A little bit of GHP history
The inspiration and vision of this project came through Linda Shannon, an experienced homeopath in UK. She had the intuition to go to Ghana to benefit the local community but initially no contacts with which to take it forward. She waited.
After a while, as the the way things sometimes work, a friend and experienced midwife, who knew of Linda’s vision, was going to teach midwives in Ghana and suggested Linda go with her to offer some homeopathic training alongside midwifery and to see if local people were interested in further training and clinics.
So in 2005 contacts were made in a tiny village of Mafi Seva (152 km East from Accra) in the Volta region of Ghana. There, the charity AMURT Ghana had, working together with local people, constructed a reservoir and filtration system providing clean water to 25 villages. Other AMURT programmes include a Primary health care centre with midwifery clinic, community health education programmes, sexual health counselling and a pathology lab. (The Ghanaian government now runs both of these)
Emperor Tsamenyi was director of this Primary Care Centre and effective clean water project and immediately was inspired by homeopathy and wanted to learn about it as an addition to the health care available for his people.
Initially, there is a lot of adjusting to do in a new country and culture, both personally and to the illnesses seen. Much to Linda’s surprise there were good results from the simple first aid remedies that were available and taught to Emperor in the first instance. From the homeopathic point of view the natural vitality of the people was such that they responded positively to the remedies given.
A few other people were introduced to the then basic remedies in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and after a short course were given a 24 remedy homeopathic kit, donated from Helios Pharmacy UK. Due to local demand Linda was back the following year to continue the teaching she had started!
Over the years since then, there have been many developments and occasional set backs as one might expect but the project is thriving, shaped by the interest and enthusiasm of the people involved in Ghana, in UK and internationally. It has been exciting to watch the project gradually emerge over the years to form our present structure. Year by year this has been documented in the Newsletter .
In 2008-9 there was good contact made with the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Directorate of Ghana who have been supportive of the work done by GHP.
Many other homeopaths from UK, USA and Europe have volunteered, taught and treated patients in the different clinics. Courses have developed, certificates awarded, visits to India for experience arranged and funded with return trips from experienced Indian homeopaths to teach and treat in Ghana. Some volunteers were able to give specialised teaching in their own area of expertise such as: midwifery, wound treatment and diabetes.
The Mafi Seva clinic is now in Mafi Kumase, a few miles away, in a purpose-built clinic envisioned, set up and run by Emperor Tsamenyi. Here volunteers and practitioners can have regular clinic experience.
There are clinics in Kumasi (4-5 hours drive north from Accra), in the Ashanti region, in Kasoa, Tema, Accra, and PramPram supported by the GHP General Coordinator, Caroline Jurdon from UK and other visiting volunteer homeopaths.
We have recently had 22 more graduates embarking on building their practices and subject to supervision, CPD and encouraged to join our new Ghanaian charity HEPA for registration to practice in the country.
