One of the unexpected experiences we had during our most recent travel to Cape Coast, was our involvement with the Anomabo Fishing Village.

 

While I had worked with Coach Ali in the past with his youth soccer program, this was our first time participating in his surf therapy program. He offers free surf sessions for the children of the Anomabo Fishing Village to offer them a fun activity and food, something they often miss. 

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While visiting this fishing village I saw a different degree of poverty than anything else I had seen in Ghana. While their main source of income in the community is fishing, families often can’t support daily meals for themselves, let alone three meals a day for the children. We learned that many children do not go to school due to the lack of funds and access to meals when at school.

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Public schools in Ghana are free; however, the cost of uniforms, shoes, books, and lunch is not. Often, one or more of these factors is enough to keep a child out of school, and instead, they find themselves working on the fishing boats to help provide for their families. Witnessing this firsthand brought on a heavy, sinking feeling in both my husband and I’s stomachs - an emotional pain that’s difficult to describe. 

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Having witnessed this reality, we can no longer turn away, and we feel a deep responsibility to help these children who are hungry and in need of support. While we were visiting in January, we helped provide meals and snacks for the children participating in the surfing program. Alongside Coach Ali and Eric, we met with the chief of Anomabo Village and connected with local partners to thoughtfully brainstorm how to best serve the community. 

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Together, we agreed that ensuring all children are enrolled in school and receive at least one daily meal at school is a meaningful first step in addressing this challenge. With the relationships we have built in Cape Coast, we are working with local community leaders and organizations to initiate this back to school program to feed the minds and nourish the futures of these underprivileged children. 

 

Interested in sponsoring a child? 

 

While the exact needs of each individual child may vary, the goal is the same for every child: get them back in the classroom and ensure one meal is provided each day. The cost to sponsor getting a child back to school is $19/month. This covers the uniform, books, and 1 meal per day for the entire school year. 

 

Want to get more involved? Have some questions or ideas? Reach out to me at marykateg42266@gmail.com