post and photos submitted by Anita Gillispie, AAI Ghana coordinator
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Afishapa! Merry Christmas, from Ghana!
This year the AAI Holiday Project was able to provide a very merry Christmas for over 75 orphaned or vulnerable children (and their families/caregivers) in Ghana! Christmas is a major Christian holiday in Ghana, celebrated by church attendance, caroling, feasting, and giving small gifts. Fruit trees may be decorated with paper ornaments, and the most traditional gift is new clothes for a new year.
Our goal this year was to provide small gifts, new traditional clothing, and a nice Christmas dinner (including goat) to foster homes and orphanages who care for children in our adoption program. The children and families in our Family Preservation programs also received food for a Christmas meal, as well as other necessities and gifts.
Our Holiday Project donors were so generous this year that we exceeded our fund-raising goal! Thanks to that generosity, we are able to give a large donation to a group home whose boys' dorm is literally being eaten away by termites. The donation will assist in rebuilding the dorm with concrete blocks that will withstand the elements in Ghana.
