About two weeks ago, I got a call that an NGO - Smile on Faces Foundation - wanted me to offer my services in providing training in Mushroom Value Chain to some community members as a volunteer in their Christmas charity programme ChristmasFest-2022.

Smile On Faces Foundation is a non-denominational, charitable, Christian organization that seeks to spread the love of Christ through social interventions like Capacity Building, Skills Development, Healthcare, Education and Feeding Programmes. The main objective of the Foundation is to help better the lives of the vulnerable and the needy in society, especially women and children by giving them emotional, educational, health and financial support and also share the gospel of Christ with them.

Since the year 2011, Smile On Faces Foundation has always identified a needy community where they distribute food and clothing items during the annual festive seasons. The two annual flagship programs are EasterFest (during Easter) and ChristmasFest (during Christmas). The goal is to support and put smiles on the faces of poor and needy families who may not be so fortunate, and would otherwise not fully enjoy the bliss such seasons bring.

In previous ChristmasFests, Smile on Faces Foundation has among others supported "Kayaye" at Malata Market and Tema Station with clothing, food items and cash donations; provided cooked food and other supplies to patients at the Korle-Bu Children’s Block, inmates at the Teshie children’s home and Nungua orphanage.

The Foundation has provided Christmas hampers with food items, clothing and other accessories to widows and single mothers in the Danfa community of the La-Nkwantanang Municipal District, Accra; constructed a borehole for a village called Koluedor, of about 500 inhabitants in Ada, near Sege.

Smile On Faces Foundation has also done similar donations and Entrepreneurial Skills Training such as Bead Making, Mushroom Farming, Fascinators and Liquid Soap Making among others to empower the youth of Tsokomey in Bortianor in the year 2020; and Dedeiman, a suburb of Pokuase in the year 2021.

I was privileged to be part of ChristmasFest-2022, which took place on December 17, 2022. The projects that were undertaken this year are the rehabilitation of a borehole project for the village of Nkumkrom on the Aburi-Nsawam road, Skills Training, party for the kids and food distribution activities for the aged, widowed and single mothers; and refurbishment of the library for Dumpong MA Basic School.

The Village of Dumpong is only about 2 km from Nkumkrom on the Aburi-Nsawam road. As a foundation made up of 12 friends, their major source of funding comes from their personal contributions, donations from family and friends; and sometimes from a few companies.



As the brainchild of the founder Mrs. Vivian Ankrah, the mission of the foundation is to replicate the love of Christ to some of our rural dwellers in the remote parts of the country.

The first item for the day was the commissioning and handing over of a rehabilitated Borehole and the provision of a Storage Water Tank with a capacity of 5000 litres. The people of Nkumkrom were happy to receive this because their only source of water is the River Nsakyie, which dries up during the dry season, making water a scarce commodity in the community.

The second item on the agenda was the distribution of 50 hampers containing provisions to widows and single mothers. Also going on concurrently was the Skills Training, which is a means of equipping the youth with skills to enable them to become self-employed. This will reduce unemployment among the youth in the area.

Whilst the Skills Training was ongoing, members and volunteers of the Foundation embarked on door-to-door evangelism to share the good news of salvation with the people of Nkumkrom. To them, telling others about the love of God, which He demonstrated in the death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ, was their prime focus.

The people also received used clothes and shoes as part of the donations. The elderly were also given a special treat of body massages.



The final item on the agenda was the commissioning of the refurbished library of the Dumpong MA Basic School. Previously, the library had only classroom desks and a few books, which were inadequate. The refurbished library is now equipped with bookshelves, tables, chairs, and a stockpile of book donations from EPP Books and Services and individuals. I was pleased to see two copies of my book Darkest Humanity on the shelves in the library.

With their motto "Sharing Christ, Touching Lives," Smile on Faces Foundation has touched and continues to touch the lives of the underprivileged in deprived areas of Ghana. For the people of Nkumkrom and Dumpong, Christmas 2022 will be one to remember for years to come.

Being my first time volunteering with the Smile On Faces Foundation, I was so excited to be part of this noble initiative. The foundation would be pleased to call on benevolent individuals and corporate organizations to donate books for the new library.

The Foundation would also be pleased to receive cash and kind donations from corporate Ghana towards its charitable projects in these deprived communities. For most of these deprived communities, the wait for government to provide some of these urgently needed amenities would take forever. With an ever-increasing population, Government is overburdened, therefore unable to do it alone.

The Foundation would like to extend its appreciation to EPP BOOKS and SERVICES for their support towards this year's Library Project at Dumpong. Finally, the Foundation would like to take this opportunity to wish all a Merry Christmas.