Medical Clinic Donation Introduces Ghanaian Community to the Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now well-known in the tiny community of Abuenu in the Central District of Ghana. Although there are currently no missionaries serving there and no congregations meeting in the village, there is now a newly donated medical facility constructed by The Church and handed over to the community in a ceremony held on 7 August, 2025.

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Prior to the construction of this medical clinic, The Church was as unknown to the community as was quality health care. The only access to medical care for this community of 1500 people had been at a dilapidated house that lacked water and sanitary facilities, and the owner of the house was taking it back, leaving the community with no medical facility.

To address the problem, Chief Nana Apotei Dekyem, Chief of Abuenu, donated land for the construction of a clinic.  The village planning committee, along with many members of the community, cleared the land of the thick vegetation and then went to the government to request help in building a small clinic on the cleared land.  When the government was unable to provide the requested help, The Church offered to not only do the construction, but to furnish the facility with medical supplies and equipment. Once the project was approved and agreed upon, it was completed in six months.

The handover ceremony of the completed facility was well attended by community members, local and government dignitaries, and Church representatives, including President Ebenezer Quansah, President of the Assin Foso Ghana South Stake of The Church, who presided at the event. Also attending were Elder Creg and Sister Sondra Ostler, the senior humanitarian missionaries who helped move the project along, President Kojo Tachi-Menson, President of the Ghana Cape Coast Mission, and about a dozen young elders from his mission whom he brought with him to show support for the village and the celebration.

The ceremony began with opening prayers from Christian, Muslim, and Traditional representatives of this mixed community, and the ensuing program featured the customary speeches and cultural performances of song, dance, and poetry readings. During the program, speakers from the community thanked The Church with shouts of "Halelluiah," "Praise the Lord," and "Amen" interspersed throughout their remarks. While acknowledging the Church as the instrument of their good fortune, they commented that the Church was ultimately functioning as the hand of God.  A representative of the village council told the audience that in a meeting where community leaders were addressing their options for getting help to build a facility, an assembly member entered the room and said “God has heard our prayer,” referring to The Church’s decision to take the project.  The speaker then exclaimed to the audience, “Father, we thank you once again. We just want to praise your name and bless your name on earth.”

In his comments to the audience, President Quansah told the audience: “As a church, we are committed to being, and believe we are, good people that do good. We are committed to our faith. We are committed to our community. We are committed to our church. We are committed to our children.” He then enumerated core values of The Church: “The first one is we live the commandments of God. The second one is we help those in need. The third one is we invite all to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fourth one is we unite families to live for eternity.”

Perhaps most significantly, at the conclusion of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, 34 copies of the Book of Mormon were presented to Chief Dekyem and his eager entourage—25 copies in their native language (Fante) and 9 in English. During the construction process, the community leaders had been greatly impressed by The Church’s willingness to aid their community and recognized that they were working with an organization that followed the Savior’s example.  They therefore made, over the course of the project, multiple requests of the Ostlers, who were overseeing the project, that they provide more information about The Church, and that The Church establish a congregation in Abuenu.

So to address those requests, the Ostlers brought the copies of the Book of Mormon with them to give to the leaders who excitedly received them. The village leaders then again made requests for missionaries and for the establishment of a congregation in the community, at which point they were introduced to President Tachi-Menson, the mission president.  He was delighted with their requests and told the Chief that in order for those things to happen, the village would need to provide a place for the missionaries to live as well as a place to hold services. The chief promised that he would work it out.

While the donation of a new medical facility was a significant step in addressing the temporal needs of the small community, it may prove to be an even bigger step in their spiritual development as it may end up bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the residents of Abuenu, Ghana.