Clap for Jesus

Left to right: Steve Raber, Tom Clements, Father Simon, Steve O'Brien, Neils Berzanskis

Most of the commentary during the 9 day trip to Ghana was made by Tom Clements. This was Tom's second trip to Ghana. Below are some impressions and comments from two of the other travelers who were in Ghana for the first time: Steve O'Brien and Steve Raber.

The primary objective of “Clap for Jesus” is to fund the construction of a residential high school in the Western Region of Ghana that will eventually accommodate five hundred boys and girls. The mission of this school is to produce a number of future leaders in this area, grounded in Christian principles, who will pursue careers as teachers, doctors, nurses, religious, government leaders, etc. These future leaders would have the potential to significantly upgrade the quality of life of the people in this region.

In the district where the school will be located, there are eighty junior secondary schools (equivalent to our middle schools) and just four senior high schools. We visited a couple of these senior high schools and they were severely overcrowded with sixty or more students per classroom making it extremely difficult to provide a quality learning experience.

During our first few days in Ghana we were able to meet with a number of individuals, including a man who has built a number of schools in a neighboring region, with Father Simon and his committee, with Bishop Joseph Essien and his project manager, with the design engineers for this project, and with district government and education officials. The bishop is very enthused about this project and has committed his full support. The government officials were also very supportive of this project and assured us that they would pay the salaries of the teachers and most likely provide some help with infrastructure expenses.

The site, which was donated to the diocese by one of the local chiefs, is one hundred twenty five acres and ideally suited for the campus plan. While we were there we visited the site a couple of times and, with the help of three young guys with machetes who cleared the way for us, we were able to measure, layout and mark the locations of the buildings that will make up the campus.

After meeting with all involved, we came away very confident that they have the capability to execute this project. The project team will be developing a revised plan during the next couple of weeks with a time table for both construction and funding required for the first phases of the campus which would allow classes to start with 75-80 students by September, 2007.

We all came away convinced that there are few places where we can achieve a better return for each dollar invested to lift the potential for a community in need.

Father Simon Assamoah spent three years as a priest at Saint Benedict’s Parish in Duluth, Georgia during the late 1990’s. During that time many parishioners got to know Father Simon as an engaging individual and a very caring priest. He returned to Ghana six years ago to be the pastor of Saint Theresa’s Church in Bibiani and Vicar General of the diocese.

As we had the opportunity to spend time with him and to see him in action, we were all impressed that he is a great pastor and leader in both the local community and the diocese. He is totally committed to God’s work Each day starts with mass at 5:30am followed by numerous meetings within the parish and community, visits to the local hospital, travel to the diocesan headquarters to meet with the bishop and carry out his duties as Vicar General, evening events with youth groups, women’s groups, choirs, committees, etc. He provides food and shelter for six kids who need help, including several orphans.

He has touched many lives and energized his parish, but he refers to this work as “maintenance”. He sees this school as an opportunity to make a “real difference” that will benefit the people of this region long after he is gone. He is the visionary, the organizer, the driving force behind this project. He has good business acumen and we were all surprised to learn that he has an MBA in Finance.

For each of us …Steve, Steve, Tom and Niels…it was a privilege to spend this time with Father Simon and get to know him better. We prayed together every day and his final prayer with all of us. He prayed for each of us, for the people of Ghana, for the people in Georgia, for the future of this school. He is planning to come to Atlanta in September to meet with many of you and to speak at some of the parishes in the Atlanta area.

Thanks to all of you for your many prayers. This was a challenging, moving and humbling experience for each of us. May God bless you all!

Like many Americans before their first trip to Africa, I had to admit that I had little knowledge of the countries, culture or people of those nations. Through the stark photos of poor, starving people in war ravaged nations, I had little insight and lived with the stereotypical thoughts of most Americans. After researching and visiting Ghana many, although not all, of my stereotypes proved to be wrong.

Ghana is located in central Africa, approximately 7 degrees north of the equator, and is about the size of Georgia and South Carolina combined, or roughly 92,000 square miles. It is oriented due south and has over 200 miles of coast fronting the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Guinea. As we flew from Germany to Africa I was awed by the size of the Sahara Desert – we flew for almost two hours while crossing it. Unlike the arid African countries to the north or east, Ghana is currently blessed with ample annual rainfall and rich soil. This enables most rural people to both have drinking water and to feed themselves. There are approximately 20 million people living in Ghana of which 80% live an agrarian existence. There are almost two million people who live in the capital city of Accra and another million in the second largest city of Kumasi (We visited both). The village of Bibiani, where Fr. Simon lives and where we stayed, is approximately 10,000 people. Ghana is also well endowed with natural resources – gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite (We visited a local mine), manganese, fish and rubber. Ghana’s natural resources and ability to feed itself enables them to be on the first rung of the economic ladder.

