In classrooms filled with future fashion designers, in rural health facilities where vaccines save lives and in immigration offices where missionaries receive legal status to serve, donations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are opening doors and blessing lives across Ghana.
Sewing machines empower students toward self-reliance
At the Essipun Technical Institute in Sekondi-Takoradi, enrollment has grown from 15 students to more than 1,000 in just four years after Ghana implemented free tuition for technical schools. Yet the rapid increase left many students learning only theory, without the tools to practice their trades.
On Aug. 18, the Church donated 20 industrial sewing machines, 20 hand-powered machines and 15 irons, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
For the nearly 300 young people in the fashion design program, the new machines mean more than just practice — they mean opportunity.
Nana Kofi Abuna V, local chief of Essipun, praised the donation and urged students to act.
“With our leaders, we seek the welfare of our people. So does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are also in our communities to do welfare donations to our children and especially our girls,” she said. “They have demonstrated their love. So what do you have to do as beneficiaries? Learn. Act. Use it wisely so that the world’s sustainability will also remain.”
President Jacob Helland, president of the Ghana Takoradi Mission, linked the gift to Christ’s teachings, “Our Church is very focused on helping everyone to grow in their knowledge, not just knowledge of things in the world but also spiritual knowledge. Learning about God, learning about his teachings, living by them, is equally if not more important than learning how to provide for ourselves and increasing our knowledge of worldly things.”
Sister Sondra Ostler, a senior humanitarian missionary, summarized that for Ghanaian students, “It is good you learn and learn well so you can help your families but, most importantly, so you can serve others. Jesus spent His whole life going about doing good. Spend your life going about doing good.”
The day’s cultural performances and student demonstrations underscored the spirit of joy and gratitude. As the school chaplain and a pastor, David Komlagah, prayed in closing, saying, “We pray for many blessings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We pray for their missionaries as they move around the nations of the world. We pray for the Church to grow and become mighty and greater on the land.”
Vaccine fridges and computers strengthen health care
In Daboase, Ghana, more than 110,000 people across 246 communities rely on the local Health Directorate. But a lack of reliable refrigeration has threatened the effectiveness of nearly 4,400 annual immunizations. On Aug. 18, the Church donated five vaccine fridges and some computers to improve both vaccine storage and digital record-keeping, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
“This donation is more than just equipment,” said District Health Director Emmanuel Affelkum. “It is an investment in the health system, strengthening the existing structures and sustaining our gains over the foreseeable future. It is an expression of solidarity with the Black communities, and we want to identify the Church with that for their generous contributions. It is a legacy that will live on in the improved health and well-being of our people.”
President Helland reminded attendees of the Savior’s teachings in Mosiah 2:17: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
He added, “When we serve and help each other, we are actually serving God. We are pleasing Him. That is why we are here: to bless you with this donation as you have blessed us. We are grateful to know you. We are grateful for your hospitality in this wonderful country.”
Local leaders echoed the gratitude. Nana Ama Animah II, queen mother of Daboase and a member of the Church’s Wasaa East District, told the Church representatives, “As for you, you are from God. We thank you. May the Lord richly treat you and reward you for what you have done.”
Supporting Ghana Immigration Services
On Aug. 15, Church representatives walked a short distance from the Africa West Area headquarters in Accra to the nearby Ghana Immigration Service offices. There, they handed over 12 desktop computers with monitors and UPS batteries, six printers and office furniture, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
The immigration offices play a crucial role in helping missionaries from around the world obtain proper visas and permits to serve in Ghana. Francis Palmdeti, deputy commissioner of immigration, also a Latter-day Saint, initiated the request and welcomed the support.
Evelyn Lolonyo Lotsu, acting deputy comptroller-general for finance and administration, noted that the donation showed “genuine Christian service not only to GIS but to the nation as a whole.”
Presiding over the ceremony, President Ronald Danso, second counselor in the Accra Ghana Christiansborg Stake, affirmed the Church’s commitment to live by the 12th article of faith and the Savior’s example: “In serving our fellow man, we are serving Him.”
