Hello Everyone!

It’s been awhile since I last updated you on our doings at Soul of Somanya. So much has been happening! The project is moving steadily forward, and Arkuh Bernard and I are starting to see tangible results of our efforts in Ghana.



Here are a few examples. As you read them, know that the happy outcomes of these stories are a direct result of the support each of you gave us during the wild scramble of our start-up phase. You didn’t know back then whether anything significant or ongoing would come of your gifts and purchases, but you took a chance and gave and purchased anyway. Here’s what all of you, by coming together in a spirit of generosity, have accomplished.

Caring for Children

Rose Ablantie is 21. She is a single mother with two young children. She is bright, hard-working and personable, but she never had the opportunity to learn to read and write—she can’t even write her own name. Her 2-year-old, Bismark, comes to work with her every day. On her first day of training, he arrived wearing a soggy diaper that was sagging down to his knees. She had no clean clothing to change him into, no food for him, no purified water. But after Rose had made her first $6.00 in training pay, Bismark arrived wearing new shorts and a clean diaper. She had also brought along a change of diapers, a thermos of food, and a plastic bag of clean water.

From that day on, we never saw Bismark in bad condition. Moreover, the entire crew has become a surrogate family for him, giving him lots of attention and affection on a daily basis.

Many children in the Krobo region of Ghana become orphans due to their mothers’ inability to care for them. As long as we can continue to give Rose a secure way of earning a living, Bismark and his brother are no longer in danger of losing the most important person in their lives…their mother.

Caring About Education

Adamptey Joyce, Padi Edith and Ameho Eunice are intelligent young women who understand the value of a good education. Their families provide them with food and shelter, but cannot afford to finance the girls’ schooling. So all three of them had to drop out. They were perfectly willing to work in order to earn the money to go back, but in Somanya-Krobo, jobs are almost non-existent unless you have strong family connections.

In June of 2008, Joyce, Edith and Eunice came to work for Soul of Somanya. Within nine months, all three had saved enough money to continue their high school educations.

In Ghana, public school extends only through middle school. Even though, statistically, a girl’s potential earning power increases by at least 10% with every year of school she finishes, many, many young women, even those with working parents, can’t afford to go. Soul of Somanya is strongly committed to helping young people like Joyce, Edith and Eunice acquire an education. We hated to lose them, but we’re extremely proud of them, too. And if the money they so carefully saved runs out before they have finished their degrees, we’ll welcome them back for as long as it takes them to save up again.

Helping Disadvantaged Youth

One would think that Adey Eben is one of the lucky ones. He has parents; in fact, he has relatively wealthy parents. Unfortunately, they don’t take good care of him. They travel, sometimes for months at a time, leaving him nothing to live on in their absence. Before he came to work for Soul of Somanya in June of 2008, Ben was facing a tough choice: to starve, beg, or steal.

Due to rural Ghana’s overwhelming poverty and lack of entry-level employment opportunities, a great many of its youth are at high risk for becoming criminals or beggars in order to survive. This is an age group that is commonly overlooked by service organizations. By providing on-the-job training and ongoing employment opportunities, Soul of Somanya is preventing such an outcome for as many of the community’s disadvantaged youth as possible.

Ben is now Soul of Somanya’s first work-force supervisor, a position he earned through his talents and diligence. He has received a commensurate raise in pay.

Where We Are Now

All of us at Soul of Somanya are very proud of the fact that we are currently paying most of our daily expenses in Ghana from the money we are earning through the sale of our products. It’s still very much a day-to-day challenge, but we always seem to get a substantial last-minute order or a flurry of small orders that make it possible for us to squeak by. But we are struggling very hard to cover the exorbitant costs of shipping to and from the United States, as well as the various supplies that must be imported into Ghana if we are to satisfy the preferences of our American customers and keep our artisans working.



So please keep us in mind when you have gifts to buy for friends and family…or when you get the urge to treat yourself to something unique and beautiful! Visit our website at www.soulofsomanya.net, or feel free to call me at 251-342-9076 for information about other ways to purchase Soul of Somanya products.

I am always happy to arrange private showings or home parties for those of you who are in or near Mobile. Keep me in mind for, school, club and church-group cultural presentations as well. I have a lot of great pictures to show and interesting stories to tell about Ghanaian culture and my adventures as an African queen!



Thanks again, so much, for all of your support, both past and future. You’re making a difference—a significant difference—in a little corner of the world called Somanya.

Melody

P.S. Our application for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status will be winging its way to the IRS very soon. If things go as they should, donations to Soul of Somanya will soon be tax-deductible, retroactive to the first of this year. So keep us in mind for that, too!
 

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