MLI by the grace of God executed the following activities, projects and events in the year under review (2011)
MLI 5TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Some of the activities that made this week long celebration a memorable one were a clean-up exercise at the Tema General Hospital, a donation of some items like toiletries, fruit drinks and surgical equipments to the children’s ward of the Tema General Hospital, the dedication of the MLI 5th Anniversary Borehole, a medical outreach, a Leadership Seminar for church leaders and pastors, a musical concert and a thanksgiving service.
For us, the impact of our ministry in this part of our world has not been attained on a silver platter; but we give thanks to the Almighty God that we have been able to count all our blessings these five (5) years with smiles and laughter, to the Glory of God.
DORON MEDICAL CENTER
The ever awaiting Doron Medical Center (MLI’s Missions Hospital) which is going to serve over 17,000 inhabitants from surrounding communities and also equip our mobile clinics to deprived communities, commenced in July 2010 and saw the successful completion of its first phase to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in December 2010.
Thankfully by the middle of 2011, July to be specific, the second phase started and is already 75% complete with the casting of the Columns for the ground floor and building of the site office. What is left now is the casting of the beams on top of the pillars, flowing of the first floor and the brick work for the ground floor. We are anticipating the total completion of the ground floor by 2014 to the Glory of God.
BOREHOLES
This year (2011), two (2) boreholes were drilled in Wusuta-Sakakyere and Deheta, located in the Kpando District and Akatsi District of the Volta Region respectively. The two boreholes were drilled in August and November 2011 respectively.
The Wusuta-Sakakyere Borehole, which was the first to be drilled, has already been dedicated. A 14 member team made up of a delegation from Cornerstone Fellowship in California and the Just-Dig-It team (who raised funds for the borehole) came to dedicate the borehole on the 8th of August, 2011. The Deheta borehole is yet to be dedicated. A commissioning ceremony has being planned for January 2012.
MEDICAL OUTREACHES
Six (6) Medical outreaches were organized in the year 2011. The inhabitants of the following communities; Sirigu-Gunwoko, Navrongo, Afariwa, Ziave-Dzogbe, Amlakpo and Ashaiman Lebanon were blessed to be the benefactors of the six medical outreaches organized in the year 2011.
The communities of Sirigu-Gunwoko and Navrongo, which are located in the Kassena-Nankana West district of the upper east region were the first to receive medical teams from MLI in 2011. The two outreaches which were organized in April 2011 saw 95 and 220 patients respectively receiving treatment and medication from our team of doctors and nurses. The second outreach was held in the community of Afariwa at the Freedom Life Chapel. The outreach saw a total number of 284 patients, mostly children and women, also receiving treatment from the joint medical team from Creighton University in USA and Meaningful Life International.
In Ziave-Dzogbe, a community in the Ho district of the Volta Region, the team of doctors from MLI attended to about 216 patients in all with help from Grant Perryman’s team of missionaries from the USA.
The medical team from MLI teamed up with Cornerstone Fellowship in USA in August 2011, and had a mega medical outreach in the community of Amlakpo, which is located in the Krobo Odumase district of the Eastern Region. The outreach saw about 284 people coming to receive free medication, treatment and counseling in the word of God. On the 16th of September 2011, Meaningful Life International also organized a 5th Anniversary medical outreach in collaboration with the Central Assemblies of God Church in the community of Ashaiman. In all, about 300 patients were attended to that day to the Glory of God.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
In 2011, Meaningful Life International organized a total of two Leadership Training Seminars. One was a presentation in Leadership Empowerment and the second one was a Capacity Building Seminar for Church Leaders and Pastors.
The first of the two seminars held in 2011 was in the month of August. It was facilitated by Meaningful Life International’s Executive Director, Rev. Godwin Ahlijah at the Cedar Mountain Chapel in East Legon, Accra. The topic for this Seminar was centered on the “Habits and Qualities of a Great Leader”. The event saw a total of about 150 participants.
The second, which was organized during our 5th Anniversary celebration in September, was targeted at empowering Church Leaders, Elders and pastors with tools that will equip them for effective ministerial work. The Seminar, which was facilitated by Pastor Chris Sonksen, centered on the topic “What the Great do that others don’t”, a book written by Pastor Sonksen. More than 200 participants were in attendance and their lives were really impacted.
