Author: Penny

Between October 2022 and June 2023, 226 newborn babies passed through the new Mothers and Babies’ Unit we built at Mampong Hospital.
The Hospital tells us that seven babies died but that 219 lives have been saved so far. It says that neonatal mortality at the Unit is 0.003.

Nicholas Aboagy, Ashanti Development’s Ghana Director, kindly showed me around Gyetiase and projects beyond when I had the pleasure of visiting the charity’s base last Wednesday. It was amazing to see the photos come to life and put people to names. Ashanti development is making a real, positive impact for generations to come and everyone who is a part should be extremely proud of themselves.
– Amy, Volunteer Social Media Coordinator

These photos were taken at farms near Bimma Village, one of the first villages where we ran our farm support scheme. One photo shows a nursery for young plants, and the other shows a groundnut crop. We’ve got two farm support officers working full-time at teaching farming to over forty villages now and Nicholas has been out inspecting some of them. He says all are doing very well and he thinks there’s going to be a great harvest. This is great news. It means an end to hunger in those villages.

Margaret, our newest volunteer, is organising a Holiday Gala to raise funds for us in Edinburgh. It will consist of a Ghanaian dinner and dance, plus an auction, at the Life Church in Davie Street. Tickets are £15 for adults and £10 for children. For more information, contact +44 7940 283075. We’d love to see you there!

Last week, our Ghana Director Nicholas Aboagye visited the village of Dome and informed the Chief and community that we intended to build a health centre there. The centre would cater for local communities plus the great numbers of migrants who are coming south to avoid the effects of climate change, or more recently war. The first picture shows the village Chief (in red and black), with Nicholas standing on his left.
The inhabitants of Dome were delighted to hear about the project. The Chief in particular promised his full support and gave us six acres on which to build. Finally, are photos of the proposed site of the building. It will be an hard task to clear the land but very worthwhile.

Our annual sponsored walk took place last Saturday. Despite coinciding with a train and underground strike, fourteen people took part and our donations so far amount to around £1,000. A big thanks to everyone who participated 🚶‍♀️

Last week we installed solar power at Nkujua clinic. This week we’ve moved on and are doing the same at Asubuaso clinic. Both clinics are now fully powered by solar, and it should make a world of difference to the treatment of patients who arrive after dark, as well as to the nurses’ ability to store vaccines and some medicines.
Here’s a photo of the installers, looking pleased with their work. Ashanti Development’s Ghana Director, Nicholas Aboagye, is on the far right.

We’ve just finished installing solar power at Nkujua clinic. Previously, the nurses had great difficulty helping patients – including women in labour – who arrived in the middle of the night. They are all very happy with the solar power, particularly since they can now store vaccines for immunisation and will no longer have to refer mothers and babies to Nsuta clinic for vaccination.

At the end of this month we will be running a sponsored walk to raise funds for our charity – please join us if you can! Contact the email or phone number on the poster below for more information 🚶🌞