Vida has been with Agnes for almost 10 years. She has a sweet, gentle personality and is a tremendous help to Agnes. She looks after the younger girls and does much of the cooking and market shopping. Neither of her parents is living, and as is the case with all of her children, Agnes has therefore provided Vida with a secure safe home and hope for the future. Vida loves to sing and dance, and brings joy to people wherever she goes. She is a tremendous source of strength and encouragement to Agnes.

“Lizzie” came to live with Agnes in 2010 when a Pastor brought her from a town near Accra. She had no father, practically no schooling, and her very poor mother had put her to work cooking and selling in the market. Elizabeth is wonderful with the small children, and is responsible for bathing them and washing their clothes. She also helps Vida with the cooking, assists Agnes in the school administration, and helps out in the kindergarten classes. She loves to sing and dance with the kids.

Sadia comes from a very poor, broken home where her stepmother constantly abused her and her father. The domestic fighting was incessant, and Sadia was not being taken care of, so Social Services removed her and sent her to Agnes. Unlike the other older girls, Sadia does not like to work and must be coaxed to do her chores and look after the younger children. Her one passion is singing.

Praise is one of the older girls who gives tender care to the younger kids. Her father was from Ghana, but moved to Togo when young and married a Togolese woman. He got very sick and was carried back and dumped across the border at the point of death. Her father recovered somewhat, but cannot work, and her mom is uneducated and cannot find work. Social Services brought Praise to Agnes early in 2011. She is behind in school and desperately trying to catch up. She works with Juliet, cooking in the second kitchen at the school, and helps the young ones with their cleaning and laundry.

Patience is one of three siblings living with Agnes. Deserted by a poor rural father who wanted the children to abandon school and work on a remote farm, she has a wonderful mom (named Rejoice) who put her, her sister Stella and her brother Bismark into Agnes ‘care. Patience is a kind young woman who tenderly cares for the younger girls and shares much of the cooking with Vida. She is an excellent student and loves music.

Harry is a bright and talented young man who excels in all that he does. He is a top student, athlete (football) and musician, and aspires to be a surgeon. He is a natural leader and a great role model for the younger boys. He regularly leads the daily devotions for Agnes’ family, looks after the garden and the chicken coop, gets the younger boys to do their daily chores, and is involved in the worship team at his church, playing drums.

Juliet is a quiet young woman, who was taken out of a home where her young mother could not protect her from a very abusive father. She is quite shy, and her trust must be earned. Nevertheless, she is a hard worker in Agnes’ home, doing some of the cooking, much of the girls’ laundry, and some of the gardening.. She is a good student and loves to sing.

Saviour is a charismatic boy, loved by everyone, and adored by the younger kids. In North America, we would label Saviour as a “work in progress”. He is bright, mischievous, fun, and outgoing, and is a good athlete, He comes from a tough background, being abandoned by his father after his teenage mother passed away. After multiple struggles and episodes of trouble, and many warnings from Agnes, Saviour was sent to the Remar orphanage in Accra where there is tougher discipline and male supervision. The move was very positive ,and Saviour quickly became an award-winning student. He has publically apologized to Agnes and has been allowed to spend all of his vacations with her. Agnes covers his living and school costs at Remar and will have him return “full-time” when he enters high school.

Philamena is a troubled young lady who has lost both parents. She does not eat well and does not take good care of herself. She is a poor student and often runs away from school. It is tough to get her to do her chores and she shirks many of her assigned responsibilities. She is a special project that needs our support and prayers.

Even at a young age, Stella has a highly developed sense of discipline, When leading devotions, she makes sure that the younger ones are not falling asleep and that they are singing and praying when they are supposed to do so! She loves to sing, looks after her brother Bismark, and does quite well in school. She would be out of school and doing hard manual labour on a rural farm had her mom, Rejoice, not brought her into Agnes’ care.

Dotse and his sister, Believe, were born to a severely disabled mother who died, leaving them in the care of their poor elderly grandmother. Their father is not known to their relatives, and the grandmother could not look after them. They were sent to Agnes so that they would have food, good shelter, a loving home, an education and a future. Dotse is fun and mischievous, and is also a good football player and a great dancer. He gets into his share of trouble and has been warned that he might share the fate of Saviour – off to Accra for a spell!

Bright is the son of young, unmarried teenage parents. He was taken from his mom to live with his dad, but ran away and was found after an extensive search with the use of public radio notices. He continued to run away from his very poor father, who was not working and could not provide for him. He has settled in with Agnes and likes to help in the kitchen and wash the dishes. He is a good football player and likes to lead in prayer during the daily devotions.

Dagbenyo is a friendly outgoing young man who is a good student and a good athlete. He is also a loving brother to his sister, Esianyo, who is also living with Agnes. He comes from an extremely poor household that could not afford to raise and educate both him and his sister. They have been with Agnes for more than 3 years and have settled well into the household routine. Dagbenyo is a good football player and does his share of the cleaning and gardening chores.

Cornelius comes from a broken home where his father abandoned the family . At a young age he began to run away, and stay away for days. His mom and grandparents could not handle him so he was brought to Agnes. Cornelius was stubborn and uncooperative at first, and fought a lot with the other boys. However, he has responded well to the love and routine of the home and is now doing better. He loves gardening chores and likes to colour.

