OYC Expansion Report

 

OYC EXPANSION REPORT

OBey Foundation is pleased to announce its success in raising the funds required to meet the challenge grant contributed by Artha Capital, having raised a total of $51,224 to assist with the expansion of our existing program.

[The following summary and attached spreadsheet explain funding allocation to date.]

In September/October 2010, OBey Foundation set out to achieve a number of goals. Our primary objectives included the following:

 Expanding our OBey YouthCare (OYC) program to allow us to serve a much larger population;

 Initiating a sustainability project for continued support of our current programs as well as our plans for further expansion;

 Strengthening OBey’s presence, both domestically and abroad, by adding more influential Board Members; and

 Maximizing resources by partnering with other NGOs within our target areas.



 

OYC –Expansion of Program

  

OBey Board member, Yuhanna Edwards visits Brenu.

 OBey met with Chiefs, Elder Councils, Teachers, and community members in surrounding villages within our target area of the Central Region of Ghana, West Africa to discuss expanding OYC services to their villages. We were successful in establishing relationships with Brenu Akyinim, Benyandze, Mpeasem, Ankwanda, and Abeye.

We have significantly increased the number of individuals who benefit from OYC services by the following means:

 by establishing OYC Programs in 5 villages within the Central Region;
 by adding new services to its existing program such as clean water projects and by securing a Treatment Team for our OYC youth including a reputable Physician, a Laboratory Technician, a Social Worker and a Psychologist;
 by offering de-worming services on a larger scale; and
 by providing a safe haven for rescued children who had been trafficked into slave labor.

Dr. Cudjoe administering de-worming meds

Our OYC Programs now serve 10,500 individuals - 2,000 of whom are children. Of these 2,000 children, 400 are orphaned or in extreme need and will receive full OYC services which include nutrition, extra classes/tutoring, health care, school supplies/tuition, and counseling.

Each of the 5 villages participating in the OYC Program will receive de-worming kits, mosquito nets, and window screens. A need assessment will be conducted in each village with respect to the drilling of water wells.



OYC staff from the 5 villages

Establishing OYC Programs in 4 new villages required additional staffing. Therefore, we added more volunteers to our staff and hired Teachers to institute a program of extra classes and tutoring in the new villages. Having hired 12 new Teachers and 4 OYC Supervisors to manage the OYC programs in the 4 new villages, our total number of OYC Teachers on staff is now 15 and our total number of OYC Supervisors is 6.

Sustainability Project



OYC Caregiver planting Pineapple plants



OBey Foundation set out to initiate a sustainability project as a means by which to support the current OYC Programs and to support further expansion of services within the Central Region of Ghana. Based upon the resources available to us, a commercial farm project was determined to be the most efficient and effective means of generating income to help sustain the OYC program in Ghana. We anticipate annual revenue from this project to reach $50,000.

In planning the farming project, we solicited the counsel of Mr. Appiah Donyina, Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry who has acted as an Advisor for OBey for a number of years now. Mr. Donyina assisted us by securing a Farming Consultant, Mr. Kwame Boamah, who will work with us on our Agri project.

OBey was able to negotiate for two farming sites. We secured 20 acres for sugarloaf pineapple farming and have been encouraged by Mr. Donyina and our Farming Consultant to also plan for Mango Farming. According to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mango exporting is slowly becoming Ghana’s top business venture. Mr. Boamah has agreed to prepare a business plan for us for the Pineapple and Mango farming.


Addition of Board Members

OBey Directors had also been seeking to identify influential individuals native to Ghana to invite on as Board Members.



Mr. John Kwofie, seated on Kojo's left

 In their respective capacities as Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry and Director of Business Cooperatives for the K.E.E.A. Regional Office in the Central Region of Ghana, OBey decided to approach Mr. Appiah Donyina and Mr. John Kwofie to serve as Board Members for our Foundation. Mr. John Kwofie, Director of Business Cooperatives for the K.E.E.A. Regional Office in the Central Region of Ghana provided invaluable assistance to us with respect to our farming project and also assisted in securing the Treatment Team for our OYC youth as referenced above.

As OBey’s international chapter is based in Ghana and headquartered in the K.E.E.A. District, we felt it beneficial to have influential members of the governing bodies represent our Foundation. Both have accepted and will continue to assist with the expansion plans for OYC.

Partnering with NGOs to Maximize Resources



Chief of Brenu Akyinim and U.S. Volunteer

OBey established working relationships with other NGOs in Ghana to maximize resources and established partnerships with various individuals and organizations for assistance in carrying out our expanded services more efficiently.

Among the NGOs we have coordinated efforts with include World Vision, Sabre Trust, UNICEF-Ghana and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM will provide training to OYC staff in the area of child rescue and rehabilitation. OYC will receive rescued youth indigenous to the Central Region in February or March after the IOM completes its February rescue mission in the Lake Volta region of Ghana.