JESUS FILM CRUSADES AND CHURCH PLANTING
There was no Church planting activity in 2011, but it has been amazing and totally awesome, what the Lord did through us, in the lives of the hundreds of people that were ministered to by our Jesus Film Crusades. There were five (5) Jesus film crusades in four communities in the year 2011. Our Jesus Crusade team was in Navrongo, Afariwa, Amlakpo and Mensahkrom to do massive and life changing Jesus Film Crusades with our newly acquired Jesus Film equipments and we can’t thank God enough for the testimonies and the souls that have been won to Jesus in 2011.
In Navrongo, it was really an experience, seeing children and adults standing and sitting on every available space to catch a glimpse of the movie “JESUS”. In all, about 400 people including Muslims, came to watch the movie and at the end, an alter call was made by the Pastor from the Light House Chapel. About 150 people prayed the believer’s prayer that night and accepted Jesus as their Lord and personal savior.
The story was no different in Amlakpo and Mensahkrom. More than 130 inhabitants came to watch the Jesus Film in Amlakpo and it was so amazing when all of them raised their hands to pray the believer’s prayer that night. In Mensahkrom where we had our 2011 Special Annual Christmas Outreach, the entire village including the Chief and elders were there to watch the movie. During the alter call, the whole village came forward to pray a prayer of repentance unto Jesus. There was so much joy in the village after the Crusade!!!
SUMMER TEAMS
Three (3) Teams visited us from the United States of America in the year 2011. We hosted a team of eight Medical Students from Creighton University in Nebraska and a joint team of fourteen (14) members from Cornerstone Fellowship and “Just-Dig-It” in California. We also hosted a four Member team from California led by Grant Perryman, the Executive Director of Meaningful Life USA.
We embarked on so many outreaches together and the teams also had the opportunity to visit interesting places in Ghana like the Kakum National Park, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Pacific Farms and the Come C’ Beach Resort.
SPECIAL OUTREACHES
There were also visitations and donation of clothing and shoes to the Save Them Young Orphanage, Kinder Paradise Orphanage at Adenta and Prampram, the State School for the Death at Ashaiman, New Life Orphanage at Nungua and the Mother of Mercies Babies’ home at Sirigu-Gunwoko during the year under review.
In May 2011, MLI undertook a massive distribution of clothing and shoes to three villages in the Kpando district of the Volta Region. The three villages that benefited from this distribution were Adzakro-Aveti, Denui and Ando. More than 750 people were given clothes that day.
We have also donated thousands of clothes and shoes to inhabitants of all the communities where we did our medical outreaches this year.
As part of our 5th Anniversary in 2011, MLI donated some items like toiletries, fruit drinks and surgical equipments in valued at about GH¢ 50,000 (USD$ 31,847.13) to the children’s ward of the Tema General Hospital.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
A two days survey trip was made to Deheta, Deti, Wusuta-Sakakyere and Botoku in the Akatsi and North Dayi Districts of the Volta Region from the 12th to 13th February 2011.
During the trip, it was discovered that the communities of Wusuta-Sakakyere and Deheta needed an urgent intervention with regards to their source of drinking water. After the trip, funds were quickly mobilized, and a borehole has been drilled for the inhabitants of Wusuta-Sakakyere and Deheta. The chiefs and inhabitants of the respective villages are very happy for the boreholes that have been provided for them.
Unfortunately, not long after the borehole in Wusuta Sakakyere was commissioned in August, it has developed a fault, making it difficult for the inhabitants to use it. We alerted the engineers and the borehole is been attended to at the moment. The borehole will be in use again by the end of January.
The borehole in Attakrom has also developed a fault which the local mechanics could not rectify. The Assemblyman has confirmed that the community is ready to fund the repairs, so we have contacted Mr. Agbesi, the contractor for the borehole, and he has agreed to go and resolve the fault. The borehole will be in working condition by the end of the first week in January.
All the other 20 boreholes are in good shape and they are serving their respective communities very well.
SPECIAL ANNUAL CHRSISTMAS OUTREACH (SACO)
As part of our activities every year, MLI’s 2011 Special Christmas Outreach was targeted at Mensahkrom, a farming community in the West Akyem District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. This Special Christmas Outreach (SACO) brought great smiles to the inhabitants of Mensahkrom for the three days that our team was with them, fellowshipping and encouraging the inhabitants of the community. The MLI team was in the village from the 23rd of December to Sunday, 25th December 2011 (the Christmas day).