Ghana was wracked by military coups for 15 years before adopting a government styled after the American form of democracy in 1981. Their benevolent president, Jerry Rawlings, who was re-elected to his second four year term and a unicameral legislature have brought relative stability to their country. They follow a region and district (think state and county, respectively) implementation of government at the local level. Although there is little tax base and not much significant investment capital, the government has slowly embarked on a country wide build up of electrification and road building. They understand that both are vital to improving trade and to opening many economic doors. Unfortunately, there is not enough money to do everything, so schools and health care are largely left to outside humanitarian organizations like ours. A stable government, growing infrastructure and the ability to feed themselves alone will not take them to the next rung on the economic ladder. Education and health care will do that. If they are to reach the next rung, it is largely up to us to help them get there.

Approximately 30% of Ghanans are Christian. Quite literally, signs are everywhere – it is quite normal to see commercial establishments wearing their Christianity on their sleeve so to speak. Everywhere there are retail establishments with names like “Trust in the Lord Welding and Machine Shop” or “Mother of Mary Hair Salon”. In fact, the idea for our name, “Clap for Jesus”, came from a general merchandise store that Tom Clements saw on his first trip to Ghana. Certainly we were surrounded by stark poverty during our visit; the per capita income in Ghana is about $500/year or about $2.00/day, compared with the U.S. per capita of $30,000. It truly hurts your heart to see the conditions in which they live and words don’t suffice to explain, so I won’t try. This is one area where stereotypes do seem to hold true. That said, we found the Ghanans to be able-bodied, upbeat, industrious and hardworking. We were always met with a smile and an outstretched handshake and not once did I feel uneasy or have my sense of safety threatened. During the course of our visit we attended several business meetings that began or ended with prayer. I don’t think I’ve ever had a meeting with banker that ended with him calling for everyone to join hands and pray. It was very inspirational!

On Sunday we attended both the children’s mass and the adult mass at Father Simon’s church. It was amazing to see over 600 children, with very few adults in attendance, singing, praying and paying homage to God with little fidgeting or unruly behavior. The mass was said in English to give the children practice in Ghana’s official national language. The adult mass followed which was extraordinarily uplifting. Once again, the church was packed and the mass was offered in the local native language of Tre. The service lasted for three hours and 20 minutes (!) and was marked with incredible singing and dancing down the aisle to bring offerings that included plantains, eggs, toilet paper or whatever meager money these wonderful people had to offer. I felt blessed and extremely fortunate to be there.

Day 9 (Wed 2/22): The team took the 6 1/2 hour drive from Bibiani to Accra today and are now departing on their way home. They will fly for Accra to Nigeria to Frankfurt to Atlanta. They will land at ATL Thursday afternoon. They have all of the info to move forward and it was a great very productive trip. The poverty, lack of education and lack of opportunity can be reversed with a little help. This overall mission can make a difference in the lives of so many people.

Comments from Tom Clements: This is my second trip to Ghana in the past 5 months and I feel that we have made a tremendous amount of progress. Father Simon's dreams can become a reality. We left Bibiani today with a brief prayer service today by Father Simon for our safe travels. Father Simon is a devout and holy man and is a great leader. He has taken much responsibility for helping these people on his shoulders. I am pleased to be able to lead the U.S. team that can make a difference. Time to come home and get the U.S. team on board and start serious fund raising for the project. We will need everyone's help, no matter how large or how small.

Day 8 (Tuesday 2/21): With business concluded, Tues became a sightseeing day in Bibiani. So our group of four, along with Father Simon became tourists for the day. The people are extremely friendly and enjoy talking to the strangers. They like to smile and show off their accomplishments. They are very proud people. They have very little according to our standards but they thank the Lord for even the smallest things.. The team went into a bank to look at interest rates for a loan. After finally getting a hold of the Manager, we discovered the going rate is about 28%. The team did give Father Simon some money to start an Internet Cafe. This will help with the high costs of the Internet and his ability to communicate with the US team on a more frequent basis. The group leaves to go back to the big city if Accra Wed morning for their flight Wed night. The road trip from Bibiani to Accra will take 6 hours.

