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All-Africa Service Project brings blessings to communities, participants

Thousands of volunteers from 130 stakes in Africa West Area do service in nine countries

This month, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their friends and neighbors joined throughout the Africa West Africa to perform acts of service.

The All-Africa Service Project is a coordinated event held annually in August. Thousands of volunteers from 130 stakes in nine countries chose projects in their communities that would have the most impact for their area, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.

Stake leaders worked with community leaders to find opportunities on Aug. 19. Community members were also invited to participate.

“We believe that the two great commandments are to love God and to love our fellow man. We show our love for God by serving our neighbors and doing what we can to bless the lives of people in our villages and communities,” said Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa West Area. 

“The All-Africa Service Project provides our members in all countries of the Africa West Area the opportunity to bless the lives of their friends and neighbors and by doing so show their love for their Heavenly Father.”

A young girl helps clean at the Ashaiman Basic Cluster of Schools in Ghana.
A young member of the Accra Ghana Ashaiman Stake helps clean at the Ashaiman Basic Cluster of Schools in Ghana for the All-Africa Service Project, Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

On the day of the service projects, most of the West African countries received various amounts of rain. But that did not deter the volunteers.

Some of the projects included installing reflective poles on roadsides, changing mosquito netting at a school, blood donation campaigns, painting, tree planting, pothole filling, cleaning gutters, weeding and cleaning community buildings and roadsides.

While the goal was to serve their communities, the participants also received great blessings themselves, said Fred E. Anyin, the first counselor in the Lagos Nigeria Yaba Stake presidency.

“We choose to serve because service can bring us great blessings during difficult times. We forget ourselves and our problems and think of others,” he said.

Chioma Onuoha of the Abuja Nigeria Wuse Stake said that everyone benefited from the service project at the Kara Primary Health Center. “Health is wealth, and we chose to beautify the health center because it makes it a better place for all members of our community,” she said.

See more photos of the projects below.

The Paynesville Liberia Stake helps clean and paint the handicap center in Monrovia, Liberia.
Members of the Paynesville Liberia Stake help clean and paint the handicap center in Monrovia, Liberia, for the All-Africa Service Project, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Volunteers help during the All-Africa Service Project in Makurdi, Nigeria.
People volunteer for the All-Africa Service Project in Makurdi, Nigeria, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the Aba Nigeria North Stake clean up their community.
Members of the Aba Nigeria North Stake clean up their community in Owerri Aba, Rivers, Nigeria, on Aug. 19. 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Two girls help clear vegetation in Ife-Ife, Nigeria, for a stake service project.
Two young members of the Ile-Ife Nigeria Stake help clear vegetation in Ife-Ife, Nigeria, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the Banjul Branch in Gambia help with landscaping upkeep.
Members of the Banjul Branch in Gambia help with landscaping upkeep at the Bakau Womens Garden Project for the All-Africa Service Project, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the Kumasi Ghana Bantama Stake clean around a business.
Members of the Kumasi Ghana Bantama Stake clean around a business in Kumasi, Ghana, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members and friends of the Port Harcourt Nigeria Choba Stake work in the rain for a service project.
Members and friends of the Port Harcourt Nigeria Choba Stake work in the rain as part of the All-Africa Service Project, in the town of Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the Port Harcourt Nigeria East Stake take part in planting.
Members of the Port Harcourt Nigeria East Stake take part in planting for the All-Africa Service Project in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the Madina Ghana Stake paint window shutters.
Members of the Madina Ghana Stake paint window shutters for a service project on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the Kumasi Ghana University Stake work with wheelbarrows and shovels at Buokrom Estates, Kumasi, Ghana,
Members of the Kumasi Ghana University Stake take part in the All-Africa Service Project as they work at Buokrom Estates, Kumasi, Ghana, on Aug. 19, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Two women sweep up debris in Lome, Togo.
Two women volunteer for the All-Africa Service Project in Lome, Togo, Aug. 19, 2023 | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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