A donation by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Dabala Community Health Centre in the Volta region of Ghana has given local residents a place to receive quality healthcare, especially maternity, ante-natal, and post-natal care. At a ceremony conducted on January 10, 2025, members of the clinic gratefully accepted and celebrated the donation that will benefit more than 450 patients every month. Included in the donation were maternity delivery beds, an ultrasound scanner, a blood chemistry analysis machine, a vaccine refrigerator, autoclaves, computers, drip stands, and more.
The small Dabala medical clinic, which services over 12,000 residents and boarding school students, had been struggling to keep up with a growing community because of its meager and outdated equipment. Patients with malaria, bronchitis, diabetes and other common ailments, along with women expecting or having recently delivered babies, frequently had to travel to neighboring communities to get the treatment they needed. Recognizing the need to bolster the clinic, a local couple, Mr. and Mrs. Tsikpor, approached Brother Bismark Hottorwodze, a clinic staff member and member of the Church, asking for his help in putting together a proposal for the Church’s assistance. This resulted in a donation that has provided the health center with equipment that not only resolves many of those problems for the local residents, but will now bring patients from neighboring communities to take advantage of the new equipment.
This is not the first time the Church has come to the aid of the small community. In October of 2023, more than 31,000 residents of the Volta region were forced to evacuate their homes when flood waters from the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams destroyed farms, homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals. The Church contributed substantially to the relief efforts at that time, so with this new donation, community members reflected gratefully on the Church’s ongoing commitment in now providing additional aid to the area despite the fact that the Church has no chapel, no local priesthood leadership, and no formal presence there.
- Mr.-and-Mrs.-Tsikpor,-who-identified-the-need-and-requested-The-Chruch's-assistance,-attend-the-hand-over-ceremony-on-10-January,-2025.
- Bismark-Hottorwodze,-member-of-the-clinic-staff-and-member-of-The-Church,-inspects-equipment-prior-to-the-hand-over-ceremony-on-10-January,-2025.
- The-Honorable-Kwabla-Woyome,-a-member-of-Ghanas-Parliament,-tours-the-clinic-to-see-the-donanted-equipment-on-10-January,-2024
- Visiting-priesthood-leaders-listen-as-staff-give-thanks-for-the-donation-on-10-January,-2025.
- Community-leaders-tour-the-clinic-after-the-handover-on-10-January,-2025.
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Visiting priesthood leaders at the donation ceremony explained to those who attended that the Church is committed to following the Savior’s example of attending to the needs of the poor and afflicted. An explanation of fast offering donations from people around the world, including from fellow Ghanaians in congregations around the country, impressed the staff and local tribal leaders.
The Honorable Wisdom Kobena Woyome, a member of Ghana’s Parliament who addressed attendees as part of the ceremony, said that they were praying for help in getting needed equipment:
“We were just hopeful and operating on faith that one day God would smile beautifully on us, and I think this is the day. The Church has been so friendly to this municipality. You were really there for us when we had the unfortunate Akosombo spillage that took place. With this also happening now, it appears our relationship is forever, and so we thank you very very much.”
After thanking the Church for its temporal contribution, he focused on its equally significant spiritual contribution: “The Church has shown the way. The Church has demonstrated that we need to love each other. We should all try — endeavor — to emulate this. We should not only be receiving; we should also be contributing to what happens elsewhere.”
He concluded his remarks with this: “Very soon I may think of joining the Church in Tema [a nearby community] because of your work. I think you are just living the days of the New Testament, caring for one another.”
The ceremony concluded with a closing prayer, after which everyone was invited to tour the clinic to see the new equipment in the health centre.