United Hearts Children’s Center
In rural Ghana, quality education and care for children in need can be difficult to access. United Hearts serves as a safehaven for all children in the community, providing food, shelter, an education, opportunity — and most importantly, a sense of possibility for themselves.
CHILDREN/YOUTH
EDUCATION
FOOD SECURITY
JOBS & JOB TRAINING
6 PROJECTS
1204 SERVED DIRECTLY
A message from Bernard Boateng (Nana Bee), Director
“I was born in the Ashanti Region in a town called Hwediem. From when I was a boy I was passionate about caring for children and families in need. After becoming a pastor, I felt called to travel to Bawjiase. Once I arrived, I saw children and families struggling with lack of access to education, healthcare and employment. I saw how the community was unable to take care of so many young children, and I could not turn away when I saw a child on the street. In 2007 I turned my home into an orphanage. We grew out of my small home and now we have a big children’s center where we are able to provide at-risk children in the community with good education, security and healthcare. Our beautiful United Hearts Family grows bigger every year!”
About
Founded in 2007, UHCC envisions creating a future of educated and self-sufficient adults, committed to the future development of Bawjiase. This is achieved through projects in the areas of health, education, food security, and shelter. For the past 9 years, UHCC has provided stable and supportive housing, food, and care for over 30 local children; they also provide quality education to the hundreds of local children who would otherwise go without. There are currently 263 children being cared for at the Children’s Center and 13 incredible teachers on staff. UHCC is dedicated to providing children with quality resources so they may become leaders, positive role models, and contribute to the continued prosperity of the next generation. Learn more.
3-Year Goals
Construction on the School to Expand Capacity
The United Hearts School currently has 263 students enrolled in nursery through grade four. They began building the school in June 2013. Today, it is a two-story building with four classrooms and two offices located on the first floor. We are fundraising to expand the school and finish the second floor. When complete, it will educate over 500 students.
Sustainability Projects
We are building to our 3-year goals through a combination of income-generating projects. Here's what we're developing right now.
Sustainable Farm
UHCC has a number of farming projects that feed the Children’s Center and school and provide income to support their growth. They are 100% sustainable, meaning they do not rely on sources of income outside of their community to keep their projects running. United Hearts owns more than five acres of land where they grow vegetables such as carrots, green peppers, cabbage, maize, cassava, and yams. An additional farm includes three acres of palm trees that harvest palm nuts, plantains, corn and mushrooms. The mushroom crop is their most lucrative and they make deliveries to the capital city of Accra up to 3 or 4 times in a week.
Community Bus
The United Hearts School Bus was purchased in 2015 and is responsible for collecting more than 100 children daily, and making sure they can access schooling in a safe and reliable manner. It also acts as a public bus, going to Accra and neighboring towns, as well as private hire.