Summary of Mission Work, 2005
Dear Friends,
On behalf of Books-For Africa Library Project, Kirt and I greet you all from Ghana, West Africa. Once again, we thank God for a wonderful and a successful mission work the past five months. During that time we set up seven new community libraries in Oyoko, Eastern Region; Somanya, Eastern Region; Kpetoe, Volta Region; Mafi Mediage, Volta Region; Amanokrom, Eastern Region; Yawmatwa, Western Region and Bole, Northern Region. Each of these towns received an average of about 4,000 books, a large bag of stuffed animals and other items for prizes in our reading contest program. Also, we gave an average of about eighty boxes of books to six of the existing libraries, four Catholic Institutions, and a Ghana Police Academy. In all, over 36,000 books were given out. On top of this, we gave out 7,000 rosaries, religious cards, and over 300 cartons of medical supplies to four hospitals and two clinics. As you can figure, it was a busy time for us. By the grace of God we had the strength to work each day.
We arrived in Ghana expecting to find the container with the shipment at the port but we waited for almost a month before taking the delivery. Clearance at the port was again cumbersome. We found out the rules at the port had changed. We were required to group and price each donation because the import duties and taxes were based on them. Clearing of goods from the harbor has always been a frustrating and painful experience for us. It usually is unpredictable with the officers at the port. Each bureaucratic hurdle makes you question the reason for doing what you are doing. I find my faith tested each year at the port. Trusting God and saying a lot of prayers brings you back to the reason to serve. Thank God that at the times when things looked very bad, God’s faithfulness manifested itself.
One instance was when the highest custom officer was picked to inspect our container. We went to his office at 1 PM but he refused to get up to go with us to inspect. We tried to plead with him but the more we tried the angrier he became. His fellow officer took up our case and pleaded on our behalf but that lead to nowhere; we were to return the next day. The following day, he assigned a junior officer to inspect our goods. The man went with us to have the container opened. He asked questions about the goods, especially the items like filmstrips and medical supplies which were not books. Those we had arranged in front of the container since such items seemed to interest the custom officers. Next he asked that all these items be brought out; this we did. He began to open them, one at a time and realized they were educational materials. Also he opened a few boxes of books and was satisfied. He made note of what he had seen and what was on paper and went back to his boss to get his signature. We were much relieved but that lasted for a short time because we waited for his return for a long time. Finally, Kirt went back to the office to find out what the delay was. He returned to say the big man wanted every box in the container brought outside. So we found dock workers and started to remove all the thousand boxes from the 40 foot container. We had to be vigilant that no one ran off with any item. Rather than unload all the books we made a pathway through the middle of the boxes and hoped they would accept that. Kirt then went to the office to call the big man. We said our prayers again, counting on the favors and mercy of the Lord. It was getting dark, but a miracle happened. While Kirt was coming back with the man he said the man was being very difficult. The outlook was poor but suddenly it seemed God touched his heart; praise the Lord! By the time they reached the container he had become Kirt’s friend and was even asking for a library for his town. He asked for one box to be opened and that was all. His whole attitude was changed. Thanks be to God!
So the first phase of our mission was done. We brought the shipment to Kukurantumi, my home town and our headquarters, to sort the books into different categories. It was the second week of December, 2004. We hired and trained 12 workers and in two weeks we finished the sorting and re-boxing of all the books by Dewey Decimal category. Kirt, some friends and I had put call numbers on 26,000 books in our home in Copley thus making the sorting faster and easier. With that done, we could breathe easier, and plan the third phase of the work, the Annual In-service for the new and old communities.
