About the St. Bakhita Centre for Hope
Our Mission
About Bishop Dennis
Please Help Us
It is estimated that there are more than 1.1 million orphans living in Ghana. The children have lost their parents to sickness, disease or other causes. In many cases, their extended families are unable to provide support to them because of chronic high unemployment. Orphans lead a difficult life, and many are forced to fend for themselve
It is estimated that there are more than 1.1 million orphans living in Ghana. The children have lost their parents to sickness, disease or other causes. In many cases, their extended families are unable to provide support to them because of chronic high unemployment. Orphans lead a difficult life, and many are forced to fend for themselves and their siblings.
Our mission is to raise funds to build and maintain a home for orphaned boys and girls in Kadjebi-Akan, Ghana. The Centre for Hope will welcome vulnerable children who are at risk for exploitation, juvenile delinquency, and abuse, and provide a safe and loving home for them.
Our goals are to:
- Address the children's physical, educational, and emotional needs;
- Offer skill training to explore and develop the hidden talents of the children to build their self-confidence and self-awareness for a productive life;
- Establish vocational measures to empower them to contribute to the development of their communities;
- Provide the opportunity for development of relevant spirituality and religious education in the Catholic faith, so they may understand and experience the love of God and the healing power of God's mercy, and;
- To impart to each child a sense of dignity and individual potential as a child of God.
We are undertaking our fundraising efforts under the supervision of Bishop Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi. Although Bishop Dennis’ diocese is in Central African Republic, he was born in Kadjebi-Akan. In 2022, he celebrated his 25thanniversary as a priest, and 10th anniversary as a bishop. In honor of those milestones, we intend to build the St. Josephine Bakhita Centre for Hope in his hometown.
Please Help Us
About Bishop Dennis
Please Help Us
Your gift will help us reach out to these at-risk children with arms of mercy and compassion, so they may understand that God loves them and they are not alone.
If you would like to donate using Zelle, please send to:
If you would prefer to send a check, please make it out to: St. Bakhita Centre for Hope and mail it
Your gift will help us reach out to these at-risk children with arms of mercy and compassion, so they may understand that God loves them and they are not alone.
If you would like to donate using Zelle, please send to:
If you would prefer to send a check, please make it out to: St. Bakhita Centre for Hope and mail it to:
St. Bakhita Centre for Hope
c/o Clare Noonan OFS, Treasurer
308 Dillingham Way
Hanover, MA 02339
About Bishop Dennis
About Bishop Dennis
About Bishop Dennis
Pope Benedict XVI elected Most Rev. Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, SMA as Bishop of Berberati in the Central African Republic on May 14th, 2012. The bishop was born in Kadjebi-Akan, Ghana on October 9th, 1964 into a family of eleven children. After completing his primary and secondary schooling, he joined the Society of African Missionaries. He
Pope Benedict XVI elected Most Rev. Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, SMA as Bishop of Berberati in the Central African Republic on May 14th, 2012. The bishop was born in Kadjebi-Akan, Ghana on October 9th, 1964 into a family of eleven children. After completing his primary and secondary schooling, he joined the Society of African Missionaries. He studied philosophy at St. Paul’s Seminary, living at the SMA House of Studies in Sowutuom, Ghana. After taking his first Oath of temporary membership, he was assigned to Belemboke, a parish among the pygmies in the Diocese of Berberati for a pastoral year, to prepare him for missionary life.
He was ordained into the priesthood on July 12, 1997. After his ordination, he returned to Berberati and spent more than six years with the Pygmy people. Bishop Dennis oversees the diocese of Berberati, which is half the size of Ireland, covering 45,000 sq kms. The diocese has a population of 450,000 of which 25% are Catholic, and includes 20 parishes served by 33 priests.
Construction of orphanage is almost done!
Updates:
Groundbreaking occurred in spring 2023. Construction continues in accordance with the amount of donations we receive. As of October 1, 2024, the first phase of the project is 90% complete. The next stage is constructing the convent for the sisters who will operate the orphanage. The Centre for Hope is expected to open in 2025 for Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Hope,
Below are photos that show our construction progress we've made.
Contact Us
CONTACT US:
For questions about the project:
Sister Nadege Esperance
email: nadesper76@yahoo.fr
Ghana Business Address
P.O. Box A0667
Abassey Okai, Accra Ghana
United States Business Address
308 Dillingham Way
Hanover, MA 02339
About Saint Bakhita
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around the year 1869 in the city of Olgossa, in the region of Darfur in Sudan. She died on February 8th, 1947 in the city of Vincenz, Italy
Josephine Bakhita is a saint in the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II beatified her on May 17th, 1992 and canonized her on 1 October 1st, 2000. She is the only saint originally from Sudan.