Comments from Tom Clements: It appears that we will be coming back in September/October time frame. By that time the land will be cleared and they will be ready to start the next phase. We should get their timeline in two weeks and we can nail down more specifics once we have that document. Father Simon didn't want us to leave. He enjoys the company and will be sad to see us go tomorrow. But the project has a good start and Father Simon knows this will help his people more than anything else. He constantly reminds us that education is the key to a better life. I brought an old pair of sunglasses from home and gave them to Father Simon's cook today. She was. just thrilled and told me how the sunglasses made her look so beautiful. This little thing had such a positive impact. Thanks to everyone at home for their support and prayers

Day 7 (Monday 2/20): It was wrap up day in Bibiani. The team meet quite a while with Father Simon and the Ghana Committee. We left them over 50 items on our Project plan and a timeline. They felt this was all very do-able. They will submit their final plan soon focusing on the 1st phase which is to identify the specific needs and giving us a cost estimate. Depending on how they come back on those specifics, we think we can shoot for Summer of 2007 to start the construction. Meet with the Bishop again and gave our commitment to take back the plans laid out so far to the U.S. Committee to try to make this happen. Fund raising will be a big part of our next phase in the U.S. Meet with the Department of Education Minister who is very enthusiastic about this new high school. The current schools are very crowded and the team observed again such a situation with kids forced to sit outside and trying to hear the teacher. Very disturbing and re-enforced to us the need to build this school. All of our questions have been answered and all of the concerns have a plan attached. The team feels very comfortable leaving at this time with much work to plan ahead but a great feeling that our partners in Ghana will be able to handle the overall project. We have just two major concerns to may Father Simon's dream a reality and that is 1) can we raise the funds and 2) can Father Simon's team adhere to the project plan.

Comments from Tom Clements: The thing that amazes me the most is the poverty. You can travel mile after mile, going 100 miles and see no end to the poverty. Education is a way to raise the standards a bit and we think this is a very worthwhile and very do-able project. This has been a great team effort. Their design plans needed minor modifications, but everyone worked on the changes together. They welcomed our help. There was a choir practice tonight and it was just absolutely beautiful. We took videos and look forward to bringing them back and placing them on the website. Ended up last night just having a few drinks; those cheese and crackers we brought came in handy. Look forward to coming home. We leave on Wed.

Day 6 (Sunday 2/19) started by having two masses. The first was the children's Mass and that was followed shortly by the Adult Mass. The Adult Mass was 3 hours 15 minutes long with lots of singing and dancing. The time goes by real quick and it was hard to believe that it lasted that long. Father Simon's homily had the congregation laughing quite a bit. Since it was being said in the native language, our team couldn't vouch how funny, but Father Simon could give "Letterman" a go by the way the response of his parishioners. After Mass, our team visited the local hospital. It was rough to see the facility due to the lack of bed and normal hospital basics. Seeing the poverty that extends to a group of people that really need help is an experience that none of our foursome want to repeat. For example, there was a girl with malaria, sitting under a tree outside being isolated since there was no room in the hospital inside. Later in the afternoon, we meet with the local committee that is working with Father Simon on the building of the high school. We reviewed our progress so far and gave them our timeline for important milestones of the project. They gave their approval and indicated that the building could begin in 2007. They presented their timeline and the team indicated that the US side could give final commitment when they have the timelines, milestones, money needed presented to the entire US steering committee sometime within the next couple of weeks in Atlanta.

Comments from Tom Clements: This was a fabulous day. I am really encouraged with the people that Father Simon has brought together for the project. They are very strong and have a better understanding of the scope of the project than I expected. I think they can follow through with the plan as we provide the funding. But we must see their final timetable and milestones on the project to assure the US contributors that the money is being spent as promised. Neils, our engineer, has been just great. He was using his GPS today to design the campus. He is doing an unbelievable job and has been a tremendous help. The committee here does have many skills to pull off this project and I feel that US involvement can be visits every six months to lend support and make sure milestones are being met. Everyone here is very appreciative of what we have done so far to develop their school. Father Simon has promised a traditional dinner tonight, but it might mean just drinks for us and cheese and crackers later tonight in our rooms. We will see.

Day 5 (Saturday 2/18) started by walking the entire property and it was something like out of a Tarzan movie. The team had three locals with machetes clearing the path. But it is a good location with plenty of land for the campus. The foursome laid out the image of how to develop the layout of each building and believe there are strong people here to carry out the design. The Project Manager hired to oversee the building of the schools seems proficient and able to carry out the specifics that our engineer will leave behind. The group had lunch with the bishop and relayed that the project is very do-able and the next up before leaving will be outlining a specific timeline from the start to end. It appears that the estimates for funds needed will be a little more than first expected and fund raising will need a major push when they return. Sunday we will spend some time with the people during Sunday church services and in the afternoon we have a meeting with the committee that Father Simon has gathered for the project so the locals can give their input. We need to make sure that they focus on the 1st phase which is adhering to the timeline that will be established. Monday we meet with the bishop to give him our official decision to go forward with the building of the school.

