In the heart of Greda Estates, Teshie, in Accra, Ghana, lives Beth Wills, an American missionary and a widow, affectionately known as Mama Beth.
When she first visited Ghana in 2010 with her husband, she didn’t know what to expect, but she was deeply impacted in many ways at the end of the trip.
She will later find peace and compassion on her return to Ghana after the death of her husband of 32 years, and that will completely change the cause of her life.
Today, Mama Beth and her organization, This Grace of Giving, are focused on one mission – to transform the lives of underprivileged children, single mothers, and widows.
Whatever their situation, Mama Beth said, she is committed to ensuring that they have food, clothing, shelter, and education -- empowering them to take control of their lives.
From personal grief to finding purpose
Beth had taken an early retirement from her career with an aerospace company in 1999, allowing her and her husband to devote themselves to missionary work.
"My husband and I had missions in America. We fed the poor a lot. We did soup kitchen annually…I was involved in crisis pregnancy care, which is what I was looking forward to doing here in Ghana — taking care of the girls and letting them have their babies, and going back to school," she recounted.
The 78-year-old philanthropist believes her mission in Ghana is a fulfillment of a prophetic word foretold by an American evangelist decades ago that she and her husband would have a ministry, her husband would die and go to heaven, and she would finish the work.
She said initially she had resisted and rejected the prophecy, especially when he said the ministry would be in Africa. However, on her return from a pilgrimage in Israel, she encountered an African pastor who needed help to build a church and dig a well in Ghana.
Beth said she agreed to fund the project but insisted she wouldn’t go to Ghana.
As destiny would have it, she and her husband eventually visited Ghana on a mission. The experience deeply impacted her. She returned to Ghana in July 2013, when her husband of 32 years passed away in April of that year.
She recounted the deep sense of peace she experienced, which made her feel Ghana was where she truly belonged.
"I was grieving when I came back. I wanted to find what God had for me and the peace that came upon me, I knew this was it.
“One morning, when I opened my Bible, it was right there: ‘This Grace of Giving’ in 2 Corinthians 8:7," she recalls how the current mission was born.
Beth fully relocated to Ghana in 2014, bringing her dog and her car. Initially, she had kept her home in America as a vacation rental but eventually let go of all her property in the USA. Now, she only goes back once every year to raise funds and gather resources for projects with the help of her network of friends and partners.
Beth believes there are two important days in everyone's life: the day you were born and the day you find your purpose - why God brought you into this world.
This Grace of Giving
“This Grace of Giving” is a multifaceted non-denominational Christian organization registered in America and Ghana as a non-profit, providing spiritual and physical support to the disadvantaged and the most vulnerable people in Ghana since 2010.
At the heart of the organization's work is sharing the love of God to the people of Ghana in tangible ways – distributing clothing, shoes, food, mosquito nets, most often in remote communities, and assisting with education and shelter for vulnerable young people.
“Our mission is focused on changing physical lives and welbeing, and giving hope to people through the Christian scriptures so they can find their purpose on this earth and contribute to the development and wellbeing of their community," she said.
"We aim to transform lives; one child, one widow, one single mother at a time,” she stressed. Adding: “whatever God puts on our laps, we know He will provide the resources to execute it.”
Mama Beth and her team work tirelessly to bring hope and opportunity to those fortunate enough to cross her path, often using her own resources and support she mobilize from her network of friends and church groups in the United States of America, and from the generosity of individual Americans, some whom she has never met.
"We organise annual events in the USA with our partners to raise funds for our projects. We go to churches and other events to tell our story and the stories of the people we support," she said about funding.
Transforming lives
Mama Beth and her team work closely with foster homes (orphanages), small churches, and local leaders, investing in immediate and long-term needs of beneficiaries, and creating lasting and sustainable impact.
Over the years, many young boys and girls rescued from various forms of abuse, teenage mothers and girls facing the threat of forced marriage have seen their lives change.