Her uncle was a tribal chief of the Daju people. Because of her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Historians believe that sometime in February 1877, Arab slave traders kidnapped her. She was just a child, but she was forced to walk more than 600 miles to a slave market in the city of El Obeid. For the next 12 years she would be bought, sold and given away over a dozen times. She spent so much time in captivity that she forgot her original name.
Her first owner was a wealthy Arab who gave her to his daughters as a maid. Somehow, she offended the owner’s son, was beaten for the offense, and sold again. One of her owners was a Turkish general who gave her to his wife and mother-in-law who both beat her daily. Josephine wrote that as soon as one wound would heal, they would inflict another.
In 1883, the Turkish general sold her to the Italian Vice Consul, Callisto Legani. He was a much kinder master and never hurt her. When it was time for him to return to Italy, she begged him to take her with him, and, mercifully, he agreed. After they arrived in Italy, the Vice Consul gave her away as a gift to another family where she served as a nanny.
Her new family had to return to Sudan on business, but let her stay in Italy, placing her in the custody of the Canossian Sisters of Charity in Venice. In living with the sisters, she came to learn about God. She had many questions, and the sisters answered them all. The time spent in the convent deeply moved her, and she discerned a call to follow Christ.
Trouble arose when the family returned home from Sudan, and Josephine refused to leave Venice. Her case went to trial, and the court found that slavery had been outlawed in Sudan before Josephine was born, so she could not be lawfully made a slave, and they declared that she was free to go. Her first decision as a free woman was to remain with the Canossian Sisters.
She was baptized on January 9, 1890 and took the name Josephine Margaret Fortunata. (Fortunata is the Latin translation for her Arabic name, Bakhita). She also received her first Holy Communion and Confirmation on the same day. The Archbishop who gave her the sacraments, Giusseppe Sarto, would later become Pope Pius X.
Josephine became a novice with the Canossian Daughters of Charity religious order on December 7, 1893, and took her final vows on December 8, 1896. She was eventually assigned to a convent in Schio, Vicenza. For the next 42 years, she worked as a cook and a doorkeeper at the convent. She also traveled and visited other convents telling her story to other sisters and preparing them for work in Africa.
She was known for her gentle voice, smile, and charisma, and was often referred to lovingly as the "little brown sister" or the "black mother. When speaking of her enslavement, she often professed she would like to thank her kidnappers if she could, because had she not been kidnapped, she might never have come to know Jesus Christ and become part of His Church.
In her later years, she began to suffer physical pain and was forced to use a wheelchair, but she never complained, and always remained cheerful. If anyone asked her how she was, she would simply reply, "As the master desires."
On the evening of February 8, 1947, Josephine spoke her last words, "Our Lady, Our Lady!" and died. In 1958, the process of her canonization began under Pope John XXIII. On December 1st, 1978, Pope John Paul II declared her venerable. Sadly, the news of her beatification in 1992 was censored in Sudan. But just nine months later, Pope John Paul II visited Sudan and honored her publicly. He canonized her on October 1, 2000.
Saint Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of Sudan and human trafficking survivors. Her feast day is celebrated on February 8.
(Source: Catholic Online)
About The Jasikan Diocese
The St. Bakhita Centre for Hope is being built in the Catholic Diocese of Jasikan, Ghana. Pope John Paul II created the diocese on December 19, 1999, by carving it out of the then Keto-Ho Diocese. The diocese occupies 51% of the total land area of the Oti Region, It is bordered on the north by the Yendi Diocese, on the south by the Ho Dio
The St. Bakhita Centre for Hope is being built in the Catholic Diocese of Jasikan, Ghana. Pope John Paul II created the diocese on December 19, 1999, by carving it out of the then Keto-Ho Diocese. The diocese occupies 51% of the total land area of the Oti Region, It is bordered on the north by the Yendi Diocese, on the south by the Ho Diocese, on the east by the Republic of Togo, and on the west by the Volta Lake.
There are about twenty ethnic groups within the diocese. Despite this diversity, none of these ethnic groups holds a dominant cultural or political position. The mixed ethnic composition does not serve as a language barrier because the Twi and Ewe languages are widely spoken.
The diocese includes 48 diocesan priests, six religious priests, and eleven religious sisters under the oversight of Bishop Gabriel Mante. The Diocese's vision is to create a family of God which is at peace with itself and others, is prosperous and reflects the Gospel values of love, compassion, solidarity, and stewardship of God's creation.
The diocese is largely rural, with a high percentage of illiteracy. There are few industries and other business ventures to help diversify economic activities. Consequently, life is largely organized around subsistence farming and petty trading. The main food items include yams, plantains, cassavas, rice, and cereals.