A word of thanks

We just wanted to take a quick moment to thank all of you everyday philanthropists for taking your time to volunteer at the Road2Hope Weekend. Without knowing it, those of you who worked in the food booth raised almost enough to help us buy a new fridge. Thank you so much. (Ours kicked the bucket this morning… RIP)

Reflection (from Sherry Tamakloe)

I am just sitting here tonight writing up Dreams to be posted, some for Christmas and others just everyday dreams. I am going through pictures to find ones to use for the dreams and I started looking at the Team pictures from August and start feeling a little homesick.

The hands that weave

Let me introduce Samuel. Samuel is 70 something years old and even though he has been affected by the dreaded disease of leprosy, he still has vision and passion to not let it break him.

The Simple Things Can Mean the Most

We met with Rhoda from the AOH Children's Home last week after all the supplies for the renovation of the inside bathrooms were delivered to the home and she was so excited. And honestly I personally know what joy she truly feels*... :-) 

Home again - Home again...an update from Ghana

Sometimes I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as I am walking in the streets here in Osu. I see signs and billboards that make me think I must be somewhere else!! I am sure I am not in Halifax but I wonder who has been, to come up with this name for their Pharmacy?

Day 4 & 5 - A bit of the culture...and then the STREET PARTY!

On Tuesday, we visited the Osu area as they were preparing for a big festival.  We watched as they prepared several traditional dishes and got to try using a mortar and pestle to crush cornmeal.  In the afternoon, we went to a local market and bought a few souvenirs.

Wednesday was a BUSY day as we prepared for the big street party!!!!

Day 3 - Painting at the children's home

We feel like we've been here for a week already cause we have traveled so much and been so busy.  Today we met the children and workers at the Assurance of Hope Children's Home in Teshie.  In the past several months, we have posted and fulfilled a few dreams for these kids - a pizza party at Christmas, new bunk beds (to replace sleeping on the floor) and we fixed the screens and louvres on the windows.

Day 2 - A visit to the Leprosarium

After our big shopping day yesterday (we picked up all the children when it was still dark...and didn't get them home until dark - long day!!), we went to visit them and their families at the leprosarium today. Because of a great currency exchange rate AND some great bartering at the market....we had some money leftover from the "dream day" sponsorships and were able to purchase some food staples for the leprosarium.

Our first Dream Project DONE...shopping with 66 children

We had posted a dream project on the website to take 110 children out for a "Dream Day" that consisted of shopping in the market (for the first time ever) and choosing their own clothing and shoes (instead of just 'hand-me-downs')...and then a pizza lunch at a nearby restaurant. Amazingly, our team of 7 along with a group of 14 fantastic volunteers from here in Ghana, managed to maneuver a busy market and buy 2 outfits, shoes and underclothing for the first 66 children!!! (the others will get their turn this Friday)

A Photo Story - Christmas comes to the Leprosy Village in Ghana

This update is long overdue, but well worth the wait...When Dream Agent Sherry Peters came home this past Fall, she had recently visited a cured leprosy village in a placed called Ho.  She was deeply moved by these people -- 60 adults and 90 children -- outcasts of society tucked away in a remote village.  

Overwhelmed....with gratitude

Shopping for soap for Lepers

Every day I am on the go to buy things to get ready to fulfill dreams. And it’s not just about going to one place and getting ALL that you need...no, it’s more like going to one market to buy buckets to another to buy footballs and yet another to find a wheel chair. Nothing is ever in one place around here.  And then, it’s not just a quick drive from one spot to another either...it’s hours and hours in traffic to get where you are going. Then when you finally get there, there are hundreds of people trying to buy the same exact thing that you want to buy. Crazy and tiring ...but at the same time a lot of fun!

Sherry's room? or the local market? Read to find out!

WOW I have not stopped since my return to Ghana...and now the time is quickly approaching for me to fulfill several more dreams that have been sponsored:  shoes & school uniforms for underprivileged kids like Zipporah and Ralph; school supplies for orphans;  a wheelchair for Isaac;  meals at school for  James and Patricia; glasses for Linda; and the big party at the Ho leprosarium.  Woohooo!!

Training for Road2Hope 2012...and more

I have officially started my training for Road2Hope 2012…woohooo!

4am- I lie awake with anticipation of going for a run on the beach. I am looking forward to the run, but also the peacefulness of the ocean, the quietness, the boats and just the smell of the salt water. PEACE yea

Everyday is a journey - update from Sherry Peters

Every day is a mission or a journey…. Whether I am haggling over the prices for food or for beds it doesn’t matter.. I am still a white girl who they think is a millionaire.

A dream come true in Teshie, Africa - The "Back-to-School Bash"

The “Back-to-School Bash” was a great success for the Assurance of Hope Children's Home in Teshie. While the initial plan was for pizza and pop, we were able to bring even MORE!!

Abigails Christmas Shoes - update from Sherry Peters, Ghana

DEC 16th 2011 - Today at the local market in Ho, Volta Region, Ghana, Africa as I was walking  a young girl around the age of twelve, so they tell me (more like 8 to me), stumbled in front of me. As I almost tripped into her myself I looked down and very quickly saw the reason for her fall was a broken flip flop… so I asked Delali, one of the ladies that were shopping with me if we could buy her a pair of shoes… I just wanted to do it very quietly, not to make a scene or make the young girl feel embarrassed but unfortunately like everything you try to do in Ghana it becomes a public issue, especially if a “white lady” has anything to do with it. 

Day one back in Ghana...

I must have seen Accra, Ghana last time through rose coloured glasses...

Hair today...Ghana tomorrow - a big success!

We enjoyed an amazing day at the Spa Fundraiser on November 12th -  Hair Today...Ghana Tomorrow. We had a full range of services: everything from haircutting by moi, massages with Heidi, Nutritional Counseling with Melissa, manicures with Colleen and Katie, pedicures with Angie and Katie, and a Café run by Dilya and Nargiza. (The crepes were amazing for those of you that missed out…so sad for you)

Walk the Rock - a big success in more ways than one...

It's been a little over a week since the completion of “Walk The Rock” and I am still filled with a mixture of emotions.  Hiking Gros Morne Mountain has been a dream of mine for quite some time.  So, while it was planned as a fundraising event... it was also the fulfillment of a personal dream. For the eleven people that joined me,  it may have represented different things. However, we had one basic goal in common as we hiked and talked -- the fulfillment of dreams and the lives that were going to be changed because of the money that we all worked together to raise!

A note from Sam Welten,Executive Director.

Living the dream!!!
Wow! This nation of "everyday philanthropists" we are building is totally crazy - over the top generous!
On Monday morning, we sent out a special message about our Dream Agent, Sherry Peters, in Ghana.