This past August 2008, the African Initiative Mission organization returned back to Ghana, West Africa for our Second Annual Wechiau Girls Conference. 

Approximately 312 girls from 19 different surrounding villages turned out for the 5 day event.  Wechiau is one of the most isolated village regions, where the nearest town is over one our away by car and the nearest major city is over eight hours away.  To make things worse, the roads are not in good condition.  In fact, this area is so isolated that electricity just arrived in early this year.

For five days, these girls, ages 11-18 were taught Literacy, Health and Hygiene, Arts and Crafts and Physical Education.  They were also fed breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday.  This is notable because in this area, most only eat once a day.

These girls have so many dreams.  They want to be nurses and doctors, lawyers and accountants, explorers and pilots, politicians, pastors, engineers and scientists.  However, they need help in so many areas of their lives…

Join with us as we seek to be the bridge between their reality and their dreams.  Together, we can make a difference.

You can help in these ways:

Contribute towards our 2009 Wechiau Girls Conference
Contribute towards building water wells in the area
Contribute towards school supplies, clothing and shoes

More ways for you to help make a difference in the lives of these youth will be made available as we continue to share growing aspects of our vision with you.

-African Initiative Mission Team -

In seven days, we leave for Ghana, West Africa.  The final week until departure is always crucial, intense… and exciting.  Those of us who are going can’t wait to walk the West African soil again.  We miss our sisters and brothers and look forward to the reunion: their smiling faces, warm hugs, exicting stories of their adventures since the last time we were there five months ago.  We will also hear stories of their incredible need…

In case you are wondering, there are places of poverty there that are incomprhensible to our American sensibilities.  Some think we know poverty in America – but it does not compare.

When we think about Ghana, those of us who have gone find it hard to speak as our eyes get misty.  Something has happened to us.  In the beginning, we were the Americans coming to help our poor African brothers and sisters.  As we, Americans went to help our African sisters and brothers, we found ourselves being changed: by their love, their beautiful smiles, their drive - determination – dreams and their creativity.  Here, we discovered that they were more than what is portrayed on television… so much more.

As we think about Ghana and the tears begin to swell, our passion increases and we find ourselves speaking fluently about a culture and a people of great potential!

 This trip, in addition to giving out the clothing and supplies we have collected through donations, we will be breaking ground and beginning construction on the school we will build in one of the remote village areas where the nearest city is over one hour away! 

In seven days we leave for the journey of a lifetime.