Bringing hope and love to vulnerable children and their families living in extreme poverty in northern Ghana.
Northern Ghana has rampant poverty due to agriculture that’s susceptible to drought and flood. Tamale is the capitol of the northern region. The region’s population is 70% Muslim while the other 30% are Christians or idol worshippers; in the villages, the percentage of Christians is higher, but idol worship is still present.
This region faces lower school enrollment, higher illiteracy, less economic infrastructure, and fewer opportunities for women than the rest of the country. Many women in the area are widows. Most of the time when the husband dies, his family takes everything including the home, the property and, worst of all, the children. Education for the girls isn’t a cultural belief, leaving them especially vulnerable.
Create Hope Ghana began when Jonathan Haruna and Rhoda Wumbei (now our Ghana Field Directors) met a girl who couldn’t attend school due to struggling family finances and a lack of cultural priority – ‘girls don’t need education’ was a common belief. The family needed just $1 to send her to school. Jonathan and Rhoda immediately helped and began sharing with this family and others the importance of education for girls.
Today, Create Hope Ghana is assisting 73 families and 75 children with nutritious meals, quality education, mentoring, and a supportive community. Jonathan and Rhoda are helping widows and their children get reestablished in secure locations. All their service flows from a love for Christ, motivating them to share the gospel with those they serve, and help them discover and pursue their God-given potential.
Declaring and demonstrating the Good News of Jesus Christ has always been – and will always be – at the heart of everything we do. Our program leaders integrate discipleship into every aspect of their program.
Children are the seeds of the future. When we invest in them, they have the capacity to be agents of change in their communities for generations to come. Our program focuses on the individual needs of each child and reaches out from there to their families and communities.
Our program is holistic, caring for the whole child – their mind, body and spirit. We provide regular meals to children, food baskets for families, school tuition and supplies, safe drinking water, discipleship, and a caring community.
Jonathan and Rhoda are local Christian leaders with a heart for the next generation. We work closely with them to ensure high levels of trust and stewardship in the program.
Jonathan and his beautiful wife Rhoda are natives of Tamale, in the northern region of Ghana. God has blessed them with a daughter named Josephine.
Jonathan graduated from the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary with a diploma in Ministry and a certification in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Rhoda is a graduate from the Tamale Technical University with a diploma in Hotel, Catering, and Institutional Management.
Jonathan and Rhoda are passionate about spreading the love of Christ and the good news of Jesus. Over the years, Jonathan has served in many communities in the Tamale region to restore hope to the hopeless and the vulnerable through education, inspiration, and restoration. Rhoda uses her knowledge in catering to provide nutritious meals to vulnerable children every week.
What drew you to the mission of Forward Edge?
What drew us was that Forward Edge provides opportunities for vulnerable children to discover their God-given potential and how to use it effectively, and also how they work in caring for the needs of the underprivileged and sharing the Good news of Christ.
If you could have dinner with any person in history (except Jesus) who would it be and why?
Jonathan: I would love to have dinner with Joseph Anfuso, the founder of Forward Edge. To thank him for availing himself for God to use him to start this great organization, which is changing lives throughout the world, and also to ask him about his motivation.
Rhoda: My grandfather, who has passed. I would love to hear stories about what the early Christians from the northern part of country went through in sharing the gospel.
What is something about you others are often surprised to learn?
Jonathan: People are often surprised when they get to know that I know how to cook very well, which is not common among men in the northern part of the country.
Rhoda: I don't usually sing but anytime I sing people are surprised by my voice.
Monthly giving enables our program to have sustained impact in the lives of children and communities, but every gift of generosity makes a difference.
8 years old (05-07-2015)
Male
Ghana
4 years old (10-31-2018)
Female
Ghana
19 years old (08-10-2004)
Female
Ghana
As a child sponsor, you’re providing things like nutritious meals, safe drinking water, education, health care, and spiritual instruction. Beyond meeting their critical needs, you’re also building a priceless personal relationship with your child, helping them discover their true worth and God-given potential.
14 years old (10-09-2008)
Female
Ghana
As a child sponsor, you’re providing things like nutritious meals, safe drinking water, education, health care, and spiritual instruction. Beyond meeting their critical needs, you’re also building a priceless personal relationship with your child, helping them discover their true worth and God-given potential.
Teams of 10 or more are invited to go on a 7-night mission trip to our program in Tamale, Ghana. You will be the hands and feet of Jesus as you serve children and their families, build relationships, and grow in faith.
Partnering your church or school with our program in Ghana creates a meaningful, long-term, and holistic impact for all parties involved.
