Girl, 16, supports Osu Children’s Home

A 16-year-old Ghanaian student based in the United States of America (USA), touched by the plight of children at the Osu Children’s Home, has donated assorted items to support the care of the vulnerable children.

Ms Havilynd Mercer, an 11th grade student at the Saint James School Hagerstown, Maryland, donated the items worth GH¢2,500, an amount she raised from her personal savings before her volunteer work during her spring break in Ghana with support from her family.

The items included six cartons of milk, two bags of rice, nine packs of juice, three boxes of biscuits, 10 packs of sugar, three gallons of oil, a carton of key soap, one bundle of toilet rolls, 12 bags of sachet water and six tins of beans.

Ms Mercer speaking to the Daily Graphic after handing over the items, explained that she was encouraged to give to the Osu Children’s Home after she took a teaching volunteering work for the nursery class of the home in 2019 during her spring break in Ghana.

“I love to care for the poor and needy, especially children who are not privileged to have parents to cater for them. This is why I took up a volunteer work at the home last year, I believe since then my heart has been drawn to helping with the little that I have,” said Ms Mercer.

Continuous Support

Ms Mercer said that there were plans underway to raise funds in her school to support the orphanage next year.

“I would also invite some of my schoolmates to Ghana and we would all help with teaching in the lower classes next year”, she added.

She therefore appealed to the public to support the orphanage, especially the older ones through financial assistance to enable them to pursue higher education since higher education meant more financial burden on the home.

Support Feeding

The Assistant Manager at the home, Mr Reindorf Dartey, who received the items on behalf of the home, said he was touched by the gesture, especially because it was from a young person, adding that: “I give her thumbs up, this shows that she has the children at heart”.

He explained that the donation would go a long way to support feeding in the home and promised that he would put in every effort to make sure that the children enjoyed all that Ms Mercer had brought to them.

He explained that though government provided for the home, due to the varying and dynamic needs of children, the orphanage had always looked up to benevolent individuals and groups to complement the support from the government.

Mr Dartey mentioned that the orphanage was facing financial challenges since it had to pay hospital bills when the children were taken to the hospital.

He, therefore, appealed to the public to donate both in cash and kind to augment what the government provided to the home.