We used the opportunity to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with them and encourage them. We also had a Jesus Film Show & Crusade with them and donated various items (used clothing & shoes, toys, educational materials) to the school children. We had time to play soccer and volley ball matches with the inhabitants of the community, after which the entire outreach was crowned with a Christmas Party on Christmas day.
Volunteers from Cedar Mountain Chapel, Community 4 Assemblies of God Junior Youth Ministry and the Royal Rangers, Jesus-To-The-World Outreach and United Way Ghana Ltd. came to support the whole event.
PROJECTIONS FOR 2012
MLI WEBSITE PROJECT - Our main target in 2012 will be to get the MLI Website running by the end of the first quarter.
HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACHES - Starting from January 2012, we will have high school outreaches in Tema Senior High, Datus Senior High, Ashaiman Senior High, Accra Academy, Nungua Senior High, Wesley Grammar Senior High, Presbyterian Boys Senior High and Accra Girls Senior High. There will be a Jesus Film Show in one of these high schools at least once every month from January to December 2012.
Completion of the DMC basement (ground floor) by December 2012.
FURNISHING OF SITE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE - By the end of January 2012 with a Desk, Chair and a notice board to enable the site supervisor work comfortably.
BOREHOLES AND CHURCH PLANTING - From January to November 2012, MLI Project department will supervise the drilling of 5 boreholes in 5 unreached communities across the country (Deti, Anowah, Apegusu, Diare, Bonkua No 1 & 2 and Akofokrom). We will plant at least 4 churches in some of these communities.
MEDICAL OUTREACHES - We will embark on a total of four (4) medical outreaches, one of which will be in a community either in the Northern Region or Northern Volta; preferably Yadodo, Ebitiyie or Alege-Akura.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING - There will be 2 Leadership seminars (possibly between June and September 2012) during summer teams which will consist of one Health awareness talk and the other a Capacity Building Seminar for leaders.
QUARTERLY PRAYER AND FASTING - There will be 3 days prayer and fasting for MLI staff in the last month of every quarter, during which a day will be set aside for staff members to go to the DMC site to pray.
PLAQUING OF BOREHOLES - The communities of Makyere, Roll Call, Sakakyere and Deheta where MLI has its newest boreholes will also be visited during an impact assessment and Plaques will also be made for all recently dug boreholes (Makyere, Deheta and Wusuta-Sakakyere).
SUMMER TEAMS - We will facilitate at least (3) summer teams from June to September.
MLI NEWSLETTER & QUARTERLY REPORTS - There will be a quarterly production of newsletters, starting from January 2012. We hope that the 2012 newsletters will be informative enough, covering up for all activities undertaken in 2011 as well.
PRAYER TOPICS
We Thank God for a successful year; his goodness, mercies, faithfulness, protection, guidance and provisions as MLI hit its 5th anniversary.
We pray and Declare success in all programmes and projects of MLI in 2012.
We pray especially and thank God for the successful completion of the first part of our Second Phase of the Doron Medical Centre. We ask Him to supply all the resources, support and direction needed for the completion of the next part in record time.
Pray with us that God will ordain divine success for all Partners, Board Members, Staff and Donors of MLI. We also pray for Unity among Staff Members, between Staff and Board of directors and between Staff and Partners for the progress of the organization.
We also pray for partnership and direction of the Holy Spirit, so that Meaningful Life International will be focused on the vision and mission 2012.
We pray for all souls out there who are yet to be touched by Meaningful Life International and pray that God will use MLI to touch their lives and win them for Jesus.
We pray for Greater blessings upon our partners and donors and for more partners to come on board.
APPRECIATION
If we can SMILE for how far we have come then it is because we are standing on your shoulders. Our five years story is only complete when you are mentioned and appreciated. We sincerely and humbly appreciate your partnership and involvement with Meaningful Life International. All of these will not have been possible without you, our wonderful partners, donors, friends and volunteers. By availing yourselves, many who were disadvantaged in society have been reached in various ways by MLI.
God richly bless and multiply your barn. We say God richly bless you in thousand folds. Hallelujah!
NYAME NHIRA MO NYINAA !!!
GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU ALL!!!
