It has been a long process, but the day has finally come. Many years after the first concrete was cast for the construction of a Clinic for the people of Nmai Dzorn (near Ashaley Botwe, Accra) and its environs, Theovision International, a Ghanaian non-profit Christian organization, and her partner Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB), from the USA, dedicated the beautiful Tree of Life Clinic and presented it to the community on Saturday 28th June, 2014.
At a decently attended ceremony of the Presidents and staff of the partnering organizations as well as the Chief, Elders, some residents of the NmaiDzorn community, the Police and members of the Clergy, the first ever clinic in NmaiDzorn was dedicated to the glory of God.
“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. We have sunshine instead of rain;we have patio instead of mud and dirt; we have a building instead of a pit,” said Wayne Pederson, President of Reach Beyond, as he took the audience down memory lane. He recounted his first visit to the project sight to witness the digging of the foundation. On his second visit however, walls were forming very slowly and he shared memories of Alex Weir and some Reach Beyond staff helping out with the construction. “Sometimes, a dream takes a while to become a reality but here we are; standing here; seeing a dream turned into reality.” said the very elated Wayne.
In the same mood of reflection, Rev. Theo Asare, President and Founder of Theovision International, in his address shared his joy about the fulfillment of this long held dream. According to Rev. Asare, It was impossible to ignore the dire health needs of the people in the villages where Theovision ministered with their Bible listening program. He said it was just not enough to teach the people God’s Word and not demonstrate love and care for their needs. “But we were not medical people,” said. Therefore in partnering with Reach Beyond, who provided short term medical missionaries, the two Organizations were able to organize periodic medical outreaches to the villages. Today we have a clinic that will see to the health needs of the people in and around Nmai Dzorn, while also serving as a base to strengthen the periodic free mobile medical care program in villages.
The jubilant audience clapped and cheered to these great speeches from these world’s great visionaries who are often not in the news. The Christian Life Mission Church choir also made this landmark event even more joyful as they treated the guests to some beautiful African praise songs.
The staff of Tree of Life Clinic and some members of the community teamed up to present a sketch that intrigued the audience but also gave them an insight into and a foretaste of the tagline of Tree of Life Clinic,”We Treat The Whole Person”
Wayne Pederson then prayed to formally open the Clinic and dedicate it to God. The chief of the community and Rev. Asare joined hands with him to cut the ribbon; then the main door to the Tree of Life Clinic was open for all to see the beautifully furnished offices and well partitioned wards. As they entered the Pharmacy, Laboratory and Consulting rooms, they were greeted with the smiling faces of the well-dressed clinic staff.
When they reconvened, Dr. Margaret Mensah, Medical Superintendent of the Tree of Life Clinic, thanked all and sundry for attending the event and promised the partners to commit to quality healthcare standards within a faith based environment.
The day’s activities was crowned with a free medical screening and medicines by the medical staff for all interested persons.
Wayne Pederson, in reference to a note on Rev. Theo Asare’s office desk which reads “Make No Small Plans Here” said, “isn’t it amazing how God takes small beginnings and makes big things out of them?”
Dr. Margaret will team up with Mrs. Monica Asare, who has been reassigned to the clinic as the Administrator. Monica’s rich experience as the Human Resource Manager of Theovision and her compassion for the poor and needy makes her new role a natural fit