City Of Refuge Ministries

Update 08 Feb 2019: Mama V almost lost her children this week. Social welfare was set to audit the orphanage and with the condition of the house she most likely wouldn’t pass and the children would be removed. It was an Angel who fed the group a late lunch and begged them not to go to Mama V’s that saved them. 

Raising this money is URGENT!! We are literally out of time.  
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I met Mama V and her orphans in Ghana a small country in Africa.  I was amazed at how well these kids were doing.  They are happy, well fed, clean, well dressed, and smart! Every one of them goes to school at Mama V’s insistence. The home they are currently living in is Mama V’s ancestral home, built in 1842, made of mud and wood it is falling apart.  Mama V manages to run this amazing orphanage with the very little funds she receives from donations.

When I asked Mama V what I could do to help her continue to do the amazing job she was doing with these children, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought she would ask me for a building. I thought some food, or clothes or maybe something a bit bigger but NEVER an entire building.  In my naivety I thought, this can’t be that hard.  Wow was I wrong!  But now I was committed.  The kids knew I had taken on the task and I just couldn’t look into their faces and tell them I wasn’t going to help. I knew that if the building they are living in crumbles so do their lives.  Children's welfare won’t let Mama V keep them and honestly they will all end up back on the street, hungry and alone.

Surprisingly the things I thought would be the hardest worked themselves out immediately. Within a week I met Stacy and Johnbull with City of Refuge Ministries and with their help we have everything in place to start building a new children's home.  We have the land, we have the building plans, the permits, even a foreman to work on the project, we just need the money.  For just $60,000 we can build a building to support 100 children. Mama V and her helpers can finally have indoor bathroom facilities and an indoor kitchen!  Building Belief Home will so dramatically change the lives of every child and every house mom and Mama V.  And this woman who is so full of love will be able to take in additional children who are alone, hungry, and unloved and give them the love and care they need and a chance for a bright future.  So little can do so much to change so many lives.  

And 100% of your donations go to building Belief Home! We are not a big corporation or a unknown face. It is just me and CORM and I cover all administrative expenses. Your money will make a difference in the lives of children in Africa! 

Please help us save these children and keep them in a safe, loving home where they can thrive.

What we're giving for
City of Refuge fights against child trafficking in Ghana, where children are used as slaves in the fishing trade.

It is hard to describe how heart-wrenching the situation is, or how badly our help is needed. These children receive little food or care and no education. Small children are particularly desirable because their small fingers enable them to tie fine knots in fishing nets. When they are released from slavery, they often have nowhere to go and no skills; some of them have scarcely even learned to speak.

City of Refuge works to protect and rehabilitate those children. They go into villages where children are being used as slaves and work to get them freed. They run the City of Refuge Ministries Children's Village, which sets children up with a safe and healthy home and gives them a place to play. They also operate a school that provides an education for over 100 orphaned, abandoned, and trafficked children to help them move forwards and have productive, happy lives. And they work with impoverished families to try to prevent the children from being sold into slavery in the first place.

This is a region of tremendous need, and City of Refuge is helping make important steps forwards.



Why we're having this fundraiser
My sister, Elizabeth, is an inspirational, selfless giver. She is dedicating her life to helping at-risk children, and as part of that work she spent several months in Ghana (where she took the pictures on this page). She is graduating with a BA in social work; this fundraiser is to celebrate her graduation before she goes off to graduate school.