The PCC Journal
A new edition of the PCC Journal.
New resident: William of Orange
There is a new resident in PCC since June. His name is William and on arrival he was about 2½ years old. We saw him first when he and his mother came to PCC from the North of Ghana. William was malnourished and intellectually disabled, while his mother was also carrying and breastfeeding a baby, also malnourished.
Mother Lydia has even two more children, but no job, no husband and no family supporting her. She was at the bottom of the ranks in the Ghanaian society and the caregivers were begging us to help her to improve the situation.
After carefully reflecting on our expectations for the future of Lydia and her malnourished children we finally decided to accept William as a resident for PCC.
We also offered Lydia at least for some time a job as a cleaner in PCC. She was very surprised and extremely happy.
By coincidence we welcomed William as a new resident at the same day we organised an Orange Party in PCC because Joe Emma was leaving for Holland (see the previous Alberts Corner). That’s why we call him William of Orange!
Since then things are going well with William and Lydia. We are happy being able to make a difference for this small and desperate family.
David’s club foot operated
Recently our little David was operated for his club foot. Before that he had a correcting plaster (POP) for some months. Recently his POP was removed and obviously the position of the ankle is better than before but the foot might need some more correction in the future.
David’s humour never changed during his treatment, he is still very happy and dynamic, a lovely boy.
Visit of chairman Dutch support foundation
In September PCC gladly welcomed the chairman of the Dutch support foundation Hand in Hand (HIH), Mr Wim van Minnen, in our Community. Wim has been the chairman of HIH already since 2014 but he never visited Ghana and PCC before.
His visit to PCC and our Outreach program was very informative and impressive, for him as well as for PCC.
During his visit the already good relations between PCC and HIH were further strengthened by the final signing of a new agreement for cooperation in the form of a
Memorandum of Understanding.
All other Board members of PCC and HIH had already signed the MoU before, e.g. the HIH treasurer Mr Wim Mur during Joe Emma’s visit to Holland.
With the signature of Wim van Minnen the strong relation between PCC and HIH, based on the MoU with all kind of clear and mutual agreements, has been reconfirmed for years to come.
Portia, a new young adult in the sheltered workshop
Apart from new resident William we recently also welcomed a new worker in the sheltered workshop. Her name is Portia and she comes from Sunyani.
Despite her mild intellectual disability Portia is able to help us well in the sewing hall. She knows how to handle a sewing machine and repairs a lot of teared clothes of many PCC children.
Initially she had to settle herself a bit after arrival, but now she really feels at home in PCC amidst the other young adults of the sheltered workshop.
James still suffering from Sickle cell anaemia
Unfortunately our beloved James is still frequently suffering from serious and sometimes life threatening anaemia due to his severe Sickle cell disease.
He has got already about 10 (!) blood transfusions during the past few years, but we are happy to say that until now it seems he always recovers well.
We really hope that gradually his sickle crises will become less severe, though it’s likely he will always have to deal with some problems due to his congenital disease.
An extra big swing in the playground
Thanks to a nice donation of friends of former volunteer Els we were able to add a nice new swing to the playground. The same type of swing was made a few years ago by members of a church in Almere, Holland. All children love this swing, so a second one definitely is a wonderful addition.
So far this edition of the PCC Journal. Lots of love from PCC!