CALL him the father of the needy, the disadvantaged, people with no hope of making a living and even those languishing in prison and you will not be mistaken.
For a period of almost 20 years, Pastor Kwabena Ankamah of the Apostolic Church of Ghana with the support of his wife, Agnes has given material and financial support to such unfortunate persons in the Eastern Region.
Such a benevolence has helped transform the social and spiritual life of the beneficiaries, especially prisoners some of whom he managed to be freed through legal aid offered them.
The beneficiaries are the inmates of the Koforidua and Akuse Prisons, the School for the Deaf at Mampong-Akuapem and needy persons within and outside the Apostolic Church of Ghana, especially widows and orphans.
Some of the items Pastor Ankamah recently presented to the Mampong School for the Deaf included 100 tubers of yams, three cartoons of canned fish, a bag of rice and a poly tank to store water for the students.
He also donated 100 tubers of yams, four cartoons of soap and a bag of rice to the Koforidua Prison’s while the inmates of Akuse Prisons had 100 tubers of yams, four cartons of soap, three cartons of canned fish, a bag of rice and GH¢200 cash for the choir group of the prison.
The prisons have been on the heart of Pastor Ankamah who also leads a team on ministerial visits to the Akuse and Koforidua Prisons where apart from providing material and spiritual needs to the inmates, the pastor with the support of a lawyer, Ivy Vandepujie, also gives legal assistance free-of-charge to prisoners.
As a result of his gesture, 10 of the inmates at the Koforidua and the Akuse Prisons gained their freedom between 2007 and 2009.
In 2009, three of the released prisoners accepted Christ and were baptised before they joined their families.
The Tetteh Quarshie Hospital at Mampong-Akuapem is not also left out as the pastor leads his congregation to visit the health facility on weekly basis to donate money to the hospital and at the same time pray for the sick on admission.
Pastor Ankamah, who is also a lawyer by profession and currently the Aburi District Pastor of the Apostolic Church of Ghana, has developed a passion for every needy person, the disadvantaged or even those who through some circumstances had found their way into the country’s prisons.
Such is the passion of this lawyer/pastor he cannot easily walk away from any unfortunate person whenever he sets eyes on them or hears about their plight without giving cash or any material thing such as clothing to them.
One significant thing about such monetary or material assistance is that it often goes with prayers for spiritual guidance to enable those benefiting from his largesse, specifically prisoners, to accept Christ and change for the better.
“Why should a human being created by God suffer just because that person is poor in such a way that he or she cannot provide the daily needs? It is the responsibility of every person with means, especially Christians to assist our unfortunate brothers and sisters with cash, materials as well as spiritual guidance to face the reality of life which at times is very bitter," he said.
Pastor Ankamah said, “There are many people who need just some few cedis and clothing to survive and I feel so sad when I come into contact with them so my wife and I have to do something for them to also feel that they are human beings.
“I derive my satisfaction when I am able to assist the needy, so all the time I work hard to get extra money and materials for that purpose.”
Pastor Ankamah, who was in the first place an elder of the Dansoman congregation of the Apostolic Church of Ghana and later became a pastor, developed the philanthropic character with a view to reach out to more people.
To accomplish that initiative, he founded the Kwabena Ankamah Foundation comprising himself, his wife, Agnes, Pastors Isaiah Pobi, Asamoah, Budu, one Christian as well as Mr Jude Sarpong.
Since then, he has been regularly visiting the poor, providing them with material needs and strengthening them in prayers.
The benevolence of Pastor Ankamah has impressed other philanthropists, namely Mrs Suzy Lambo and Madam Akua Ofori, who have also come to the rescue by financially supporting his initiatives, especially his visits to the prisons.
Although Pastor Ankamah’s desire to provide the necessary assistance to the poor and needy has made many of such unfortunate persons to overcome their financial, material and spiritual problems, the number of the needy and disadvantaged keeps on increasing each passing day, especially in the churches.
We need more Pastor Ankamahs in the various congregations but not Ananias’ who will not be prepared to share what God has given to them with others.
After all the various religious bodies, especially Christianity is based on equality and being each other’s keeper.
No comments:
Post a Comment