Celebrating Our Journey Together

THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF

OUR PAST, OUR PRESENT & OUR FUTURE

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Forty years ago, Chief Soo Naba Mahami gave NEA land to start the Janga Project. At that time, one nurse served Janga and 14 surrounding villages. Snakebite claimed the lives of 50 people a year, guinea worm was widespread, many women died in childbirth and malnutrition was rampant in children.

Work began with women peanut farmers, providing clean water, expanding the clinic, lobbying the government for more medical staff, starting a ‘cold chain’ for anti-snake vaccines, increasing food production, education, and eventually, establishing a church in the community.

Janga had one dilapidated primary school. Students had to live in another community to attend Junior High School. Barriers to education in this setting were overwhelming. With your support, a six-classroom primary school was built and scholarships were provided for needy secondary students.

After years of work, the Janga Project became self-sustaining, and work began in the Carpenter area.

The former NEA Project site was given back to the community and the District Education Office for the purpose of a secondary school. In addition to existing buildings, new ones are being constructed.

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LOBI VILLAGE POWER PROJECT

Lobi Village has a population of less than 500 and is located about one kilometre from the larger town of Carpenter, where the children all go to school.

Lobi was not connected to the national powerline because of the distance from the main road. This is a serious hindrance to the students’ learning since they cannot read or study at night without lights. This puts the Lobi students at a distinct disadvantage when competing for secondary school admission.

The people from Lobi Village came to ask NEA for help. Thanks to a faithful foundation partner, NEA was able to work with the community and now Lobi has power. Students are so happy that they are now able to study at night.

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BANIANTWE WATER PROJECT

Earlier this year, we shared how the women of Baniantwe were thrilled to have access to clean water.

Now, the community is very grateful for the dam providing water for animals to drink, washing clothes, rearing fish and dry-season gardening.

With the heavy rainfall, the volume of water in the pond is adequate to sustain 20,000 fingerlings rather than the initially planned 5,000.

Three men and three women chosen by community members were trained this month on how to manage the fish program sustainably.

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LEYAATA HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

OUR FUTURE

by Jacques Lapointe

Our view of past and present events is clear and certain. Through photographs and memories, we view past and current events with thanksgiving for the work we see the Lord doing through us. However, our view of the future is never as certain. We can dream, make assumptions, pray for insight and, of course, for wisdom while we make plans and take the first few cautious steps forward. We’ve all experienced those times of uncertainty and those times of caution. And so it is with GRID and NEA.

Until 2014, the Leyaata Hospital was but a dream; in 2015 we made assumptions in the form of a feasibility study. Then we made plans, and with God’s guidance, started implementation. We certainly did not anticipate work stoppages, construction material shortages and price increases, all due to COVID-19. Recently, torrential rain not seen in decades handed us another setback. Nevertheless, our dream is set to soon become a reality and we are so thankful!

In planning for the future in Northern Ghana, GRID and NEA are always guided by our Mission Statement.

Motivated by Christ’s love, our mission is to assist poor communities to meet their basic needs in a sustainable manner.

It’s our North Star. We look at the many needs; we take account of the capabilities and capacity we have developed and we seek God’s guidance. Finally, we take into account funding, an essential aspect of future plans. Over the years, your investments have helped NEA become self-sustaining resulting in the capacity within NEA to sustain themselves as well as current programs.

In spite of all that has been realized,

• not all have clean water available
• not all have access to proper healthcare
• not all women have benefited from our women’s programs
• not all farmers have received help to help expand their farms enough to feed their families
• not all students capable of secondary or tertiary education are able to go
• not all communities have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel message

So, even in our catchment area of 160 communities with 200,000 people, there is much yet to do.

NEA’s good reputation for making a real difference has spread far and wide in Northern Ghana. As a result, NEA regularly receives requests for help from needy communities outside their catchment area.

Cumulatively over more than 30 years, many tens of thousands have achieved self-sufficiency with your help.

And it’s with your help that we can do the same for thousands, perhaps even ten thousand more, next year.

That’s how we see the future – each of us doing our part to help provide a better sustainable future for those unable to provide it for themselves.