job. She is from Lebanon, and holds a degree in Business Administration.
The day-to-day funding for Agape Children’s Home comes mostly from child sponsorship. Capital projects are funded by donations. About 1% of the operating costs come from local contributions.
Current Be A HERO Projects
1. Project: Build a new Laundry Center for Agape Children’s Village
Cost: $800.
Purpose: The residents at the Agape Children’s Village currently have no adequate facility for washing and drying laundry. The boys are washing clothes outside and drying them by spreading the clothing on the grass. The new laundry center will provide a clean concrete area with benches for clothes washing and adequate clotheslines for drying.
2. Project: Purchase the Facility we currently rent which houses our girls’ home in Adenta, Ghana.
Cost: $250,000 total
Purpose: We have been renting this facility for the past six years. It is now available for sale. The purchase of this property represents a solid investment in the lives of the young ladies living there.
The main house contains eight bedrooms and eight full baths, two half baths, two kitchens, two living/dining rooms and storage space. A secondary building comprises six rooms and two full baths. The building sits on approximately 3/4 acre of land in the city of Accra, in the suburb of Adenta.
We have a valuation report from a licensed valuation surveyor in Ghana as well as legal title documents for the property.
4. Agape Academy School - Cost: $200,000.00
Over a year ago, they started their own small school in order to train today's orphans to become productive adults. Now the aim is directed to the next level: to equip the school and build a new facility for the Agape Academy. They are hoping to establish a private school for all the “Agape kids”.
The cost of the building alone will be at least 200,000.00. Additional funds for materials desks and teachers will have to be calculated in. At March, 2008 $55,000 has been raised towards this project.
100% of all funds donated for this project will be applied directly to the project. Be A HERO does not keep anything for administration. Be A HERO is able to do this because the Hero Partnership and Pillar Program participants designate their donations specifically for administration. If you would like to invest in this project, we accept donations by cheque or by credit card. Click here to donate
If you wish to sponsor one of these children click here.
You will be sent a receipt for income tax purposes early in the following year.
To view photos of the Agape Children’s Village. Click Here.
