It was roughly a 2-hour drive from Accra to Ghallywood-Dawa, a small farming village situated between the city of Tema and Aflao. We left at daybreak to avoid the morning traffic and arrive in good time. My eyes still burning with sleep, we loaded our suitcases and gifts for the kids into the car and began our commute.   The journey felt long and sobering. I hadn’t been on a trip like this in a while and wondered what to expect on arrival. I’m not sure if it was the heartfelt stories I’d heard about some of the kids and how they came to be at the home, or the fact that I’d be staying there alone over the next few nights, or the thought of meeting Aunty Ellen – the incredible visionary behind it all. But whatever it was, definitely had my tummy in a twist.

As soon as we pulled through the gates, the pitter-patter sounds of little feet grew louder as the children ran over and surrounded the car. Their little faces pressed against the windows and with enormous grins and waving hands, they shouted “akwaaba!” (translated to mean ‘welcome’ in Twi, a native language spoken in Ghana).  I took it all in and with a deep breath, stepped out of the car.

There are two things I know to be true about children – from the ones I’ve been fortunate enough to meet around the world. The first is, they are resilient little humans. Children can undergo hardships – that would cause some adults to give up – and still find it in their hearts to trust a stranger with a smile.  I found this to be true of the children at Shekinah Home, as they instantly rushed towards me, grabbing at my legs for hugs. It was heart-warming to say the least.  

The second thing is, no matter where they are from, all children speak the universal language of play – a language I’ll admit I’m very fluent in. Though I didn’t understand much of what was being said to me, as most of the children didn’t speak English, we connected intrinsically through the games, songs and dances we taught each other over the few days I was there.

The visionary behind Shekinah Home is Aunty Ellen. What struck me the most about Aunty Ellen was her bold faith, radiant humility, and genuine love for the children she cared for. Originally from Ghana (but based in the United Kingdom), Aunty Ellen was appalled and shocked by the state of child homelessness in the country. She described how upsetting it was that not enough was being done to improve the plight of homeless children in Ghana.  Moved to help in whatever way she could, she boldly decided to do something about it in 2000, after a holiday visit to Ghana. Armed with nothing but faith and a burning desire to make a difference in the lives of these children, Aunty Ellen rented a three-bedroom house in Tema. There, she set up a safe space for the children she found on the streets and the ones she looked after when their parents were at work. She rented the house until 2011, when the building of Shekinah Home would commence as part of the non-profit The Light Outreach.

Aunty Ellen is not a woman who pretends to know it all. She is a woman who simply saw a need and decided to do something about it. Through her partnership with Matthew, a full-time missionary and founder of Feed the Generation International Ministries (FTG),and a handful of volunteers who work with her at the home, she provides safety, stability and education for the children who would otherwise be forgotten.

There’s still a lot of work to be done at the home. The home desperately needs more bedrooms and shower rooms for the growing number of children housed in the orphanage. The volunteers need more rooms to carry out their work effectively. The chapel awaits completion and many other building projects in the home are pending due to a lack of funds.

As Aunty Ellen discussed her vision for the home, she and Matthew showed me around the different spaces, detailing their plans and hopes for the future. What grabbed my attention was their plan for a skills development centre. It set the orphanage apart -from any other that I’d been to or heard of before. It was clear that Shekinah Home wasn’t created to just be a holding space for children until they reached adulthood at 18, rather, a place they could grow and flourish at all ages and stages of their young lives.

As Matthew so soundly put it, “we want every child to achieve something, not just to come and go back the same”.

We stood outside in the open air – in the space that would eventually become the skills development centre; surrounded by nothing but bricks and cement. As Aunty Ellen talked us through her vision, I found it easy to mentally piece together what the skills centre would eventually look like. I could imagine it clearly. I could see the sewing stations to my left where the young tailors in training would absorb the skills they needed to create their garments. I could see the concentration in their faces as they created their masterpieces. I could also see the hairdressing section on the far right, as Aunty Ellen detailed that it would be a space where the young adults would practice braiding, styling and washing. I could envision it all.

Matthew then took us to the allotment and explained how his non-profit, FTG, had partnered with the home (circa 2020) to help them develop a self-sustainable approach to food production. I marvelled at this ingenious concept, as it provides an eco-friendly and sustainable option to food production, therefore allowing any monetary donations received to be redirected towards other pressing needs. The children are very much involved in the entire process as they help grow and harvest their own food, such as coco yams, okra, carrots, onions and peppers to name a few – which is later made into yummy deliciousness by the kitchen staff.

As I drew to the end of my stay, I came to realise that Shekinah Home is not only a space for learning, growing and safety but second chances too. It served as a daily reminder to the children that they are loved, valued, and worthy. I took the experience as a personal invitation to be part of their journey. To be a stranger they could trust again from a distance.

My heart-warming experience at Shekinah Home inspired me to write this blog, as a way of doing something to help them realise their vision and complete the building of their home. I want to extend this invitation to you too and give you an opportunity to be part of this amazing vision.

My ask is that you would support the Shekinah Home project by contributing whatever you can, to help these incredible children. No contribution is too small or too big – as anything will go a long way in changing and impacting their lives for the better.

If you would like to be part of this life-changing project, kindly follow the link to make a donation.