A Day in the Life

Here's a few snapshots of life at the Pearl House ... 

 We like to relax with a movie every once in a while.

We are learning all about God, Math and Reading.

And we love to draw!

A House Full

Life in the northern part of Ghana is brutal. Resources are few and far between. Jobs do not exist. Each day is a struggle to grow enough food for your family to eat with a little left over to sell. Left on its’ own this cycle ends in one of two ways for young Ghanaian women. The first is that the girl is given away in marriage at a young age and starts having babies, thus the cycle starts all over again. The other alternative is that the girls in the family are sent to Accra. They go to the city, sleep on the streets and work during the day. They make enough money to survive each day and send a little back home to their families. Life will turn out this way for each every one of them …. Unless.

Unless something interrupts their story.

Unless something breaks the cycle of poverty.

On July 13^th at 7:28pm, a vanload of 11 girls pulled into the driveway of the Pearl House. Two weeks later, on July 28^th 10 more arrived.

Each girl brings her own story full of heartache and joy, family triumph and shame. They are from different villages and tribes. They speak more dialects than I can count. They all have one thing in common, poverty.  None of them have a father at home, most of their fathers have passed away. Most of the girls have 9 to 12 siblings in their family. The girls would wake up at 4am to work on the farm, go to school and then back to work on the farm until the sun goes down. The evening was filled with more chores and homework. Most have never slept on a mattress before. Only one had electricity before coming here. Most had to go and fetch buckets full of water each day. Their legs are covered in boils. They are underweight and malnourished. This is their story.

Now they wake up each morning on a mattress and wrapped in a sheet. They take a bath in water from the tap. They eat 3 balanced meals a day. They have clean clothes to wear. They are receiving an education, tutoring and emotional support every day. They are experiencing the love of God on a daily basis. They are learning how to be a Ghanaian woman. They are learning how to be a daughter of God.

They have great value in God’s Kingdom.

They are worth a great price.

They are Pearls.