The Rev. Father Andrew Campbell SVD Foundation has been established by Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who has appealed for contributions from all parties.
The foundation serves as an umbrella organisation to assist Rev. Fr. Campbell, a full citizen of Ghana and the former parish priest of Christ the King Catholic Church, in managing his clerical vocation, his social initiatives, and other national responsibilities.
The organisation will serve meals to underprivileged children and street children in addition to assisting lepers who have been healed and the institutions that house them.
Rev. Fr. Campbell's influence and assistance have led to significant improvements at the Weija Leprosarium, renovations at the Ankaful Leprosy General Hospital, a laboratory for leprosy and skin disorders at Wa, as well as a leprosy treatment centre.
Rev. Fr. Campbell presently resides in the Weija Leprosarium after retiring from active duty.
Additionally, he runs the Christ the King Soup Kitchen, which serves at least one hot meal daily to street kids.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, he provided daily care for around 800 individuals; all of these humanitarian efforts will now fall under the charity.
Unveiling
Dr. Bawumia expressed his happiness to be a patron of the foundation at a ceremony held at the Christ the King Parish Hall last Sunday and said it will strengthen the advocacy and improve the intervention on leprosy, street children, rural development, and child health.
"Through closer coordination with the National Leprosy Programme, we have strengthened the battle against leprosy over the previous 52 years and generated new discoveries in that field. The Vice-President stated that surveillance had improved, case discovery had increased, and more people were receiving treatment.
Dr. Bawumia cited a verse from the Bible when he remarked, "The care and compassion displayed by Fr. Campbell is what is asked of us, and that is taking care of the destitute and feeding the hungry."
Because Rev. Fr. Campbell stood for the very least and the oppressed in society, he explained, helping him meant helping Ghanaians.
As long as our neighbours continue to wander around in pain and misery, he said, "Our enjoyment in life should never be full." Rev. Fr. Campbell and the foundation were assured by Dr. Bawumia that he would support them just as he had done on the leprosy and street children project. Dr. Bawumia thanked the church and faith-based organisations for the interventions they continued to make to help the marginalised and vulnerable in society.
As asked by Rev. Fr. Campbell, the Vice-President also pledged to assist in raising GH $100,000 to fund the foundation.
Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, a spokesman for the National Chief Imam, claimed that Fr. Campbell's initiatives had given religion a purpose. He claimed that Rev. Fr. Campbell was unafraid of poverty since he was a friend to the despised and rejected in society.
He asserted that Sheik Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, the Chief Imam, shared these principles of love, compassion, and care, and that religion would not have had a deeper significance without the presence of such a sincere attitude of humanitarian concern.
For the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Shaibu gave the foundation GH5,000.
Funds
According to Rev. Fr. Campbell, all of the work he had been doing required significant financial resources, therefore he could not do it alone.
According to Rev. Fr. Campbell, "I need to hire more people so I send them to other areas of the country because we need a zero number of leprosy in the country, and this takes additional employees."
Accordingly, he explained, he would want cash to pay the workers, the energy and water bills, and at the very least, to supply them with one meal every day.
"I need to send them to school, pay for their tuition and other expenses, as many of the Weija Leprosarium patients have young children caring for them.
"The youngest is a three-year-old child brought from Wa with leprosy," he said. "The oldest guy in Weija is 104 years old who has medical debts to pay."
Rev. Fr. Campbell stated, "I am active in helping the homeless and lepers, and I want the foundation to carry on the job after I am gone."