The Ankaful Leprosy Community is home to roughly 45 individuals who, although cured of Hansen's Disease, continue to live with long-term health challenges and face persistent stigma related to their diagnosis of Leprosy. Of those 45 individuals, about 20 people receive daily care. 

 

Beyond those who were inflicted with this disease, the community also consists of approximately 125 more family members and dependents of those who were forced to leave their villages and seek care at the “Leproserium”.  Access to food, water, and healthcare has been a consistent barrier for this group of people for many years. 

​

Plagued with wounds, other physical disabilities, and stigma, the people of this community have struggled to provide for their own basic needs. Previously receiving resources from Caritas via the Catholic Church and from Projects Abroad, this community was able to have some of their basic needs met, like food and shelter. Since COVID, most of these support systems have stopped, leading the people within this community to be left hungry, with untreated wounds, and at one point, no access to clean drinking water. This is why I wanted to return to Cape Coast, to help these people.

​

Since 2022, when I was first updated about the current condition of the community members in the Ankaful Village, I learned what about their most urgent needs: consistent access to clean water, food, and healthcare. With the support of my family and friends in the U.S. and Ghana, we embarked on a journey to provide sustainable solutions to dire needs of this group of people. 

​

The first goal was to address clean water. We fixed a broken borehole (well) they had in their community. Their goal was to be able to maintain the borehole in a way that they did not rely on outside assistance for the maintenance of the borehole. They identified a few trustworthy  and able bodied community members to run the borehole and take ownership of its maintenance. They would turn on the borehole daily, charge a small fee to the community members, and full price to anyone from outside the community wishing to get clean drinking water. 1⁄3 of the money collected would pay the elderly woman who was working the borehole, 1⁄3 would go towards electricity and borehole maintenance, and 1⁄3 would go towards community savings. 

​

This was exciting progress for the community. Community supported, sustainable access to clean water. The next two goals have required more time and money to address.

​

As a part of their disease process, many of the people cured of Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) are left with neuropathy and significant wounds. In 2025, a community health nurse, Emelia, was stationed by the government to work at the Ankaful Leprosy Community. This was a huge development for the Ankaful Community since they’d never had a government appointed nurse; however, the government would not provide medical supplies, and the only way wound care could be provided would be if there were donations.

 

Can you imagine being hired to do a job but not being given any resources to complete it? In addition to limited access to wound care supplies, Emelia was caring for an entire community suffering from hunger, physical pain and emotional distress from stigmatization.

 

Emelia took these challenges head on, making small adjustments to their daily practices to make supplies last longer and empower the community members to become more self-reliant. 

​

In January 2026, this is how we invested in this community, while partnering with Nurse Emelia and Eric, through Barrie NGO.

• Acquired a corn mill for the Ankaful Community. Purchased all the necessary supplies and installation materials for the corn mill for the community, and are sponsoring the first three months of corn. Sponsoring the training of the selected community members being trained to operate and work at the mill to provide food and income to the community. 

• Provided essential wound care supplies and other medical supplies under the guidance of a local nurse, Emelia, who works with the community. 

• Provided daily meals to members of the Ankaful Leprosy Community (both patients cured of Hansen’s Disease and children) 

• Sponsored 6 community members with a “small business loan program” to help expand their existing small businesses. When the “loan” is returned, it will be used to sponsor the next group of people in the community.  Return payments have been made by the small business owners of the Ankaful Community. So far, this micro-lending program has proven to be quite a success.

• Met with the director and chief of the camp to determine collaboration in future sustainable initiatives. 

• Painted the exterior and interior of the community center and organized the closets for safekeeping of donations and medical supplies. 

 

We consider these efforts to be a great stride in the direction of self sustainability within this community. Now we are returning in August of 2026, to provide continued support to the projects we helped initiate.