Yao is a mischievous little guy, who regularly gets into trouble along with Dotse and Nunana. He knows that he must straighten up a little or risk being sent to a more disciplined orphanage in Accra. He comes from a tough home where his father abandoned the entire family when his mother became pregnant with him. His mom then remarried, but the stepfather wanted nothing to do with Yao, and he was once again abandoned by a dad. His mom then brought him to Agnes. He is an extremely bright boy who can read well and has an amazing memory.

Courage is another boy that can quickly get a hold of your heart. He has a warm smile and a friendly disposition. Courage is a product of a broken family. When his father left his mom, she tried to make a living by selling vegetables in the local market. However, she became ill and could no longer work, and a friend then brought Courage to live with Agnes. He is smart, does well in school, loves music and can lead singing like an adult. Agnes says that he will “absent himself from work” any chance het gets.

Abigail is a sweet young girl coming from a very tough situation. She and her brother were abandoned by their epileptic father and a mother who was severely disabled in a car accident. They were found sobbing and begging for food in a small village in northern Ghana, and Abigail was then sent to live with Agnes by Social Services. She is a hard worker who loves to water the garden, set the tables and work in the kitchen with the older girls. She loves music and is a very good singer.

Nothing will sink this Bismark! Like his two older sisters, and his mom, he has a warm gracious smile and a winning personality. He was sent to Agnes’ home, along with Patience and Stella, by his loving mom who didn’t want her husband to force him into hard labour on a rural farm. He is now receiving a good education, good nutrition, lots of love from Agnes, and support from his older siblings.

Angela has two parents that love her, but she is considered one of the “needies” at the home. She was attending Agnes’ school when it became apparent that her parents, being very poor subsistence farmers, could no longer support her. Agnes took her in, but her parents help out whenever they can. She is quiet, but very willing to help out the older girls in the garden and in the kitchen.

Nothing gets by Esianyo, an extremely bright girl who does well in school. She came to Agnes, along with her brother Dagbenyo, from an extremely poor household that could not afford to raise and educate them. She sees her mom regularly , which has helped her to adjust well to her new home with Agnes. She loves to talk, having an amazing vocabulary, and also loves to sing.

Kwame is an active boy who comes from a tough background. He is the product of rape, and his mother died 8 months after he was born. His grandmother was both too old and too poor to raise him, so she brought him to Agnes, where he now enjoys a safe and loving environment. He is well-adjusted, friendly, warm and outgoing, and is a good student. He loves to “paint” (crayons and colouring books) and play football.

Prosper is a cute affectionate little boy and is a half-brother of Yao, They experienced the same abuse from their mom’s second husband, but at different times. This man was a drunkard who regularly beat the family, and after Yao was taken to Agnes, the mom could no longer endure the violence, and left while pregnant with Prosper. She could not care for Prosper so she brought him to Agnes where he could receive good care, and live with Yao. Prosper likes to color and sing and helps with the garden chores.

Believe is the sister of Dotse and an orphan that was brought to Agnes when her grandmother could no longer take care of the two siblings. She is a sweet young girl who loves to work with the older girls in the kitchen. She also likes to fetch water for bathing and for the garden. She is warm and affectionate and loves to sing during devotions.

Appiah is simply a very sweet little girl. Her father was an unloving, unreliable provider who ran away from the family and left her and her mom to live in a shipping container in Accra. Someone told them about Agnes, and realizing that Appiah could have a better life and a good education, the mom brought her to Agnes and the home in Sogakope. It was an agonizing tearful decision for her mom. Appiah loves to read, colour, and work in the garden.

Nunana and his sister Cheritha came to Agnes from a very troubling and violent background. They are the children of a severely handicapped mother and a violent father. The father left their mother (he has never seen Cheritha) and murdered their grandmother when the children were sent to live under her care. The two siblings were found roaming on the streets and were sent to Agnes by a local Pastor and Social Services. Nunana is quiet but affectionate, and tends to get into trouble with Yao and Dotse. He likes to work in the garden but is pretty stubborn when it comes to other chores.

Marie(also known as “Millah”) was the baby of Agnes’ family until Cheritha arrived in 2011. When she came to Agnes from an extremely poor family, Marie was very sickly and malnourished. She is now healthy, happy and well-fed. Marie is named after the Canadian evangelist Rev. Marie Miller, who was instrumental in introducing Agnes to the Canadian community that is now helping Agnes. Marie has a winning smile, loves to sing louder than anyone else in the room, and especially likes the “water chores” – fetching water for the garden and the daily bathing.

Tagoe is a cousin to Patience, Stella and Bismark. He came to Agnes in 2011 from a very poor farming family that cannot afford to take care of him, but they have assured Agnes that they will help out whenever they can. He is outgoing, speaks very well, and is one of the most capable in leading the children in prayer. He can be difficult to handle at times and will get into the odd scrap, but loves to work in the garden. His main chore is sweeping the floors twice a day.

Cheritha can steal your heart in a second. She is an affectionate girl who never stops, and who changes her clothes multiple times in a day. She shares the same tough background as her brother Nunana, literally being rescued from the streets after losing her grandmother by a brutal act of violence. She loves to play, sing, color and move!