"Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it."

(Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

"Guests of honor.....welcome. Welcome to you from across the heavy volumes of waters, across the oceans, and across the lands to this small but deprived community, Oduman. You are warmly welcome."
~Nii Odu Iv, Chief of Oduman,
Welcome Address Speech
July 25, 2008

For more than four years, the village chief and elders of Oduman have allocated plots of land to various mission organizations, in the hopes of establishing one or more government assisted school buildings. All attempts were honorable, yet all attempts have failed, for one reason or another. That is, all except for one. In the summer of 2008, The Branches of the Vine, working in close collaboration with the Diocese of Accra, was able to announce the opening of Oduman's first-ever school building. It is a structurally sound, three-room facility built of block, with a solid, secure roof. But it is more than just cement walls and a covering. It is the building that will house the fertile soil for both hope and dreams to take root, to sprout, and to blossom. It is an educational oasis, in the middle of a dry and thirsty village.

Oduman is a community that has yet to experience the most basic standards of living conditions. It lacks clean drinking water, adequate roads, and health care. Electricity has just been recently introduced, but is not yet being fully utilized. Nevertheless, Oduman is a community full of faith?Äìfaith in God, in family, and in possibility. With the opening of its first school building, this community now stands at the threshold of welcoming further development. Chief Nii Odu Iv realizes the opportunity knocking at his door. As Oduman's leader, he is encouraging the people of his village to place value and importance upon education. One way he is promoting this agenda is by setting aside additional Oduman land for educational and training facilities. BOV has been invited to help with this undertaking. Chief Nii Odu Iv has personally requested BOV to use its "know-how" to manage the land he has set aside for the development of both high school and vocational technology. BOV has, in turn, vowed to accept this call for help. The organization made a pledge to provide whatever means of further assistance it can to this community in need. And it didn't wait long to get started!

Right after the new school facility was opened, BOV—along with the continued support and assistance of the Anglican Church—hosted two medical clinics in the village of Oduman during the remaining months o f 2008. Thus, the building quickly became not only a place of knowledge and learning, but also an outlet for life and good health. It is a place where the people of this community can now come together, to learn, to pray, and to connect with the outside world. The medical teams that entered the village in July and October, were made up of people from all different parts the globe and from all different walks of life. They came to meet the people of Oduman face to face, to smile and laugh with the children of the village, to address the many medical needs awaiting attention, and to sit side by side with their brothers and sisters in prayer. The team came with medicine, technology, literature, and hope. But each member left with so much more—a spirit renewed, a heart filled to overflowing, and a determination to spread the message that more help would still be needed, if we are to care for the well-being of all God's people the whole world over.

Oduman. A seemingly small, deprived and desperate community. Yet, a place capable of changing lives for the better, and bringing the far corners of the world closer together—through faith, hope, and a love that knows no limits.
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A DREAM BECOMES REALITY

This first phase of holy Innocent Anglican Basic School - Oduman is an answered prayer to us - members of Holy Innocent Anglican church and also to all who contributed in planting this church.
The church which was planted here some years ago, was meeting in someone's uncompleted house but for about a year ago the house has been completed and the owner has taken residence, so the church had to quit and worship under a canopy. So therefore to us this facility will serve a dual purpose.
First as a public school for the community - a promise made when the elders of the community offered us the land though we don't know where the funds would come from and secondly as a temporal place for church worship.
Branches of the Vine, it will interest you to know that many school children in this community at times walk all the way to st. Justin Anglican Basic school at Ablekuma (the school you are helping the church to develop up to vocational and Technical level).
We're indeed very grateful for this gesture for by this dream has become a reality. We promise to take good care of the facility and are looking forward for the second phase, that is to the junior high school level.
Once again we say thank you.

WELCOME ADDRESS BY NII ODU IV, CHIEF OF ODUMAN
ON 25TH JULY, 2008

Guest, Niimei, Naamei, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honour to welcome you into this Oduman Community.

This community is in the Greater Accra Region and to be precise closer to Accra, the national capital of Ghana. But in terms of development, it is very ?Äòfar away' from Accra. It is a fast growing community with a lot of people migrating from the National capital to settle here in Oduman. This place is highly deprived of necessities like school facilities, good drinking water, bad state of roads which you saw for yourselves on your way down here. We cannot think of secondary needs since the basic ones have not been met.

For more than four (4) years, plots of land were allocated to some missions to establish government assisted schoo l to enable our future adults have access to formal education. This could not materialize. As at now, none of these missions has any concrete evidence to boast of in terms of school infrastructure. Your group Anglican Church has been the only mission even though came in late has produce a three (3) classroom block which is at a roofing state. My council and I are so proud of you. Let me pause at this juncture and say "Ayekoo" to you. We thank you so much for your efforts. We thank you for your immediate response to our need. You have been so sensitive to our plight and have given a helping hand in the field of Education. We are so grateful to you. Since education is the key to development, and you have responded positively to our call, my elders and I would not hesitate at all in adding the rest of land reserved for educational development to you, to add more stages to what you have provided.

Land is now a scarce commodity here. I would therefore appeal to you to use technology and your technical know how in managing the land at your disposal to give us nursery, primary, junior and senior high schools. I know you have done it before in other places and you can do it for us at this part of the world too.

We have managed to connect the town to the National electricity grid, but the youth needs training and some skills to enable them reap the full benefits of electricity.

It is my special appeal that you adopt Oduman and assist us especially in the field education and training. I know when we seek first the educational kingdom all other developments shall be added.

