GhanaGhana

Helping moms & babies in Ghana

You are changing the lives of moms and babies. Here’s how.

Mom's & BabiesMom's & Babies
Helping moms & babies in Ghana
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The Need

Of the 5.2 million children who die around the world each year, 75 per cent die in the first year of life. Babies are at risk of death due to premature birth complications, complications during childbirth, infections, pneumonia and diarrhea. But this is preventable. With training and support, moms in poverty can be empowered to raise healthy and happy babies.

Our Response

Critical care
Your support helps secure access to pre- and postnatal care, skilled birth attendants and medical intervention when necessary.

Home-based care
Mothers are visited in their homes monthly by a Survival specialist, who offers education in prenatal care and early child-rearing as well as one-on-one biblical mentoring.

Group-based learning
At these church-based activities, moms learn skills to earn an income and gain vital knowledge including basic literacy, the importance of breastfeeding and how to prevent malnutrition and disease. These groups combat isolation through a supportive community of mothers who, together, learn about the God who loves them.

Ghana Stats

Average number of children in household 4
Average age of first-time mothers 17
Births attended by skilled health personnel 46
Stunted growth from malnutrition 14

Activities

Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.

Nutrition: Caregivers received food baskets containing healthy food staples to make nutritious meals for their families. Staff and nutritionists taught caregivers the benefits of animal foods, fruits and vegetables and how to prevent anemia by offering iron-rich foods to their children. Moms also learned the importance of a balanced diet in preventing malnutrition as well as breastfeeding and its many benefits for babies.

Health and hygiene: Moms were given hygiene kits to help keep their homes and children clean. Caregivers were able to clean their children’s clothes, practise good hand washing and clean household items such as plates and cookware. Staff taught moms healthy hygiene habits, which can help prevent diseases.

Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.

Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.

Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.

Project Stats

This intervention addressed:

Full-term births 14
Pregnancies 13
Breastfeeding Moms 8
Malnourished Babies - Severely Underweight 94
Attended births 11
Malnourished Babies - Moderately Underweight 36
Normal birth weights 14
Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.
Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.
Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.
Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.
Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.
Physical health: Staff educated moms about symptoms, treatment and prevention of transmissible diseases such as cholera, HIV and polio as well as the importance of vaccinations. Babies received medical checkups and staff tracked their height and weight to measure their growth and identify potential health issues. Moms received good pre- and postnatal care, vitamins and supplements if needed and support from staff. Moms learned about family planning and how to do self–breast cancer exams.
Nutrition: Caregivers received food baskets containing healthy food staples to make nutritious meals for their families. Staff and nutritionists taught caregivers the benefits of animal foods, fruits and vegetables and how to prevent anemia by offering iron-rich foods to their children. Moms also learned the importance of a balanced diet in preventing malnutrition as well as breastfeeding and its many benefits for babies.
Nutrition: Caregivers received food baskets containing healthy food staples to make nutritious meals for their families. Staff and nutritionists taught caregivers the benefits of animal foods, fruits and vegetables and how to prevent anemia by offering iron-rich foods to their children. Moms also learned the importance of a balanced diet in preventing malnutrition as well as breastfeeding and its many benefits for babies.
Nutrition: Caregivers received food baskets containing healthy food staples to make nutritious meals for their families. Staff and nutritionists taught caregivers the benefits of animal foods, fruits and vegetables and how to prevent anemia by offering iron-rich foods to their children. Moms also learned the importance of a balanced diet in preventing malnutrition as well as breastfeeding and its many benefits for babies.
Nutrition: Caregivers received food baskets containing healthy food staples to make nutritious meals for their families. Staff and nutritionists taught caregivers the benefits of animal foods, fruits and vegetables and how to prevent anemia by offering iron-rich foods to their children. Moms also learned the importance of a balanced diet in preventing malnutrition as well as breastfeeding and its many benefits for babies.
Health and hygiene: Moms were given hygiene kits to help keep their homes and children clean. Caregivers were able to clean their children’s clothes, practise good hand washing and clean household items such as plates and cookware. Staff taught moms healthy hygiene habits, which can help prevent diseases.
Health and hygiene: Moms were given hygiene kits to help keep their homes and children clean. Caregivers were able to clean their children’s clothes, practise good hand washing and clean household items such as plates and cookware. Staff taught moms healthy hygiene habits, which can help prevent diseases.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Income generation: Caregivers learned life skills based on their interests. Some moms learned to make soap, while others learned tailoring, how to make key holders or how to cook and bake. All caregivers learned vital financial, business and entrepreneurial skills to help them start and run small businesses and better manage their finances. Caregivers were able to use these skills to earn income for their families.
Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.
Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.
Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.
Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.
Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.
Parenting: During group sessions and home visits, caregivers learned about healthy parent-child relationships, developing secure attachments, preventing child abuse and promoting child protection and the important role of the family. Moms also learned the stages of early childhood development and how to promote their babies’ healthy physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth and development.
Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.
Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.
Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.
Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.
Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.
Spiritual nurture: Staff provided spiritual support and care for families through prayer and prayer retreats, Bible studies and worship. Moms learned from Proverbs about being a virtuous woman, to look to God for their worth and how to lead a spiritual life. Moms were encouraged to provide spiritual nurture to their children, even from a young age.
Mawusi

ReportA message from a caregiver

I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the support to pregnant women, mothers and babies in the community. So many lives are being transformed to the glory of God. As a participant of the program, I have experienced tremendous changes in my life.

