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Donations and service to hospitals and schools bless lives in Africa

One boy shares how his new artificial leg from the Church of Jesus Christ will let him play with his friends

Throughout different countries in Africa, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently donated equipment, funded renovations and performed service to help institutions in their efforts to serve those in need.

These efforts took place at health centers, hospitals, schools and orphanages. Read more about them below.

Wheelchair and limb donations in Liberia

An 8-year-old boy walks with crutches and his new artificial leg in Monrovia, Liberia.
An 8-year-old boy in Monrovia, Liberia, shows the artificial leg he received from a donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Jan. 26, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church donated wheelchairs and artificial limbs to the Monrovia Rehabilitation Center to help those in need in Monrovia, Liberia, on Jan. 26. The donation included a week of training for volunteers and a certification program.

One of the recipients was an 8-year-old boy who was born with one leg. He said his new artificial leg from the Church will allow him to play freely with his friends.

Ezra Taft Otoo, humanitarian services specialist for the Church’s Africa West Area, praised the recipients, the center and the hospital staff for working together, explained a news release from the Church’s Africa Newsroom.

“We hope that our relationship has been good and will continue to be good, and we hope that the little that we have done for our brothers and sisters will bring relief and a greater sense of self-confidence to them,” he said.

Hospital administrators said the Church continues to be a big part of the success and growth of the hospital.

Renovating a school in Liberia

Three people cut a ribbon while dozens of students watch at a renovated school in Liberia.
Local Church leaders and officials join education officers and students to cut the ribbon for the renovation project at the Zapai Liberia Public School in Monrovia, Liberia, Dec. 13, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church recently completed a large renovation project for the Zapai Public School in Liberia. The renovation included building a new latrine facility, refurbishing other bathrooms, refurbishing a well and adding a hand pump, installing one roof and fixing another, painting inside and out, adding railings, installing new electrical wiring in the classrooms and delivering 300 new chairs.

At the donation ceremony on Dec. 13, 2023, the district education officer, Dyrexze B. Juwille, said the renovation will allow them to almost double the school’s capacity of 850 students. “Thanks to your donation, many children whose families cannot afford private schools can now go to this free public school.”

The electric lighting will allow the school to hold a third evening session and accommodate children who must work during the day — and adults who are seeking a basic education. Officials said the school has now become the premier educational facility in the community.

Orphanage renovation in Ghana

Elder S. Gifford Nielsen and Elder Alfred Kyungu stand with a local children’s dance group in Tamale, Ghana.
Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa West Area, second from right, and Elder Alfred Kyungu, General Authority Seventy and first counselor, stand with a local dance group at the Tamale Children’s Home in Tamale, Ghana, Nov. 29, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church has begun a renovation to boys dormitories and the kitchen of the Tamale Children’s Home in Tamale, Ghana.

The Church held a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 29, 2023, and presented the home with a substantial food donation. Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Africa West Area, and his first counselor, Elder Alfred Kyungu, also a General Authority Seventy, were at the event.

Elder Nielsen noted the sacrifice of members of the Church whose donations made the effort possible. And he said Jesus Christ taught to suffer the little children to come unto Him.

“This isn’t easy work; in fact. it is very difficult. But when like-minded people work together, you can accomplish miracles,” he said.

Elder Kyungu said seeing the smiles on the children’s faces brought him joy. “We want to help make the lives of these children better. We know that when we love and help our neighbors that we are showing our love for our Heavenly Father,” reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.

Service and cleanup at a Ghana hospital

A man in a white shirt speaks to a large crowd of Church members wearing yellow Helping Hands vests on the grounds of a hospital in Obuasi, Ghana.
Evans Kumi with the the Obuasi Government Hospital, in the white shirt, thanks Church members and volunteers for their help cleaning up the building and grounds of the hospital in the Ashanti region of Ghana on Dec. 23, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Members of the Obuasi Ghana District of the Church helped with a large cleanup project at the Obuasi Government Hospital in the Ashanti region of Ghana. This was the second year that the Church volunteers served at the hospital.

Starting at 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2023, the Helping Hands volunteers swept and mopped floors, cleaned gutters, weeded and cleared brush, cleaned windows and burned debris.

Some of the staff members expressed interest in learning more about the Church after seeing the service project, and Amanda Sarfo, a nurse in the children’s ward, said she was overwhelmed by the cheerful giving of the volunteers.

“You have shown by your kind gesture that you understand all the teachings of Jesus Christ. The hospital administration, the workers and all the patients here are grateful, may God bless you,” she said.

Equipment for institute for the blind in Ivory Coast

A group of Church leaders and local officials attend a donation ceremony for an institution in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Foncier Ward Bishop Dominique N’guessan, left; Aubin Tapé, director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Employment and Social Protection; and Diaby Nassatou, deputy mayor of the Yopougon Municipality, at a donation ceremony for the Ivorian National Institute for the Promotion of the Blind in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Dec. 22, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church donated braille printers, ophthalmological and didactic equipment to the Ivorian National Institute for the Promotion of the Blind in Abidjan in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Dec. 22, 2023. The Church also funded the construction of a paved road to create easier and safer access for the residents.

The institute serves 450 people who are blind — but due to a lack of funding, it has struggled to acquire necessary equipment, said a news release.

“It was painful for a center that serves the nonvisionary, the only one in the country, to have lacked ophthalmological equipment for the care of our residents for years,” said Pokou Anzouman, the director of the institute. “Fortunately, you Latter-day Saints have come ... to bring balm to our hearts.”

Health center donations in Rwanda

A group of Church members wearing red Light the World t-shirts deliver food and supplies to a health center in Kigali City, Rwanda.
Members of the Kigali District of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints deliver vital supplies to the Nyagasambu Health Center in Kigali City, Rwanda, in December 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Leaders of the Kigali Rwanda District of the Church learned of needs for more medical supplies at the Nyagasambu Health Center and responded as part of the Light the World campaign in December 2023.

When district presidency first counselor Oswald C. Iyabuze delivered the supplies — such as maternity room bed sheets, sanitation materials and food — he emphasized spreading goodwill and kindness in following the example of Jesus Christ.

The health center leader noted the compassion of caring individuals the gift represented and commended the Church members for their efforts, reported Africa Newsroom.

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