Kofi Ampeah Woode
Ghana Navy’s (GN) Eastern Naval Command (ENC), led by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) – Commodore (Cdre) Maxwell Arhen, who doubles as the Commander, 1 Garrison, have bent over backwards, in current times of harsh global economic constraints, to present gifts to an orphanage.
The Garrison Commander led a team of Officers and Soldiers under his Command on Wednesday, 14 December, 2022, to present undisclosed cash amount and assorted items to the Mama Happy Life Enhancement Foundation (MAHLEF), at Bankuman, Manhean (Tema New Town).
Speaking to the Press after the donation, Cdre Arhen said the non-governmental organization (NGO) was introduced to him by his predecessor – Cdre Emmanuel Ayesu Kwafo upon handing over, after which he deduced that as the economic environment is difficult generally, the MAHLEF orphanage must be feeling the pinch harsher, for which consideration the donation was made to assist the children.
The FOC extended seasonal greetings and well wishes for 2023 to residents of Tema, his Command and all military personnel and their families, in the midst of a challenging 2022.
Mrs Georgina Happy Crentsil (Mama Happy) – Founder of MAHLEF), said the NGO has been in existence for about six years, taking care of teenage pregnant girls by feeding and clothing them, taking care of their medical bills, providing them with vocational skills, knowledge and items that has to do with the periods of their pregnancies.
Mrs Crentsil said some of the impregnated teenagers are able to get back to school while others are set up in businesses, to help them cater for themselves and their babies.
MAHLEF also operates an abuse-prevention program for fifteen (15) adolescent girls, where some go for morning classes and others in the afternoon, and are kept resident at the home, to keep good tabs over them from getting impregnated, and rather are being groomed, trained, counseled, guided in personal hygiene, dressing and being chaste.
The NGO also operates a program that seeks to bridge-the-gap between one hundred and twenty (120) children loitering in the community without education, and their age-mates who are in school, by teaching them some academic basics, and after they have gained the fundamentals in reading and writing, they are engrafted into government schools, providing them with books, school uniforms and bags.
With a study of the poorest areas of the community, MAHLEF has introduced a soccer academy social intervention program (handled by one of the Founder’s sons); which has so far produced 80 young boys and been registered into the Junior League of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), to help deal with child delinquency and truancy behaviors.
MAHLEF is not the regular orphanage but rather endeavours to groom its wards to prevent social vices amongst young ones. There are just a few orphans that sleep at the Home with the adolescent ones but the rest have the Home as their residence during the day instead of roaming around, to be provided with education, caring and protection, Mrs Crentsil said.
The FOC was accompanied to the orphanage by the Commanding Officer, Naval Base, Tema – Commander Michael Cudjo, Officers and Soldiers of the Ghana Armed Forces.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
