Ama, 15, lives in Accra, Ghana. She has no money, food or shelter. She dropped out of school five years ago. Her mother died from AIDS-related complications two years ago. She never knew her father.
Ama's tired, hungry and alone. She walks up to a man and asks him for $4 for food. In return, he wants sex. She obliges and takes the money. She repeats this ritual throughout the day. It's her only means of survival.
In the United States, prostitution is illegal and punishable by law. But in Ghana, said the Rev. Eric Kwasi Annan, scenarios like this happen every day, often involving girls younger than Ana, a fictional example. Why? Because it's legal, and it pays well.
For the past 15 years, Annan and his wife, Felicia, have been on a mission to end such problems and other issues affecting their native country. The Annans co-direct Sovereign Global Mission (SGM), an organization that seeks to reduce poverty, provide education and meet the needs of Ghana's people.
SGM was established in 1992, Annan said, because of a governmental push to decrease poverty and respond to the increase of "street children" in Accra, Ghana's capital city.
"The government put it on us (the churches) to go out in the communities and make a difference," Annan, 40, told students in a VCU journalism class on Wednesday. He came to the U.S. for the first time to raise awareness about SGM and attend "For Africa" benefit performances sponsored by Chris Burnside & Dancers and Peacework. The three-day, sellout event took place this past weekend to raise funds to help build an educational center for children in Accra.
SGM has instituted several programs since its 1992 inception. The Homeless Street Girls Project assists girls like Ama. SGM will provide medical care, food and education in basic skills such as sewing, hairdressing and secretarial duties through apprenticeships for participants. The organization also will locate foster homes for the girls, ages 12-15, or provide a room for pregnant mothers so they can care for their children while they search for employment.
"We provide them with what we call a 'single room,' " Annan said. "It's a 10- by-10 foot room where the mother can raise her child and live her life safely."
Orphan sponsorship is another SGM program. For $130, a child can attend school, wear a uniform and shoes, buy books and supplies, pay exam fees and afford food for an entire year.
Randi Buerlein, the School of Social Work field director, has been closely involved with SGM since 2002. She said child sponsorship is an integral part of the organization's success in keeping Ghana's children off the streets and in the classroom.
"While 65 percent of children attend primary school in Ghana, 45 percent of children still drop out," Buerlein said. "Because of costs and materials … $130 a year is just not possible (for students)."
In 2004, two years after Buerlein's initial experience in Accra, the School of Social Work students started traveling to Ghana to volunteer with SGM. For twoand- a-half weeks during winter break, students assist the Annans in educating, feeding and caring for orphans while also assisting in the Homeless Street Girls Project.
Volunteers also help build the child development center in the nearby village of Adoteiman. Buerlein said the center, which broke ground in 2001, is about a third of the way finished.
Annan praised VCU's efforts during his lecture.
"They've really been the workhorses of this project," Annan said.
Although SGM's work with children has been beneficial and successful thus far, he thinks that a completed center would be optimal for future efforts.
Students now walk five or six miles to school, walk back home to eat lunch, then walk back to school before heading home at day's end. Annan said the two-story, $60,000 center will have dormitories and 18 classrooms for students to learn in a comfortable environment without having to trek 20 miles.
"The best thing is to have a (center)," Annan said. "That way we can make sure (the children) are well-cared for, well-fed and taken care of."
