Rev. Dr Steve Mensah: Transforming lives through CEM Ability Village
In an inspiring journey that began with personal struggles, Reverend Dr Steve Mensah has dedicated his life to making a positive impact on the lives of the poor and needy.
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His vision has led to the development of the CEM Ability Village, an initiative aimed at building a community solely dedicated to training individuals with disabilities in various skill sets.
As the General Overseer of the Charismatic Evangelical Ministry (CEM) in Accra, Reverend Dr. Mensah is set to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of this transformative project on Saturday,
June 24, 2023, at Agortor-Kope in the Osu Shai Doku District of the Greater Accra region.
One of CEM's "Day of Help" initiative
CEM Ability Village
CEM Ability Village is Reverend Dr Mensah's ambitious endeavour to create a city that caters to the needs of disabled individuals.
He passionately explains, "We are going to build a city where everything is disability-friendly."
The village spans approximately 2,000 acres, spans six and a half miles, and is designed to be a home for 69,000 disabled families .
It is a day to give only the physically challenged persons
Rev. Dr Mensah emphasises the challenges faced by disabled individuals in finding accommodations and securing employment, making CEM Ability Village a much-needed solution.
“The project aims to establish CEM Ability Village as a technological hub, empowering disabled individuals to produce school uniforms, chalk, bags, and books. The village will feature essential
facilities such as a specialist hospital, vocational training centers, and industrial and technology hubs, and schools,” he stated.
Rev Dr Mensah who is very passionate about the project said “it will be an integrated city where the able and physically challenged are going to live together. We will have volunteers who will
assist them to live well”.
Some items for the poor and needy
To ensure the long-term sustainability of the project, Rev. Dr Mensah stressed the importance of organisations patronising the village's produce and creating job opportunities within the community.
According to him, he intends to encourage the Ghana Education Service to patronise their supplies from CEM Ability Village, to enable the residents to be economically independent.
“We are creating jobs for them because the economy at the village must depend on themselves. We will encourage the Ghana Education Service to buy from the village, “he said.
Touching more on the CEM Ability Village project, he said the church had done a lot of rural intervention programmes but he was particular about this project because it was
“solely for the physically challenged”.
Giving to the poor is part of his kingdom message
“We started out in 2014 as “A Day of Help” for the disabled at Independence Square. Over 10,000 physically challenged persons in one place. Something I have never seen before. We decided to make it an annual thing every year. It was the day of the help initiative that gave birth to the idea CEM Ability Village,“ he explained.
A project for all
For Rev Mensah regardless of which church or religion one belongs, individuals as well as organisations could take up a project at the CEM Ability Village and build.
Citing an example, he said “you can take up a school or a classroom or the hospital initiative to build or sponsor. It is for everybody, it is for mankind, we are all God’s children.”
Gift giving
He said the motive behind the “A Day of Help” was to “give them gifts such as mattresses, toiletries and food items that could last for weeks”.
Some of the items that were given out
The man of God who was raised a Catholic disclosed that “l still remember the gift I received from a Catholic priest at age eight. They used to give us some food items after mass. Therefore, l believe that you can never forget a gift,” he said.
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A little help
He is someone who is not only in the kingdom business to preach but has some form of social interventions like healthcare services and gift giving especially to the rural folks attached to his gospel message.
For him, a lot of the poor and needy folks in the rural areas have found Christ, what they need is a “little help.” Adding that, a lot of people living with disabilities could not afford to rent a decent accommodation, thereby living in a deplorable state.
Clarifying that he had met the leadership of the various disability associations, he said persons living with disability comprised hearing impairment, cerebral palsy and burnt survivors.
Rev Dr Steve Mensah (right) with his wife Rev. Mrs Jane Aba Mensah
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CEM Ability Village to the regions
Rev Dr. Mensah said the project would be extended to other regions, to ensure that joblessness and homelessness among disabled individuals become a thing of the past.
“The completion of CEM Ability Village is expected to take a few years, allowing disabled individuals from all regions, even the northern parts of the country, to access training, acquire skills, and
return to their communities to support their families.”
For persons with disabilities who are very old and could not work, the man of God who is also a twin said “I will take care of them till they die. We have a whole cemetery allocated as part of the facilities in the village”.
“Have you been to a physically challenged person’s funeral? He asked with a stern look. “Their funeral service is one of the most depressing moments. The CEM Ability Village will give them a decent burial service. Those days where they were put in some Wawa boxes will be over,” he added.
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Rev Dr Mensah has a passion to change the way the public view persons with disability because he believes that “anybody can easily be disabled”.
“So l am a very excited man because on Saturday June 24, 2023, my biggest dream will come to pass. I pray the village will outlive me after I am dead and gone,” he said with excitement.
Other projects
Apart from the CEM Ability Village project, he mentioned the “Jesus to the Rurals”, as another outreach that gives to the needy in various forms.
“We carry medical practitioners for missionary work. About 300 doctors for a particular mission. We have been to places such as Tepa, Agortime and so many other places. We teamed up with some doctors at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and in very difficult cases we brought patients to Accra. The church pays off all surgical bills” he explained.
Bringing his message to a close, he told The Mirror with a joyful face that he had been married for 35 years with four children. And all though Father’s Day just passed, he urged fathers not to abandon their families but be part of their children’s lives.
Background
Although he hails from the Volta Region, Rev Dr Steve Mensah and his twin brother were born and bred in Accra on July, 28, 1961. He had a difficult beginning due to the divorce of his parents while they were very young.
He said his dream of becoming a medical doctor shattered though and for that reason he had decided to name the hospital to be built at the Ability Village after him, “St Stephen’s Hospital”.
He completed St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School and became a born-again during his early years at a three days’ crusade held by the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa from Nigeria.
He fondly shared that he could still remember the message at the crusade that made him give his life to Christ.