Built by Lighthousechapel International on a piece of land situated in the beautiful serene and fresh green vegetation of the city of Aburi in Eastern region of Ghana


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY COMPLETED AND CURRENT ASSETS (phase one)
We do not subscribe to the dormitory style orphanage but the need precipitated the use of this style as phase one of our orphanage.

2 large dormitories housing about 20 children in each room One dormitory for boys and one for girls A nursery with a capacity of about 20 cots. Three staff bedrooms Wardrobes and closets for the dormitories A preschool classroom with requisite furnishings A large kitchen One store room Play / dining area. Administrative office. Two large water tanks. (1000 gallons per tank) Four medium sized tanks(600 gallons per tank) A standby generator to overcome constant power outages and associated problems. A car to transport some of the older children to school, the hospital and for general running of the home. Utility room equipped with a washing machine, clothes dryer (due to incessant rain in the area), pressing iron, shelves etc

NUMBER OF CHILDREN PRESENT (FIRST QUARTER OF 2008).

18 children between the ages of 6 months to 9 years old both male and female.

BACKGROUND OF CHILDREN

Lighthouse Christian’s Home caters for abandoned, needy and orphaned children between the ages of 0 – 9 years irrespective of race, religion, and gender and believes in being none discriminatory.

Some of our children have come from backgrounds where they have lost their mothers when they were being given birth to. The prevalent superstitious beliefs in some of the communities they have come out of is that they are “bad omens” because their entrance into this world resulted in the death of their mothers and that they will spread the bad omen into the existing families hence they are disowned or abandoned.

EDUCATION

We have by the Grace of God a well established Nursery and Primary School in Accra, Ghana, known as the Lighthouse Christian Nursery and Primary School established in 1996 and we are currently involved in a Primary School project from class one to third year of Junior High School. Our primary school is now up to class two in terms of pupil enrolment.
The school has at present established int he orphanage a pre–school for the younger children to attend and has given a teacher from the Lighthouse Christian Nursery School in Accra on secondment to the orphanage pre-school in Aburi. She therefore lives in the orphanage.

The older children however exceed the age of children in our existing nursery and primary schools, and have had to be enrolled in a nearby school for the time being.
We hope they will soon attend our Primary and Junior High School in Accra.

HEALTH

Preliminary medical tests are run on each child upon admission to the orphanage.
Due to the various situations under which the children are found, i.e. because some are abandoned, they come in with more than the common and usual childhood ailments. They come in with various health needs, sometimes requiring surgeries. This takes a large chunk off our budget.

SELF HELP PROJECT

-Vegetable farm – Operated at the Orphanage on a subsistence level.

-Operation of snack bar and restaurant on Church premises; Milk and Honey Snack Bar and Promised Land Restaurant – proceeds are used to run orphanage i.e. paying utility bills, pay staff, provide food, clothes, education and health for children.

STAFF

Our Orphanage is run by volunteers who are paid stipends. And mothers who believe God has called them to his work.

Currently it operates at a ratio of about six children to a mother.

OUR NEEDS

INFRASTRUCTURE/ACCESS ROAD

Though situated in a lovely environment the access road to the Home was virtually nonexistent or in a very poor state. We have had to pave the road, grade it and remove stones to make it easily pliable to facilitate transportation to and from the orphanage. Currently talks are underway to get the help of a construction company working in the area to level the road. A lot remains to be done to make it easier for children to be sent for medical emergencies and the like.

More bedrooms for staff. Construction of utility room for washing drying and ironing of clothes. Construction of four extra bathrooms and toilets for the children (we currently have two toilets and two baths for the girls and two toilets and two showers for the boys). Construction of a well stocked library to help improve their education. Construction of more classrooms for preschool. Our current classroom has grown too small. Construction of a house for Administrator of home. A foundation has already been laid 3 years ago. But funds are needed to continue the project. In future we hope to be able to build family chalets for each group of five children and a mother/father in order to improve the quality of care and to inculcate a proper family sense in the children.

HEALTH

Funds to pay for some special health needs of children like special sugeries etc.

A number of children have presented with serious surgical needs. Little Emmanuella for instance, had septic arthritis in the left shoulder and right knee. She has had two surgeries.

Little John came with a chronic Otitis media (ear infection) which ate away his tympanic membrane and was going to render him deaf. This has necessitated surgery for his ears.

Food (Non easily perishable)

Educational materials like books, computers etc.

School fees for older children

Drugs ( Although some are donated by the Lighthoouse Mission Hospital

Laundry Detergents etc