"I want to see these girls and boys grow and become doctors, lawyers, teachers, or whatever profession they choose," she said.
At Fern House Orphange in Teshie, where I met Mama Beth, the children were excited to see her and her team.
The occasion was the Organization’s usual monthly donation of food, drinks, and other provisions to the home.
The children danced and jumped to the rhythm of gospel music playing on a boom box with a Children’s pastor leading, sharing the word of God through songs, rhymes, and recitals.
“Say thank you to Mama Beth. She has been supporting us for many years,” Madam Comfort, the owner of the Orphanage with about 30 children, said to me.
Five boys of the home and a 15-year-old teenage mother are direct beneficiaries of “This Grace of Giving” education sponsorship, which provides them with anything they need to stay in school.
They are all at various levels of schooling, and one of them recently had a scholarship through a partnering organization to continue his education in the USA.
On this visit, Mama Beth is accompanied by some of the beneficiaries of her organization, who live with her in her personal home at Teshie.
Fifteen- year-old Inna is one of them. Currently on vacation from a private girl’s boarding school in Winneba, she narrated how her life changed since her uncle brought her to live with Mama Beth in 2018.
Mama Beth took her in, providing for her, giving her private school education, and hope of a brighter future.
“I feel so lucky and blessed because if I didn't meet her, I think I would be married by now," she said.
Inna dreams of becoming a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, and she hopes to study abroad with Mama Beth’s continued support. "I am still counting on her to support me to realise my dreams,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Paul Abdulai, had spent his early childhood years as cattle herd boy in northern Ghana, which delayed his education.
Like Inna, Mama Beth took him in when his uncle brought him from the north to the Organization’s mission house at Asesewa, where he met Mama Beth. She offered to take him in and support him through school, he said.
Now, in Junior High School Form 2, in a prominent private school at Greda Estate, Paul is full of gratitude to Mama Beth.
"I’m truly grateful to have her in my life. Everyone wants to succeed, but not everyone has someone to support them along the way. I feel blessed because if I hadn’t met her, I don’t know where I’d be today. I used to be a herd boy in the north, but she gave me the chance to go to school and build a better future," said Paul.
Mama Beth doesn't stop at providing material and spiritual support. She also wants the children that her organization supports to have normal lives and enjoy life. During the school vacations, she brings all beneficiaries together for activities.
"I take them out for meals, cinema, and excussions during the holidays. I want them to know there is more to life and to enjoy the many beautiful places in Ghana."
Supporting widows and single mothers
Being a widow herself, Mama Beth have being supporting widows and vulnerable single mothers, providing monthly food supplies and financial assistance for them to start or sustain their income generating activity to gradually wean them off support.
"As a Christian organization, we also work with Pastor's in remote communities, providing support to their wives to have income generating projects that can support their families and the church,” she said.
As part of this mission, the organization holds annual women's conference on having purpose in life, she said.
Soccer for Jesus
Football is a much loved sport in Ghana and accross Africa. It is common to see young people playing soccer in many communities across Ghana with or without the proper kits.
The organization’s "Soccer for Jesus" games bring young people and local communities together through football. Participating teams win various prizes, including complete football kits, jerseys, and sometimes, school supplies, explained Mama Beth.
The day’s activity ends with screening of a film on the life of Jesus to bring hope to the young ones and inspire them to find their purpose in life through the word of God, she said.
What does the future hold
With a Mission House completed in Asesewa, sheltering some beneficiaries, staff and missionaries who visit from the USA, Mama Beth is now focused on raising resources to build a Sanctuary Village and a Safe House for girls escaping child marriage, victims of crisis pregnancy and persecuted Christians — hopefully, help them find a place in society and meaning in their life in Christ.
Now 78, Mama Beth believes she will live out the rest of her life in Ghana. Her core message is that true purpose brings peace — she has found peace in knowing why she is here and what she was meant to do.
“I am certain I will be devoting the rest of my life to transforming the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable children and women in various communities across the country,” she said.