I am Mawusi, a mother of two who lost her husband, a farmer, a few months before I gave birth to my last born. Before I joined the Survival program, I relied on self-medication and self-treatment of my children. However, since joining the program, I have received education on visiting the medical facility when I notice any signs and symptoms. This has really helped me in looking after my children properly and their health has improved significantly.

My son, Awudu, enjoys playing with other children at the centre’s simulation room. He is now 11 months old, crawling and growing so well, thanks to the support from the program.

Again, I have received various benefits, which include participating in spiritual retreats and skills training activities. The skills training that I received has been valuable. It has given me the knowledge and expertise to earn a living to enable me to support my family. I have learned how to make a snack from corn called “atsifufui” in the local language. It has helped me generate income and become more self-sufficient.

Furthermore, the retreats have been a source of inspiration and motivation for me. It has given me the opportunity to learn new things, interact with other women and gain new perspectives on life. I have come back from these retreats feeling refreshed, renewed and energized to face the challenges of life.
Moreover, as part of the Survival program, we were taught Bible lessons, which have helped me learn more about God and His ways. This has been a life-changing experience for me and has given me hope during this difficult time.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and generosity. Your contribution has made a significant impact on my life and that of my children. May God bless you abundantly for your kindness. I pray God blesses the works of your hands. Please pray for all the Survival participants, that the Lord will help them nurture the precious gift He has entrusted into their hands.

Mawusi
Reverend Grace, GH0238

ReportA message from a pastor

I am Rev. Mrs. Grace, the pastor in charge of Emmanuel Methodist Church in the Eastern region of Ghana. I minister to your sponsored participants at Emmanuel Methodist Child and Youth Development Centre. I pray for the Almighty God to bless you one thousand-fold and replenish all your efforts for caring for those in need one. The entire management of Emmanuel Methodist Child and Youth Development Centre expresses their profound gratitude for the love, care and support you are giving to your sponsored participants at our centre.

The greatest joy of our child and youth development centre has been our ability to help caregivers meet basic educational needs and meet the medical needs of their children. We have also assisted caregivers with livelihood skills that have helped them become economically self-supporting. Caregivers are trained in financial management to help them manage their finances very well as they work hard to meet some financial obligations of their families. The unemployed caregivers were not left out—some of them have been trained in small-scale business such as preparation of local drinks, pastries and soap making while others were enrolled in apprenticeships to become make-up artists or broom makers. We were able to achieve all this through the immeasurable support you extended to the children at Emmanuel Methodist Child Youth Development Centre.

This Survival program is not only releasing caregivers and children from poverty but is also serving as a soul-winning medium for the church. Our church has increased in numerical strength because those who were not attending church have been discipled and led to accept Jesus Christ. As a result, they have joined the local church. Maternal and child mortality has also reduced in the community.

One of the major challenges we face is that the community is a transit community, where people migrate from different towns and villages to come and sell their goods. Sometimes after their stay, they go to other towns and cities in search for greener pastures. This sometimes makes it very difficult for the centre to maintain all participants in the program and have a comprehensive and successful completion for them. However, the centre is doing its best to ensure 100 per cent retention for a successful Survival program.

I pray that the Almighty God strengthens you, causes your business to grow from grace to grace and also grants you good health so you can continue to inspire this generation. We look forward to strengthening our relationship through letters and monthly and quarterly reports.

May God continue to protect, bless and guide you,

Reverend Grace, GH0238
A mother in the Adaklu Ablornu Survival Program

ReportA message from those your gift helped

My child’s name is Theophilus and he is eleven months old. The Survival program has been of great benefit to me as a caregiver and also to my son as a participant in many ways. To mention just a few of the benefits, first and foremost, I receive continuous education on how to give a balanced diet to my child, which has improved his nutritional well-being. We were also taught best practices in breastfeeding our children and received education on breast cancer.

Secondly, as caregivers, we were empowered through craft works and other skills training to enable us to make a living. We are also supported financially in our farming activities to improve our yield. In addition, the Survival program supports us by providing hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, detergent, washing powders, disinfectants, bathing soap and sponges. This has greatly impacted the personal and environmental hygiene for all the caregivers and their babies.

Last but not the least, the program also provides spiritual support to both caregivers and their babies through quarterly retreats, monthly home visits and Bible studies and also through fasting and prayers. This has greatly improved my spiritual life and transformed all our attitudes towards prayer and church attendance.

In addition to the above benefits of the Survival program, a key success story is the habit of regular hand washing before touching and breastfeeding babies. Because of this, there is little or no record of any infectious diseases from parents to their children compared to previous years.

Many caregivers in the program used to be financially dependent on their husbands for everything but through the empowerment programs, some learned how to bake and sell pastries and this has made them financially independent.

Some of my favourite activities in the program have been the breastfeeding education, breast cancer awareness education and livelihood education sessions.

I am most grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Survival program and it is my prayer that the good Lord showers His blessings upon you.

A mother in the Adaklu Ablornu Survival Program