Light the World Food Donations Bless Residents of Humble Community

Most of the residents of the small community of Asaam, which is part of the greater Mampong community in Ghana’s Ashanti region, don’t really know anything about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or its Light the World campaign.  But on 14 December, 2024, 40 needy residents of Asaam were introduced to both as they received much needed and appreciated food donations.

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There are no Giving Machines in West Africa, and there is not even a branch of the Church in Asaam, but leaders of the local coordinating council and of the Mampong Ward, of which Asaam is part, sponsored a Light the World food drive for those who needed help in the humble community of Asaam.  At that event, Bishop Kwwame Asare-Bediako of the Mampong ward in the Ejisu Stake, presided over the distribution of the food.  About half of those identified for receiving the donations were able to attend the event to receive their bags of food.  However, several of those who were identified were too feeble to attend, so the bishop, along with other helpers, went to their individual homes to deliver the food.  

Commenting on the experience, Edmund Kuame Osei, of the Kumasi Coordinating Council, noted that “the visits made to the humble homes of these invalid people were a great spiritual experience for all of us in the group.”  He noted that one blind man, after receiving his package of food, said a prayer of thanksgiving right before them, praising The Church. One of the women who received the donation rejoiced saying, " I have kept sleepless nights thinking about what special meal I can afford to make for my children during the Christmas period.  Now I can sleep without worry." And an elderly lady whom they visited and to whom they handed a package of food broke out in tears and said, while sobbing,  “I now know Jesus Christ loves me and thinks about me in my corner."

While there is no branch of The Church in Asaam itself, there are a few members who live there. Some of the donation recipients were among the mothers of children who are becoming acquainted with the Church through member efforts.  There are about 30 children, between the ages of 8 and 14, who gather in the house of one of the faithful members there to have gospel literacy classes almost every evening. None of those children are members of the Church.

Asaam is primarily a rural and agricultural community involved in farming activities such as cocoa cultivation, plantain farming, and other food crops.