GFC Expands to Denver: Thanks to Molly

Three years ago when I was in Ghana, I very briefly met another volunteer who was just finishing up a month-long stay at the orphanage. She was a young, beautiful, energetic young woman from Denver, and her name was Molly. After she flew back to the U.S., the children talked on and on about how GREAT she was, and I saw some of the initiatives she had started. I was so impressed that someone so young could have made such a positive impact in this chaotic place, and I made a point of reaching out to her upon my return to the U.S. Since then, Molly and I have been joined by our shared love and devotion to the kids at the Good Shepherd. We have talked a lot about our hopes and dreams for the orphanage, and she has helped with many of our projects when she has returned to Ghana in subsequent trips.

So I am THRILLED to announce that Molly has decided to start up a “satellite” of the Ghana Children’s Fund in Denver, where she will organize fundraising events of her own to support our many efforts at the Good Shepherd. Molly is deeply entrenched in a church community in Colorado that has inspired and supported her in this endeavor, and I’m so touched that she shares my dreams for “our kids” in Ghana.

From Molly:

I once came across a quote that read, “one cannot simply unsee what they have already have seen, nor unfeel what has already been felt. Both of which will weigh heavy until one decides to act”. After arriving back to Denver from my first trip to Good Shepherd Orphanage, these words could not have held a deeper truth. During the shortest/longest month of my life (a sensation that can only be experienced in Africa), I discovered a love I didn't know existed for 45 precious, ornery children living half a world away. And as I began to enter back into daily Denver life, I found myself plagued with the knowledge that my time at GSO could not just be a great adventure or a check off the ole bucket list. I also knew there was absolutely NO way I was going to get through a single day without the images of the orphanage out of my head or heart.

I had to do something…… but WHAT? This was the million dollar question. I would be lying if I said the Colorado Hippy side of me didn't contemplate selling everything I owned just to move back to the orphanage. Yet I also knew that each one of those precious kiddos were worth being fought, loved and provided for, the same way I had been growing up. To do that meant being willing to do everything in my power here to better aid them over there. Then I remembered something…..

On the last day of my first trip I had the opportunity to meet Lisa Tuttle and other volunteers from Ghana’s Children Fund at GSO. All of the work and everything this organization was/is doing encompassed all that I so desired to do and be a part of. So, I made the awkward first phone call and the rest is history. I am truly honored to have the opportunity to partner with and launch a branch of GCF here and Denver. And words cannot express how truly excited I am to continue taking steps towards providing, loving and cultivating lasting change in the lives of some of the most precious Ghanaian children.

photo credit: Kristin Mae Photography