Looking back in 2023:
The Medical Center has opened!
February 22, 2024
We have been waiting for this news for a long time: Pastor Alfred's hospital in Ayirebi,
our project location in Ghana, has opened! The project began in 2014, and a few years
ago we already reported that it was able to start with examinations and, with the fleet
of ambulances from the Hamburg fire department, could at least provide a shuttle service
for more distant hospitals. Then, on 23 June 2023, the official opening took place.
High-ranking representatives from the district, as well as pastors and Muslim
dignitaries, came to offer their congratulations, and at least one television station
was also present. A high-ranking Salvation Army officer gave the opening speech. A
few days later, we received a photo of the first baby to be born in our hospital –
a premature infant, but in good hands, receiving loving and expert care.
The hospital is supposed to be the nearest medical point of contact for a population of 89,000 people. According to Linda, our representative in Ayirebi, there are 70 beds available and a staff of 37 people, including two doctors, ten nurses, four midwives, as well as technicians, administrators and accountants, run this hospital. A lot of technical equipment, donated by hospitals in and around Hamburg, is used, as are extensive donations of medication from Pharma Peter GmbH in Hamburg. In addition to the financial resources, we were also able to send a container load of relief supplies last year. However, a lot of equipment still had to be procured directly in Ghana on credit, which has not yet been fully paid off. For the time being, the staff are paid from our donations from Germany and from the hospital's own income. However, once the hospital is accredited after an initial trial period, the Ghanaian government will take over the personnel costs – or so we are told from Ghana. In this initial dry spell, our donations from Germany will still be indispensable.
Our school in Ayirebi has also defied all problems – including the constant breakdowns and damage to the school buses due to the poor roads – and has faithfully served over 750 students. Linda writes that the school has once again been honoured in the district for the exam results of the graduating class, as the "Best School in the District". A new computer lab was inaugurated last year, and with the "Boarding House", a new project was launched before the end of the year that will keep us busy from this year on: accommodation for students who, because of the long and often dangerous journey to school, cannot go home every day. With a large donation for this project, another dream of Pastor Alfred has now begun to take shape. While I am writing this thank-you letter, Pastor Alfred is in Ghana, looking after a young trainee from Hamburg who wanted to work there with children for three months on a voluntary basis.
Our project in South Africa should not go unmentioned either: the missionary couple Holger and his wife Kay run a home for orphans in Fisantekraal in the greater Cape Town area, offer courses in various areas of life management and run soup kitchens. We have donors who donate specifically for this great project, which is officially supported by Globe Mission e.V.
We would like to thank several large companies and institutions, including Hoyer GmbH in Hamburg, Pharma Peter GmbH, the Scheck Foundation, the Fruchtbarer Boden e.V. association, the Our Lady's Message of Mercy Society and many more. But we would also like to thank those who have helped us to raise a total of almost €108,000 and use it for our projects by making smaller one-time or regular donations. They did not invest in bricks, equipment and medicines: they invested in a future perspective for children who would otherwise have had few opportunities in life, and in the lives of patients, some of whom would probably have died already if it had not been for the CHAA Elim Medical Center – as Linda writes. May God bless you richly for every help.
If you have requested a donation receipt and have not yet received it, it is enclosed.
Once again, thank you very much for all your help over the past year. Please continue to support our projects.
Christliches Hilfswerk für Afrika e.V.
Jan Pahl, Administration
The hospital is supposed to be the nearest medical point of contact for a population of 89,000 people. According to Linda, our representative in Ayirebi, there are 70 beds available and a staff of 37 people, including two doctors, ten nurses, four midwives, as well as technicians, administrators and accountants, run this hospital. A lot of technical equipment, donated by hospitals in and around Hamburg, is used, as are extensive donations of medication from Pharma Peter GmbH in Hamburg. In addition to the financial resources, we were also able to send a container load of relief supplies last year. However, a lot of equipment still had to be procured directly in Ghana on credit, which has not yet been fully paid off. For the time being, the staff are paid from our donations from Germany and from the hospital's own income. However, once the hospital is accredited after an initial trial period, the Ghanaian government will take over the personnel costs – or so we are told from Ghana. In this initial dry spell, our donations from Germany will still be indispensable.
Our school in Ayirebi has also defied all problems – including the constant breakdowns and damage to the school buses due to the poor roads – and has faithfully served over 750 students. Linda writes that the school has once again been honoured in the district for the exam results of the graduating class, as the "Best School in the District". A new computer lab was inaugurated last year, and with the "Boarding House", a new project was launched before the end of the year that will keep us busy from this year on: accommodation for students who, because of the long and often dangerous journey to school, cannot go home every day. With a large donation for this project, another dream of Pastor Alfred has now begun to take shape. While I am writing this thank-you letter, Pastor Alfred is in Ghana, looking after a young trainee from Hamburg who wanted to work there with children for three months on a voluntary basis.
Our project in South Africa should not go unmentioned either: the missionary couple Holger and his wife Kay run a home for orphans in Fisantekraal in the greater Cape Town area, offer courses in various areas of life management and run soup kitchens. We have donors who donate specifically for this great project, which is officially supported by Globe Mission e.V.
We would like to thank several large companies and institutions, including Hoyer GmbH in Hamburg, Pharma Peter GmbH, the Scheck Foundation, the Fruchtbarer Boden e.V. association, the Our Lady's Message of Mercy Society and many more. But we would also like to thank those who have helped us to raise a total of almost €108,000 and use it for our projects by making smaller one-time or regular donations. They did not invest in bricks, equipment and medicines: they invested in a future perspective for children who would otherwise have had few opportunities in life, and in the lives of patients, some of whom would probably have died already if it had not been for the CHAA Elim Medical Center – as Linda writes. May God bless you richly for every help.
If you have requested a donation receipt and have not yet received it, it is enclosed.
Once again, thank you very much for all your help over the past year. Please continue to support our projects.
Christliches Hilfswerk für Afrika e.V.
Jan Pahl, Administration
