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"Celebrating Compassion for Africa's First Nursing School Graduate--Elsie Konlan!"
This August Elsie Konlan will be the first young woman from her home village of Namankwan, Ghana to graduate from nursing school. Elsie is one of twenty-two children in her family--her father had four wives. CFA started supporting Elsie with her schooling in September 2012. She told Pastor Frank Mills in an interview just two days ago:
"Pastor Frank, Joe and Annie Gorman, and all the supporters of CFA, I am very grateful for all your help. Your support has made me a useful lady in my community and in Ghana. With the nursing training, I will be able to serve my people for the rest of my life. Because I have been able to continue in schooling, many girls in my village are now aiming at going on with education instead of being married off at a young age. Many have now realized that higher education is not just for the boys but also, for the girls. I am grateful to be an encouragement to fellow ladies in my village. Once again I say a big thank you to all friends who have helped me become a trained nurse. I will never stop praying for you all."
We rejoice in Elsie's graduation, but also need your help with tuition for the five other medical students CFA is currently supporting. Tuition is $2,000/student and is needed by the end of June.
Three other nursing students are enrolled in the same program as Elsie: Sumprecia, Rita, and Emmanuel. Two others, Lucy and Dinah, are training to be pharmacists. CFA has received $5,000 of the $10,000 needed. Elsie's tuition is paid for. Thank you for your generous and prayerful support with these students' tuition needs. Each of us doing what we can, make a world of difference in Jesus' name.
Click here for a 10 second voice recording of Elsie expressing her gratitude for how you've helped her on the journey to being a nurse among her own people.
The pictures below in the top row show Elsie today and three years ago. The pictures on the bottom row were taken during our 2013 Northwest Nazarene University mission trip.
Here is more of Elsie's background story for the avid readers among you:
Elsie was born and raised in Namankwan, northeastern Ghana, less than 200 yards from the Annie Gorman Medical Clinic. Elsie’s father is one of the tribal leaders who gave the land upon which the Namankwan church, school, and medical clinic are located.
Elsie had dreamed of being a nurse for many years, but kept her dreams in check because she knew that her farming family could not afford such schooling. In spite of her lack of funds, Pastor Frank Mills encouraged her to apply for nursing school. “I encouraged her to fix her eyes on God and pray for His will and provision,” he says. God made a way where there seemed to be no way.
In the quote below, from almost three years ago, Elsie shares her excitement at the thought of attending nursing school:
"If I am able to enroll in the nursing school, I will never stop thanking God and will be the happiest girl in the world. If I attend nursing school in Accra, I will be one of the best trained nurses in NE Ghana. In Accra I will be exposed to sophisticated ways of dealing with health issues. There is currently very little advanced medicine in my home area of Namankwan. If I attend nursing school in Accra, I will learn directly from well-trained doctors and nurses which is usually not the case for those who receive nursing training in the north. The degree I hope to pursue in Accra is called a 'Diploma in Nursing.' This degree will help me act in the place of a doctor when there is no doctor available since there are very few doctors in northern Ghana. I will also learn how to deliver babies and be a midwife which is so important in the north. Too many women die from childbirth there because there is no one to provide pre and post-natal care or practice safe delivery methods."
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Thank you for your prayers and financial support of Compassion for Africa. We seek to be faithful stewards of your gifts and look forward to partnering with you to show the love of God “with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
God bless you and your loved ones with peace and joy,
Joe Gorman
Executive Director, Compassion for Africa
EIN#: 27-4371794
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If you are able to give toward any of our projects, please send a check made payable to Compassion for Africa, 412 West Bayhill Drive, Nampa, ID 83686 and tell us which project you’d like your gift to go toward.
100% of all monies given to “Compassion for Africa” (www.compassionforafrica.org; www.facebook.com/compassionforafrica) go directly to the project for which you designate them. There is no administrative overhead as any travel, transport, printing, postage or other costs associated with “Compassion for Africa” are paid through separate donations. Compassion for Africa is a registered 501(c)(3) with the IRS.
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