Donald's Birthday Update September 21, 2024

Some happy news from Ghana. Baby Donald will celebrate his first birthday on the

22nd of September.

We first became involved in little Donald's life when his mother, Favour, came to

our friend John in Ghana asking for help. At the time she was 17, pregnant, broke,

alone, and homeless. She was sleeping under a table on the beach in a very bad

neighborhood in Accra, Ghana's capitol city. We provided what help we could and her

baby was born safely in hospital. Partly because of a lack of prenatal care the

birth was difficult and after his birth the baby spent a week in the hospital

before he was finally released to Favour's care.

Since that time we have done what we could to care for both the mother and her

baby. Donald's life has not been easy. He continues to have several health issues

and when he was about a month old he nearly died when a fire swept through the

neighborhood where he and his mother were living. Only the quick actions of a

neighbor saved his life.

Some months after birth he was given his formal naming ceremony, a very important

part of life in Ghana. The official naming made him a person in his own right and

not just Favour's baby. He is now an official member of the community. He still has

his share of challenges, as do all poor children in Ghana, but he has made it

through his first year and that is a real accomplishment considering what he has

been through.

John has bought a cake and they will have a small party in his honor. Sunday will

be his day and we wish him the happiest of birthdays and good life always. He has

certainly earned it.