Cobourg Daily Star Article, June 2, 2006

This article was submitted and appeared in the Cobourg Daily Star today!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ghana mission team nearly ready to fly!

The Northumberland Youth For Christ mission team is almost ready for their month of service in Ghana, West Africa. Training and preparing since November 2005, and now with barely a month to go, the 17 member team has raised approximately 90% of their financial goal. “We have enough money to go. Our tickets are purchased, and we will be able to accomplish most of what we have been asked to do. We only need approximately $6000 more to achieve our full budget which will allow us to fulfill all the tasks we have been asked to consider” says Daryl Stogryn, Executive Director Northumberland Youth For Christ.

This mission is a follow up to the very successful project of 2000 when a 15 member team from Northumberland served in the same location for a month. “The 2000 mission team put our projects ahead 5 years, and we are expecting the same from the 2006 mission team” said Joseph Aryee, Director of Youth For Christ/West Africa in a recent phone call to his office in Ghana.

The 2006 teams primary task will be to lay 4000 cement blocks in the construction of a meeting/dining hall for the Youth For Christ West Africa Leadership Training Centre. This will involve mixing roughly 6 tons of concrete and mortar, entirely by hand! Upon the Centre’s completion, young people from the six countries of English-speaking West Africa will have the opportunity to learn about effective grassroots leadership, then take their skills back to their home villages. This team has some unique skill-sets, which will allow them to serve in very specialized ways. This includes an IT Specialist, DONA certified birth doula, social worker, early childhood educator, and instructional therapist. These skills mean the team will be helping to make a computer lab at the centre user-ready, providing prenatal and childbirth education to local women, providing education opportunities for local children, and be involved with direct poverty relief efforts in partnership with the local YFC mission.

“The work we are doing alongside the local Youth For Christ staff and volunteers in Ghana is only possible as a result of financial help from people outside the country of Ghana. Financial resources are extremely limited there, so part of what we do is create long-term partnerships between people in the two countries. The various efforts we will be involved in will make a long-term difference in the lives of young people and their families from all across English-speaking West Africa. Our presence in the village of Kokrobite also provides meaningful employment for a number of persons who otherwise would be without paid work. Some of these people will continue to work long after our departure.

In his recent visit to Cobourg, Steven Lewis was very complementary to Northumberland Youth For Christ for their “heart for the people of Africa”. Most recently, Canadian Tire Cobourg and Mill Valley Trophies have offered corporate support to move this project closer to its goal. “We are very grateful for the private individuals, churches, and businesses from across Northumberland County, who have offered their support to this mission. This will not only allow for a positive impact on the people of West Africa but will also be a lifechanging experience for the team members who range in age from 9 (child of an adult volunteer) up to 40+”. Under the leadership of Executive Director Daryl Stogryn, his wife Hope Stogryn, and Sarah Stanford, missionary staff with Youth For Christ, this team consists entirely of volunteers (both adult and students) who are currently involved with Northumberland Youth For Christ, and wanted to offer their skills and abilities in this BIG way.

For people who might be interested in supporting this mission, financial contributions can be made at the Youth For Christ office on Division Street, Cobourg on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, or by mail, or at www.nyfc.org. There are some special materials which we still require such as over-the-counter medications which are not reliably available in Ghana. These first-aid and health supplies are invaluable in ensuring the safety and well-being of the team members. Any surplus first-aid-type supplies will be left with a local mobile medical clinic affiliated with our contacts in Ghana. For further information, or to provide support, please contact Daryl or Sarah at (905) 373 4707 or by e-mail.