Welcome to Hardthaven Children's Home

Over the next few weeks, I will share some of the stories and memories of my month in Ghana. Many of you gave very generous donations so that I could use those monies to help some of the children in Ghana.

Prior to going to Ghana, I found out about Hardthaven Children's Home. This children's home was established about a year ago. It was the idea of Joy Hardt and Edem Adjordor. They received a grant from the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and are continuing to grow and help the children though donations and assistance from volunteers. Here is a video giving you a little info about Hardthaven.


A volunteer made a video tour of the home that I wanted to share with you instead of showing you a bunch of pictures. The video is about six minutes but gives you a good feel for the home and you can see and hear some of the children...


I contacted Edem prior to going to Ghana to let him know that I wanted to come and meet the children in his home and to make a donation. He was very grateful and enthusiastic in his emails. He was in Accra the day after I arrived in Ghana and he went out of his way come to the guesthouse that Molly and I were at to meet with us. In this meeting, he was so excited to share the story of Hardthaven and how he came to help those orphaned by AIDS.

I found him to be inspiring. Here he is- a young man with a passion for helping children affected by AIDS. You can tell by meeting him that he is a man who when he needs something, figures out how to make it happen and does just that. So many of us have ideas on what we would do to help others but how many actually go out and make those dreams a reality no matter how difficult that may be?

Here is Edem, me and Percy...


Percy and I headed out to Hardthaven on a Saturday at 6am. We were to head north into the Volta Region to go to Kpando. He figured our drive would be about four hours. If you remember from an earlier post, after several experiences with bad cars, I insisted that a car be rented and gave money ahead of time and plenty of notice to make it happen. I requested a monster truck in a half joking manner. Instead Percy showed up in his own car which is fine in the city but has trouble on bush roads (bush roads are the roads that are unpaved and a nightmare on the suspension- but if navigated in a good car, can save the occupants much time compared to the trafficy main roads). I now know that no matter how hard I tried, I was not meant to travel anywhere in a car that screamed, "Don't worry, I am going to make it there!"LOL

I am certain that the spirit of my grandmother and her brother Father Fran (my great uncle who was a priest in Ghana for over 53 years) were with me on this morning though. Our drive was wonderful! Except for a stretch with potholes, the drive was on almost pleasant, paved roads, the weather was fabulously overcast and the scenery was beautiful. Percy's car, a Mercedez from the 70's or so, made it there like a champ!

On the first part of the drive into Tema (which is home to the last church Father Fran was at) you drive along side the ocean. I drove on this road several times and always enjoyed it...


About an hour or two into the drive you are able to see Lake Volta. It is beautiful as is the surrounding lush vegetation and mountains.


This part of the drive (minus the big pot hole and random people on the side of the road that insisted on sharing the road despite the lack of room) reminded me of a road that TR and I drove down in Kauai (Hawaii).


Finally in Kpando..


In talking to Edem, he requested I donate some rice and cooking oil and if possible that I give a monetary donation to help out with some of their needs. While I usually prefer to give items compared to monies, I felt that because this home helps those with HIV, they deal with unexpected medical costs and that a monetary donation in addition to donating some other items would be best. I brought soccer balls, a scooter, school supplies and some other odds and ends I had picked up in the week prior. Along with the soccer balls, the scooter definitely caused the most excitement.


Edem had also shared the the children go to a Catholic Church and so I brought rosaries for each of the children. These rosaries were purchased by my sister in honor of my grandmother that passed away two weeks before I left for Africa. The children wanted their pictures taken with their new rosaries...


So what does one experience when going into a home for those affected by HIV/AIDS? Could I tell at a glance which children were HIV positive? Did I see sad faces of those who have lost their parents to AIDS? Not at all, I was greeted by enthusiastic children that were eager to welcome me and to unload their new goods. I was given a grand tour of the home and was able to spend a few hours meeting these beautiful children and learning about the home from a few of the volunteers that were there.

First of all, I want to emphasize that not all of the children are HIV positive and according to the volunteers, the children don't know for sure themselves who is positive. There is such a stigma in Africa for those affected by AIDS that they work to keep it confidential. What I did learn though is that this children's home is fun and often time neighbor children will stop in to play with the kids in the courtyard. It is obvious that they are cautious though as Edem explained later that while I brought a scooter, the kids will not be able to ride it as they wish, they will have to make sure an adult is present when the scooter is out.

Since it was a Saturday, the older children were doing their wash and helping the younger children out.


They spent time playing soccer and riding their new scooter.


This young lady looked at, worked on and admired an old but obviously cheerished bicycle.


One of the children went to town to get his hair cut


And anyone and everyone would pose for a picture when given the opportunity- or take a picture of you as you take a picture of them- or just play with the camera because it is so fun!




I am so glad that I made the trip to Hardthaven. I was impressed by the way the home is run and by the director Edem. He took the time to call me later that evening to share that some of the monetary donation had already been used that day to buy beans to help a family in town. Now when I say beans, I don't mean a can of beans but instead a large bag of beans that runs in the neighborhood of $130. Not only does Hardthaven help those in the home but they also help support some members of the community affected by AIDS. He wanted me to know that the donation was appreciated and was being put to good use immediately and that he already had plans to purchase some things for the house with the rest of the donation.

I also saw first hand on this day how children can live and thrive even though they are HIV positive given medical treatment, proper care and love. What is unfortunate is that so many people in Africa don't get the care they need and so they die. They die, when they could so easily live. Some of the children you see in this post and on the Hardthaven Website and the Hardthaven MySpace Page are the "lucky" ones whose HIV condition is being monitored and cared for. Why should they have to be "lucky"?

It is so frustrating to know that there are so many more people out there that don't get the care they need. Parents shouldn't die of AIDS and leave their children orphans when there are drugs that can make this condition manageable and children shouldn't have to suffer and die because there is no help for them. Africa is not a world away, it is a plane ride away. The children that are orphaned or that have HIV in Africa are not unknown, faceless children. Here they are








These children are God's children too. Now that I have had this experience and have seen first hand how much these children can be helped, I know that I will now support more organizations that provide medicines and care to those that are HIV positive. I would love to see assistance being given to the thousands of other children affected by AIDS that are not at Hardthaven. All of the children I have met in Ghana have such beautiful hearts and souls- they deserve the right to live- doesn't everyone?

As I have spoken to people about my experience at Hardthaven, many people asked if children that are HIV positive can be adopted by families in the United States. The answer is "YES". My adoption agency, Adoption Advocates International, is already helping families adopt children that are HIV positive in Ethiopia. Our agency has an adoption coordinator, Erin Henderson who helps families adopt children that are HIV positive. To pass on some information about HIV that has been shared by a parent of a HIV positive child...

- HIV can NOT be spread through causal/household contact.

HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other causal way.

It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles).

- HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives.

- People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do.

If anyone wants more info on transmission, there is great info on the Center for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/transmission.htm

I would recommend to any families going to Ghana, that they consider taking the time to visit Hardthaven Children's Home to meet the children and leave a donation. There are many things that the home can use to help care for the children. Again, I want to thank my family and friends for allowing me to make a donation to Hardthaven from all of us.

Jennine