On January 7th, 2005 people arrived from different parts of Ghana in our home to sleep over for the in-service program the next day January 8th, 2005. I had hired some people to prepare the food for all the attendees. In all, over fifty people came from twenty-three towns. Kirt and I gave talks on the background of the project, brief instructions on the running of a library and our expectations for each of the communities. Each existing library gave a year-end summary of their activities including a report on the reading contests. There was also a guest speaker, a Ghanaian police inspector, who gave a talk on Aids/HIV infection. Lastly, we distributed stuffed toys, games, and the equivalent of $10.00 to be used as prizes for the reading contests. At the closing we met with the new applicants and set dates for the inspection of their library sites.
Two days later on January 11th, 2005, we traveled to Accra to welcome visitors from the USA. These were two priests and a lady friend of ours from St. Bernard Church in Akron, Ohio. It was such a blessing to have them. The people in my hometown saw first hand that we have people who support the mission. And our guests experienced the country and saw some of the work of the library project. It was a plus for the mission. We were grateful and would welcome anyone to Ghana to make a similar visit or to be a short term volunteer.
Right after our visitors left, we embarked on the fourth phase of the project, the site inspections of the new libraries. Again God gave us the strength and protection as we crisscrossed the country through some of the roughest back roads in the country. Driving in Ghana is hazardous and incomprehensible. The chance of having an accident is real as we battle bad traffic and bad driving. We constantly had to trust in the Lord. Many a time we had to pull off the road to keep from hitting an oncoming vehicle that was overtaking another car. God indeed is our refuge and protector. On top of such problems, we found out that only one of the new towns was actually ready to receive the books. Oh, what a let down! This experience led us to institute a new policy for the new libraries. Before any applicant could be considered, photographs of the completed requirements should accompany the application form. As we visited each town we encouraged them to work together to get their library building ready so they could receive the donations the people of the USA had given them. It was difficult convincing the people to do their part because they thought that we as rich Americans could use our money to prepare the library in addition to providing the books. But we were firm with them. So with prayers and a pilgrimage to a Shrine of Our Lady of the Lake at Lake Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region, the new libraries sent delegates to Kukurantumi bringing pictures to show us of the completed requirements. God is good!
With each of the new libraries finally passing the inspection we began our final phase, the distribution of the books. At weekly intervals from the middle of February to March 25th, the new communities came for their books. We traveled to each site and helped them shelve the books in correct order. Each library has a beautiful children’s section, reference section, fiction section and non-fiction adult section. There was much jubilation and thanksgiving to God as the people realized that coming together and working in unity had paid off. They could not believe the number of books given. The politicians made pledges to help keep the libraries open, while the rest of the people promised to patronize the establishment well.
In between setting up libraries, we gave out some 23 bags of 300 rosaries that parishioners in Ohio had made for Catholic churches. We also gave out medical supplies such as crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, antibacterial soap, and boxes of peanut butter donated by the Summit Mission International to local hospitals and clinics. Our final activity was to distribute books to six older libraries, four catholic institutions, and to create the first library for the Regional Police Academy. We are very grateful to God for His faithfulness in making the mission successful. Thanks to you all who contributed in money, books, toys, clothing, and prayers.
We arrived home April 5th, 2005 to begin the work again. We have received requests for books from 16 new towns. We can’t serve all 16 towns in one year, but on a first come, first served basis we will serve the towns that fulfill all the requirements for their library. You can find pictures of our mission work for 2004-2005 on our website: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kirtbromley/ or do a search: Books For Africa Bromley.
Our Annual Dinner Fundraising Event is Saturday May 7th, 2005 at St. Bernard Catholic church social hall. The time is 5:45 PM. Admission is free but we request a monetary donation. We would like to invite everyone to attend. If you are unable to come can you send your tax deductible contribution of $10, $25, $50, $100, $200 or more to Books For Africa Library Project, P.O. Box 4049, Copley, OH 44321. Please make the check to Books For Africa Library Project.
Students have assembled beneath a massive tree at the grand opening of their library in Mafe Mediage, a remote village in the Volta Region.
This is the prize giving ceremony for the quarterly reading contest at Kukurantumi. Hilda has a small dance group which performed at the ceremony and the members are introducing themselves.