Bishop Waddell Visits Donated Facilities at Ghana University Hosiptal

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, along with his wife Carol, visited the University of Ghana Hospital on 18 February, 2025 to inspect the recently renovated maternity block of the hospital.  Bishop Waddell had come to the Africa West Area with Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Michael T. Ringwood to minister to the missionaries, saints, and leaders in the area.

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The University of Ghana Hospital, located in the greater Accra region of Ghana, had benefitted in November 2024 from a Church donation that facilitated the renovation and refurbishment of their OBGYN services and facilities, including the creation of a maternity operating theatre.  The donation has served to bless the lives of many women and infants in the short time of its operation.

To the group of hospital staff and administrators who had gathered to greet Bishop Waddell, he began his comments by expressing his appreciation to them for making it possible for the Church to serve.  He then explained his responsibility as a member of the Presiding Bishopric, and his reason for coming and inspecting the facility: “As a Presiding Bishopric, one of our responsibilities is not ecclesiastical, though we do have ecclesiastical responsibilities. It is for the temporal affairs of the Church; that means all of Church finances, all of Church construction, all of those kinds of things that are not ecclesiastical.”

He explained that the Church, as a Christian church, follows the teachings of the Savior, and in particular, the commandments to love God and to love our neighbours. After acknowledging that all mankind are our neighbours, he spoke about the Welfare and Self Reliance groups and their efforts within the church: “One of their roles is to look at their budget, to look and see where we can bless lives, regardless of religious denomination, regardless of the country where they come from, regardless of their language, regardless of anything. Because our belief, our sincere belief, is that we are all children of God.”

Bishop Waddell went on to thank the staff and hospital for their efforts and “for allowing us to serve our brothers and sisters.  We’re so grateful.”

For their part, the hospital staff expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the Church’s efforts in improving care and quality of service for the mothers and infants served by their staff and facilities.  They expressed their hope and desire that the recent collaboration between the two institutions wasn’t “the end of the road.”  After the concluding remarks, Mrs. Annie Ayesu, the hospital administrator, presented Bishop and Sister Waddell with a gift as a token of the hospital’s gratitude.