VOLTA, Ghana — Under the supervision of Elder Verl Walker and Sister Erna Walker, former Ghana Country Directors for Humanitarian Services, 471 boreholes [a village well for potable water] have been refurbished or are new in Ghana since October 2003.

Photo by Michael Kirkpatrick

Elder Verl Walker and Sister Erna Walker stand with Ghanians to discuss borehole, or well.

Photo by Sister Donna Whisenant

Elder H. Ross Workman, left, stands with tribal leaders at presentation of a borehole, which was representative of the 150 completed by the Church. More than 200 additional boreholes in the Volta region will be refurbished next.

The Walkers, who completed their mission last month, identified 204 additional boreholes in the Volta region that will be refurbished in the next phase. In addition, the Walkers were instrumental in placing books, wheelchairs, sewing machines, clothing, medical supplies and emergency seed fertilizer assistance to farmers.

Sister Walker's medical skills as a registered nurse enabled them to be of great value in setting up and serving in eye clinics, NGO medical clinics, and neonatal resuscitation training. Sister Walker also assisted medically at the missionary training center in Accra. A choice experience for the Walkers was watching wheelchair recipients singing praises to God as they discovered they could be mobile on their own for the first time.

In the Volta Region where boreholes were recently refurbished, tribal Chief Torghe Asede XIV, Asogli State Council, and 14 other chiefs in the Volta region met with representatives of the Church at the Ho Regional Hospital in a ceremony to receive items given through LDS Charities.

Elder H. Ross Workman of the Seventy and a counselor in the Africa West Area presidency presented 150 recently refurbished boreholes to the people of the Volta Region. In addition 288 boxes of medical supplies were given to the Volta Regional Hospital, Poly Clinic, and Volta District Hospital. In explaining the Church humanitarian services, Elder Workman said, "Our purpose is to testify of Jesus Christ."

In conducting the meeting, branch President Ralph Ovornyo remarked: "When ye are in the service of your fellowman, ye are only in the service of your God. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ around the world join in offering their surpluses to us here in Ghana."

Torgbe Asede XIV, speaking for all the chiefs in attendance, expressed deep gratitude to LDS Charities for the generous donation. "We are united in this region in desire to bring progress and development in business, agriculture, education, water and health. We want to do as much as we can by ourselves, and without good health we cannot fulfill all the other goals."

The chief expressed a desire to learn from the Church how to get more community members in his region interested in cooperating and building the area by service. "Our people must understand there is a lot of joy in giving."

Albert Asiedum Ofie, regional health services administrator, and Mauritor Goh, district chief executive of Ho Municipal Assembly, both expressed sincere and enthusiastic gratitude for this large contribution to the health of the entire region. Chief Executive Goh said, " We are glad to be working with the Church on these projects because they always do what they say they will do. We are willing to do our part to make your projects workable."

The group then retired to the regional police station for a short presentation of a borehole, which was representative of the 150 completed.