Comments from Tom Clements: So far it couldn't be better than it has. The people we have met have been very enthusiastic and we are very pleased with the commitment so far. I feel we will meet our original objectives of this trip which is to develop a specific timeline, determine how much money will be needed and give the bishop/Father Simon an idea of the scope of the entire project. The trip has been very productive so far and we have left some time to follow up with the business leaders in Accra on our way home to get some more ideas for fundraising and government help. And by the way, we did have chicken for lunch. Will see if the roster crows tonight.

Day 4 (Friday 2/17) started with breakfast with the bishop and then a tour of the land that has been purchased for the school. The team was amazed by the land site and that it appears that 80% is readily usable which will save on the overall costs of leveling and grading. That far exceeded the expectations for this part of the project. Plus the bishop agreed that this is an important project and get some professional help to make each of the phases move according to the timetable that will be established shortly. Neils, our engineer, is having a field day with the land site and its potential. The foursome did visit the only secondary school in Wiawso (where the new catholic school will be built) and were amazed that the classrooms were 100-150 kids per class. Almost impossible for teachers to keep track of the kids or give homework. The need for better education is very evident as the local hospital (which is 50 years old) has no doctors or nurses from this area. With better education available, local nurses and doctors are more likely to come back and support the local population. Overall, the feeling of accomplishment so far is great, and the belief that we can make a difference and pull off this project. With some needed professional help, our costs make go up slightly, but the return will be well worth the effort. The team was cautious going in if we could make this work. They are now asking how can we make this work

Some general comments from Tom Clements on day 4: The group is really surprised about how much poverty there is in the area. We drove for 5 hours today visiting the different sites and it was five hours of poverty. The entire team is very confident by the project and touched by the impact it will have on the people. We did attend a soccer game this afternoon and one of the teams was wearing the St. Brigid Cardinal's jerseys that were donated several years ago to Father Simon. It brought a touch of the Atlanta area to our group. One final note: I was awoken this morning at 2:15 AM by a roster and mildly complained about its constant crowing. I think we are having the roster for dinner tonight.

The team arrived in Bibiani tonight and had a nice dinner with Father Simon. A little spicy but good food. Father Simon was glad to see everyone and is very excited about the progress so far. Before departing to Bibiani, the foursome spent the better part of the day in Accra to gather information and general interest in the project. Meet last night with GE about lighting and meet this morning with micro finance representatives about establishing a bank in Bibiani. They seem enthusiastic and committed to following through with a financial institution. They also meet with Mr. Darko, a business man who ran for President of Ghana in 1992 and raising money, building computer networks, facilities and other infrastructure. He was very helpful and said we are on the right track on being successful. Most of the behind the scenes in building a high school is similar to United States and he encouraged the team to stay on message. The team will meet with the bishop on Friday for breakfast and walk the property that the high school will be built (already owned).

Some general comments from Tom Clements about his second visit: The roads are tough as rebuilding is going on at a fast pace. Neils, our engineer, mentioned that the approach to the rebuilding is sound and should last. He is confident in the workmanship in building the new school. We are getting commitment from everyone and we feel we will get measurable goals from the contractor (this was a major concern). So far it is better than expected on the progress we have made so far and we still have much time to be spent here.

Our group of four travelers are departed Tues Feb 14th for their second mission trip to Ghana to help Father Simon and the cause to plan and build a high school. Three members of the executive steering committee, Tom Clements, Steve Raber, and Steve O’Brien are making this 8 day trip along with our volunteer engineer from Georgia Tech, Niels Berzanskis. The main purpose of this trip is to get the final commitment from the government of Ghana, and the Archdiocese of Ghana. Niels will be looking at the layout site (land has been purchased already), meet prospective contractors and get the final cost structure for the project. Tom, Steve and Steve will be meeting with local officials and the Bishop of Ghana to coordinate this private venture with the government of Ghana

The team will land in Accra in the evening of Wed Feb 15^th and after a night in Accra, they will journey inland for the main purpose of the trip. Our travelers bring with them some “goodies” to share with their hosts and the people of Ghana. Included in the suitcases are rosaries, candy, an electric saw, covers for office books, a blood pressure gauge, lap top computer, digital camera and some small gifts for Father Simon’s staff.

We received word late tonight that the team has arrived in Accra. They were driven to the hotel and had dinner with a local General Electric Manager. He was extremely helpful because he knows both the US and Ghana way. He gave the team advice us how to approach Fr.Simon and the Bishop on our support for the project. The team wants to be sensitive to their needs yet provide quality cost management for the donors.

The foursome had their first meal here Word is that they all liked it. They saw a lot of people milling in the street, but don't go outside of the compound at night. People are friendly and genuinely pleased that we are here to help.

The group will meet Thursday with Opportunity International, a microfinance firm, and then will drive to Bibiani to see Fr. Simon

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Feb 14th- Feb 22nd Mission Update