Four new residents for PCC
We are very pleased to announce that we welcomed 4 new residents in PCC by the end of October!
Earlier that month Baffo, Jeannette and I visited Kumasi Children’s Home (KCH) and there we met these 4 children for the very first time.
It is always difficult to decide which children are eligible for a transfer to PCC (and especially which children are not!), because there are so many other special needs children in KCH and KCH does not have the right health care facilities for this particular group of children.
However, four new children is a considerable growth for PCC and we think that these four will benefit most from a transfer to our community.
Who are these 4 new residents then?
Well, first there is Blessing, a small girl of about 4 years old, who cannot talk, but understands a lot and she has wonderful smile. Blessing lived in KCH for about 1 year, after she had been found in the bushes near the University of Kumasi. She has learnt to walk a few steps only very recently, though it is still not very easy for her. But she fully lives up to her name because she makes everybody very happy, a real Blessing for the Community!
4/5-year-old Jonathan is a little older than Blessing. Young Jonathan has been abandoned not only once but even twice in his life! After his first admittance to KCH a Ghanaian couple adopted him in 2015, but they brought him back after 3 years because he is hyperactive and autistic, which these parents could not cope with.
Indeed Jonathan is a very lively little fellow with clearly autistic traits. His behaviour reminds us of that of Solomon. The first days in PCC we encountered him everywhere there was food, for example in the kitchen or even in the shop. There he climbed the shelves to pick a packet of biscuits, which he wouldn’t let go of not for all the world!
It is always difficult to decide which children are eligible for a transfer to PCC (and especially which children are not!), because there are so many other special needs children in KCH and KCH does not have the right health care facilities for this particular group of children.
However, four new children is a considerable growth for PCC and we think that these four will benefit most from a transfer to our community.
Who are these 4 new residents then?
Well, first there is Blessing, a small girl of about 4 years old, who cannot talk, but understands a lot and she has wonderful smile. Blessing lived in KCH for about 1 year, after she had been found in the bushes near the University of Kumasi. She has learnt to walk a few steps only very recently, though it is still not very easy for her. But she fully lives up to her name because she makes everybody very happy, a real Blessing for the Community!
4/5-year-old Jonathan is a little older than Blessing. Young Jonathan has been abandoned not only once but even twice in his life! After his first admittance to KCH a Ghanaian couple adopted him in 2015, but they brought him back after 3 years because he is hyperactive and autistic, which these parents could not cope with.
Indeed Jonathan is a very lively little fellow with clearly autistic traits. His behaviour reminds us of that of Solomon. The first days in PCC we encountered him everywhere there was food, for example in the kitchen or even in the shop. There he climbed the shelves to pick a packet of biscuits, which he wouldn’t let go of not for all the world!
The next new resident is Tobias of about 8/9 years old, who has a rather serious intellectual disability and who suffers from epilepsy. He was found unconscious in Kumasi earlier in 2018.
Tobias cannot speak, looks very fragile and despite medication he is not free from epileptic attacks (yet). It is obvious from his reactions that he has lived roughly in his young life. We will try and do our best to offer him a safe and secure environment and we sincerely hope that being here will make him bloom in the course of time.
Our last new resident is Rachel Esi. She is about 13 years old and has a mild intellectual disability. She was found in a village west of Kumasi by playing children, it seemed her family had left here there. Subsequently, she went missing for half a year and was finally found again. Nobody knows what happened to her during this intermediate period…..
Rachel is able to speak a little and, fortunately, understand part of what is being said. She likes playing with the other children.
During her first days in PCC she was rather timid and she was mainly looking around with a surprised look in her eyes. After a few days a smile broke through her face and she became more cheerful. She clearly feels at home already, Rachel is certainly going to be okay in PCC!
Thus the number of residents in PCC has increased by 4 new residents!
We are very happy with their arrival and we hope that they will enjoy the good life, the security, the love, the freedom and the joy in PCC for many years to come.
A heartily Akwaaba for Blessing, Jonathan, Tobias and Rachel!