Ghana: 7 Month Countdown!

"Knowledge is power.
Information is liberating.
Education is the premise of progress,
in every society, in every family."
-- Kofi Annan (United Nations)

Kofi Annan is a native of Ghana -- I pray that his vision and wisdom on education will become a reality for the child slaves of Lake Volta.

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Seven months from today, we will be flying over the Atlantic ocean on our way to Ghana, West Africa. How can time be flying by so fast already?! Seven months may seem like a long time, but it's not when you're facing a project of this size.

It's barely been two weeks since we launched our Ghana project, and what a two weeks it has been!!! It's been busy and wonderful -- the enthusiasm and support has been tremendous!! We're so blessed to have surpassed 1% of our fundraising goal for the school, and we are already approaching the 2% mark! We're very grateful and encouraged by your support and prayers. Every single dollar raised makes a difference, there is no amount too small, God will use it all!

Many of you have shared our project with friends and families on blogs, Facebook, Twitter... thank you!! An easy-to-remember URL has been created just for sharing -- www.tinyurl.com/Ghana2011 - feel free to use it to share about this project.


You have also asked about the possibility of doing monthly donations as well as donating toward the school supplies and expenses. We loved your suggestions, and have created a monthly donation option via Paypal. As of today, there are 7 months left until the trip, so this option will give you the choice of donating $5, $10 or $20 monthly for 7 months. If you'd like to subscribe for a different amount, let us know, and we will add it to the options.

Gift Options

$5 : $5.00USD - monthly $10 : $10.00USD - monthly $20 : $20.00USD - monthly

We have also begun our local fundraising initiatives for our travel expenses. You may have wondered exactly who is going to be traveling to Ghana in November, well, wonder no more!

I (JD) will be traveling to Ghana with my son Joshua, who will be 13 in May. We will be traveling from our home on the east coast of Canada. Joining us will be my best friend Tia from Michigan, and our friend Debra from Illinois. Tia, Debra and I met in 2009 while reading "Crazy Love" as part of Angie Smith and Jessica Turner's "Bloom Book Club". The "Bloom Book Club" has since been integrated into the (in)courage website, where we have been reading Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts".

Tia is no stranger to Africa, having been there twice and having written a book about her time in Africa. She and I both sponsor children in Africa, including in Ghana, which is one of the reasons we chose to contribute to a mission project in Ghana.

Debra made the decision to join our team when she read the blog post about the children sold into slavery -- she knew she needed to do something, and for her, this meant not only joining in the fundraising effort, but working alongside side of us in Ghana.


Our theme for April is "School 2 School". We are challenging teachers and parents of school aged children to hold penny drives, sports fundraisers, skip-a-thons, hat days or various other fundraisers at their schools in order to partner together to build the school in Ghana. What an amazing teaching opportunity for the kids! Homeschools are welcomed too! Compete with the schools in your area to see who can raise the most funds during the month of April, and share your successes with us! We'd love to feature your child's class or school here in an update post.


Last but not least, please pray as Joshua, Tia, Debra and I continue to prepare our hearts for this journey. It is a heavy responsibility, one we've been entrusted with and are passionate about, and your prayers and support will be crucial in the months to come. Thank you for sharing in this adventure with us!