World Vision Support Lifts My Burdens, Set Me for Progress - Doonjine

“World Vision Ghana’s support has lifted my burdens and set me on the path to progress,” said Doonjine, a farmer who once struggled to make ends meet. The 55-year-old farmer lives in Bulingin, a farming community situated in the Wa West District, nestled in lush green surroundings about 20 kilometres from Wa, the regional capital of the Upper West.

World Vision Ghana's interventions, such as introducing Savings for Transformation and registering and supporting vulnerable children, including those in Doonjine's household, have gradually transformed a formerly struggling household into a thriving one.

He is now a proud patriarch who can provide for his large family of 32 members, including his nine biological children, four wives and 18 adopted children. After the passing of his five brothers, each of the adopted children needed a guiding hand.

However, as temperatures rise and rainfall becomes erratic, growing food for year-round household consumption is challenging. “We have not had a drop of rain in the last three weeks. As a result, crops are wilting and hunger and starvation are looming large. Over the years, we have witnessed reduced yields and suffered food insecurity and poverty,” he said.

In a changing climate, large families leave farmers like Doonjine struggling to make ends meet. Reduced farm yields mean less income and less food, leading to poverty, hunger, starvation and malnutrition. These factors heighten Doonjine's fears.

In those uncertain times, World Vision Ghana arrived like a ray of hope, breaking through the clouds. With open arms and hearts brimming with compassion, World Vision Ghana supported families like the Doonjines, offering help where it was needed most.

The organisation brought a wealth of aid: free school uniforms, bags, pens and exercise books for the children; the Savings for Transformation (S4T) concept, which was magically transforming incomes, improving access to them and opening up opportunities for expansion; gardening to encourage year-round vegetable farming; and training to impart new knowledge and behaviours for transformation.

For Doonjine, this support was like a breath of fresh air, lifting a significant weight off his shoulders. 'This support has reduced my financial burden and set my children up for a better future,' he declared, tears of gratitude in his eyes.

The savings knowledge also transformed his sources of income and improved his access to finance, even in an emergency. He later abandoned charcoal production to prevent deforestation and its consequences, and instead ventured into animal rearing. “I took out a loan to buy a female goat, and now I have a thriving flock,” he said.

Over time, Doonjine's household, which had once struggled, began to flourish. The animals he reared multiplied, and he reinvested the earnings in his farm by purchasing quality seeds and other supplies, as well as using animal droppings as manure. “Now, I am able to feed my family and provide for them financially,” he beamed proudly.

With this newfound hope, Doonjine realised that his household was not just surviving, but thriving. His children no longer stayed home due to a lack of learning materials or school fees. They regularly attended school, carrying their World Vision-branded schoolbags with pride and ready to embrace their education and chase their dreams.

“Children in my household only stay at home when they are unwell,” he would tell others, chest puffed out and head held high. “It's not because they lack learning materials. World Vision has provided enough of those.”

What was once a burdened household has become a beacon of hope for the community. Doonjine became an advocate for responsible environmental practices, spreading the values of sustainability, savings and child education.

With each passing day, Doonjine's dream grew bigger and did not fade. He hoped to expand his farm to increase yields and ensure sustainable food and income security for his household.

In the Bulingin community, where despair once loomed large, Mpaanna Doonjine's story became one of resilience and strength. He had transformed from a farmer carrying burdens into a symbol of hope, demonstrating that with the right support, knowledge and determination, dreams could blossom even in the driest of soils.

As the sun set each evening over Bulingin's green landscape, Doonjine and his family looked forward to a new day filled with promise and possibility, knowing that World Vision had empowered them to shape their own destiny.