Guests of honour, Niimei and Naamei, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Oduman Community and on my personal behalf, welcome you across the heavy volumes of waters, across the oceans, and across the lands to this small but deprived community, Oduman. You are warmly welcome.

BRIEF BY THE OIC SUPT. BEN DWIRA-AMPRATWUM
TO THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF PRISONS MR. W.K. ASIEDU AND A TEAM OF REVEREND MINISTERS FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DURING THEIR VISIT TO THE OSAMKROM CAMP PRISONS
ON THURSDAY THE 24TH OF JULY, 2008

(A) GENERAL OVERVIEW: Osamkrom Camp Prison is a one of the agricultural stations infact one of the thirteen Camp Prisons within the Service. It has a total land area of forty-five (45) acres.

(B) STAFF STRENGTH: Presently, the staff strength is fifty-eight (58) including four (4) Superior officers and fifteen Recruit officers who are here on practical duties. A batch of eight (8) Second Class officers will be joining our strength on Monday, 29th July, 2008.

(C) LOCK-UP: The lock-up as at this morning is ninety-eight (98) convict prisoners. The station is expecting the transfer of forty (40) inmates from the Koforidua Local Prison by the end of this month. In terms of capacity, the camp can accommodate
one hundred and fifty (150) inmates.

(D) WELFARE OF THE INMATES: Thankfully, the station does not record very serious
health problems. Cases which are not effectively managed by the station's health assistance are referred to either the Agona Swedru or Winneba government hospitals for attention. The inmates in their leisure engages in the viewing of television, playing of draught and volleyball. Especially during the off season, additional indoor games are added to the list of games.

(E) TRANSPORT: The Camp has been allocated two Mahindra pick-ups and a farmtrack tractor and these have greatly helped to improve on our performance. I would like to commend the Director-General of Prisons for these achievement. However, a bigger track like a home used Kit pick-up track will do this camp a lot of good in terms of its profitability.

(F) SECURITY: The Camp has since 2006 graduated from a bamboo fence to that of wood scantlings which was obtained from a local sawmill. It is hoped that the fence which is becoming weak will be replaced with a wall to further improve upon the security situation.

This year the camp has recorded four (4) escapes all at the farm out of which two had been recaptured, prosecuted at the court and transferred to the Winneba Local Prison.

(G) AGRICULTURE: Agriculture in general has seen a lot of activity and improvement over the years. Since 2004, the camp has persistantly improved upon its performance both in crops and swine production as summarized below:

(i ) MAIZE :- In 2007, the camp achieved 600 mini bags of Corn from a fifty acre farm. Three hundred mini bags was sold to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison and the rest had been consumed by the camp.

This year, the camp is to cultivate sixty (60) acres of crop out of which 35 acres had been done during the major season. The balance will be cultivated in the minor season Harvesting from the major season farm has just began and the administration hopes to achieve its set target of 900 mini bags this year.

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(ii ) CASSAVA :- The camp started the cultivation of this crop on a large scale in the latter part of 2006 and achieved 15 acres. This year, the land is cultivated 20 acres of the crop. The camp has also added value to the matured cassava by processing into gari which to date has yielded 4050 kg ie. 90 mini bags of the food which the camp is consuming. The camps hopes to achieve self sufficiency in gari in 2009.

(iii) COWPEA :-The Camp last year achieved six (6) mini bags of the crops from a two acre plot of land. This achievement is about half of our annual requirement and we hope to cultivate four (4) acres of the crop to ensure self sufficiency.

(iv) PALM FRUITS :- The Camp has a three (3) acre palm plantation and last year, 2700 kg., of loose palm fruits was achieved. This year we hope output will be higher due to favorable weather conditions.

( v) ASSORTED VEGETABLES :- A total of 800 kg, of vegetables were achieved last year chief amongst them was black beauty.

( vi ) WOODLOT :- The station has cultivated a (10) ten acre woodlot plantation.

( vii ) MORINGA PLANT :- The Camp this year is to cultivate 1 acre of this wonder plant. The seedlings are ready at the nursery and will be planted by the end of this month.

(viii ) SWINE PRODUCTION :- The Camp has a herd of one hundred and forty (140) pigs presently.

This year the Camp is targeted to sell a total of one hundred and sixty (160) growers which will generate an income of GH¢4,800.00. At the moment 80 of the growers are being prepared for the market at the end of September.

The aim of this administration in respect of agriculture is to achieve self sufficiency in all our major food requirements - Corn, gari, Cowpea, palm fruit, pepper and at least fifty percent of all our other vegetable needs. This way, the Camp would have given real meaning to the untiring efforts of the Directorate towards increased agric productivity and therefore would have shown the way forward for prisons agriculture.

(H) CONSTRAINTS:-

Sanitatio BBA n : The number one problem facing the Camp is lacking of proper ablution facilities for both officers and inmates. We are still using pit latrines which frequently caves in. The administration managed to secure the support of a number of church organizations at Agona Swedru to start an eight seater water closet facility and this is about half way through. I have been informed that you intend to support this effort and want to thank you in advance for your concern.

Sir, I finally welcome you to the Osamkrom Camp Prison for this all important visit.

Thank you, Sir.

BEN DWIRA-AMPRATWUM
SUPT. OF PRISONS
O.I.C.

The Wilnes Viking team provided 30 rugby kits, Roger Harrison of St Gerard's provided rugby balls, Kevin Fairbanks of the Ashley School provided coaching lessons and Cathy McMullen provided the tags and belts.