The Weija Leprosarium was on Saturday 16th October 2021, the center of attraction as Rev. Fr. Andrew Campbell SVD, commemorated his fifty years stay in Ghana as a Divine Word Missionary priest.
Father Campbell who has since gone on retirement from active parish work, now stays with the cured lepers at Weija Leprosarium, assisting them and making life meaningful for them.
In a brief history about himself, and that of a missionary, Rev. Fr. Campbell recounted how life was tough for him in his early days in Ghana. He mentioned food, weather among others as some of the challenges he faced in the 1970s in Ghana.
He however said, with God on his side he was able to overcome and has come to appreciate and love the country Ghana and her people. “Yes my whole life is a testimony of God’s abundant love”, he added.
He used the occasion to launch a support fund for the cured lepers dubbed, “Adopt a Granny”. This fund is to augment the welfare the Leper Aid Committee gives to the inmates and therefore appealed to individuals, Cooperate Ghana and NGOs to come to the aid of the lepers across the country.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, pledged government’s continuous support to Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) through their fund at the district level. The Vice President made a cash donation of Ten Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghs 10, 000.00) for the upkeep of the cured lepers.
The event was also used to inaugurate 40 room apartments and a Research Center for the cured lepers, which will be the only research center in the whole of West Africa for leprosy and other skin diseases.
Awards were presented to some staff at the leprosarium for their hard work and dedication to the cured lepers.
Donations were also made by groups and individuals to support the inmates, notable among them was the Labadi Beach Hotel who presented several bed sheets, towels and other items to the cured lepers. They also promised to continued support, as they have always been, to the upkeep of the cured lepers in Ghana.
There were goodwill messages from the member of parliament for Weija-Gbawe Constituency, the Provincial Superior of the Society of the Divine Word (S.V.D.), Ghana-Liberia Province, the Archbishop of Accra, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana.
Present at the programme were the Vice President’s representative who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Walewale and Deputy Minister of Gender and Social Protection, Hon. Lariba Zuweira Abudu, members of the Council of State, the MCE of Weija-Gbawe , the clergy and well-wishers.
Source: Radio Angelus Newsroom
