VISION  AND MISSION

1.      Provide education, good health and growth to every less privileged child in our communities so as to eradicate illiteracy and drastically reduce poverty in Ghana and Africa as a whole;

2.      Provide the platform for the youth to unearth their talents and gifts in the fulfillment of their destinies for the betterment of societies;

3.      Empower women economically in our effort to reduce poverty and give poor children better parental support on their academic journey.

MISSION

1    1. Provide basic education to less privileged children in Senya-Beraku;

2    2.   Encourage, train, and provide the platform for the youth and children to discover and develop their talents and gifts;

    3. Seek financial support for needy children and to provide job empowerment programmes for parents to venture into desired businesses and to sustain already existing ones.

4  4.  Contribute effectively to civic education so as to bring the needed change in our societies.

                                    

MOTTO

FULFILLING DESTINIES IS OUR MISSION

SLOGAN

DESTINY – OUR VISION IS OUR MISSION

PHILOSOPHY

History belongs to those who live full and give back to society, in greater measure, what they received from society, and thus, die empty with the greatest pleasure that they have fully fulfilled destinies.—Abeiku Okai (CEO)

HISTORY OF DESTINY HOPE AFRICA

Destiny Hope Africa was started to contribute to curbing the problem of illiteracy, child trafficking and poverty hampering on the neck of the township of Senya Beraku. The Foundation was started in June, 2009. At the time, Mr. Abeiku Okai, founder of the foundation, was on vacation from school and was providing extra classes for some children whom he was training in theatre performances.  He then noticed that there were so many children who were not schooling in spite of the government’s free basic education programme. He further consulted some parents and realized that apart from school expenses, securing daily bread for families is a serious burden. And that has been the reason why most children are home while their colleagues in other parts of the community and the country are in school.

He then decided to offer his vacation time to bring hope to the people of his town. Another friend of his, Gloria Graham, was at his support with this vision of bringing hope.  Both of them went round the vicinity, accompanied by yet another friend, who had already been inspired by the very conception of the dream. They wrote the names of some few children who were home. To their utmost surprise, the first day of school recorded a number of forty children coming in with their parents.

The academic journey then started in an uncompleted building. That first day was a hectic one as the handling of the crying children with inadequate supporting staff was cumbersome. At that moment, it seemed the foundation had bitten more than it could chew. But the dream moved on with firm determination.

The school had its first vacation in August, 2009, with the total number of children reaching almost a hundred.  When school re-opened in September of 2009, the number shot up to almost one hundred and fifty due to the ease it brought to most parents and also the dedication with which each team member of the foundation worked. 

In January, 2010, two foreign whites by name Lucy Mason and Blaire Smith, who were also inspired by the efforts of the foundation, presented some books to the school. In gratitude, they were honoured with the Blaire and Lucy Destiny Kids Awards, which are annually given to the first three best pupils in the school in memory of their love. Earlier, an American lady, Adjoa Margaret Stack, visited the foundation and gave the children doses of anti-malaria medicines to help fight against malaria. Adjoa Stack continues to use her Senya-Tamale Homeopathy project to keep the children in good health without any token fee in return. 

Colleagues in the University of Ghana also got interested in the dream when it was communicated to them. Two of them, Sarah Hammond and Sarah Dodoo, endeavored to visit the place during vacation in December, 2009. This visit attracted their passion to continuously fight for the needy.  As part of their support, they donated four bags of cement to support a new wooden building project being put up to accommodate the children. They also sewed uniforms for some of the children and have since remained faithful members of the foundation. Over time, a number of individuals have shown interest in the vision of the foundation and are contributing to fulfilling the destinies of the kids.
 


 

THE CHALLENGES IN SENYA-BERAKU

Senya-Beraku is an ancient Guan state located in the Central Region of the Republic of Ghana, precisely in the Awutu Senya District. It shares borders with Winneba on the west and Gomoa Fete on the east. To the South is the Atlantic Ocean and on the North, Awutu-Beraku, the hometown of the current football icon and Chelsea midfielder, Michael Essien. It takes an hour of traffic-free drive from the heart of the capital city, Accra, to reach Senya-Beraku, 76kilometers to be precise.

Fort Good Hope

The town is far bigger than what strangers expect and it boasts of the colourful Akumase festival and Fort Good Hope, built by the Dutch in the 1660s. The fort later became famous for the slave-market even when slavery was abolished. Fort of Good Hope…. boasts of a dramatic cliff-top position overlooking a beach covered with colourful fishing boats and it is reportedly safe for swimming. (Philip Briggs)

The people of Senya-Beraku are extensively engaged in the fishing industry, an occupation that is the only stronghold of the economy of the community. Anytime there is a bumper harvest of fish in Senya-Beraku, every other economic activity receives a boost. But when the reverse is the story, even children, are unable to attend school regularly due to financial breakdowns of their parents.

Since the late 1990s, Senya-Beraku, which is well known for its bumper fish harvest, has severely suffered decline in the industry, a situation which has impoverished the majority of inhabitants. Owing to this, most of the youth, especially the young men, are venturing into the perilous search for greener pastures through the Sahara desert to Libya and overseas (now that Libya is in such an unfortunate war state, the fate of our brothers who depend on the Libya route are hopeless), while the majority of young girls are struggling at market centers in Accra. The few who struggle to be educated end up not passing out well or being able to further their education due to lack of financial support. Only a handful of the youth are able to pursue training in hair-dressing, tailoring, masonry and carpentry. 

Senya-Beraku is faced with so many problems ranging from chronic chieftaincy dispute to high rate of child trafficking. The area records one of the high numbers of teenage pregnancy in the Central Region while it tops the chart in child trafficking in West Africa, with at least six children being trafficked weekly. The issue of teenage pregnancy is also dicey because most teenage mothers are faced with the situation of irresponsible men and ‘run-away husbands.’ In any case, it is the innocent children, resulting from these relationships, who suffer the mishaps.

Worst of all, most mothers in Senya-Beraku single handedly cater for numerous children due to mass irresponsible fathers coupled with high birth rate. As a result, illiteracy rate continues to remain on the increase in the area, consequently retarding development. 

Lack of good health is another issue that devastates the bulk of inhabitants of Senya-Beraku. Malaria and other fatal diseases deprive most children and adults of the joy of full and happy life due to poor sanitation and poor health care facilities.  One major health burden on the neck of the town is the undeveloped Health Centre, which often causes patients to be referred to Winneba, a neighbouring town, for better health care at critical moments.  Sadly, due to the distance involved, referred patients stand high risks of death while on transit to Winneba Government Hospital.  

Moreover, there is general lack of good academic performance in the area. Most children fail the Basic Education Certificate Education each year due to lack of both internal and external motivations such as financial support towards education. Consequently, illiteracy, poor academic performance and the incidence of school dropouts perennially increase. It is on account of this that the Destiny Hope Africa is poised on making a difference for the sake of the future of the younger generation in this community. In their hands lies the future of our world.

A parent. Three of her kids are in the school. In the background is her place of abode.