The Nkunkanye siblings at the Village of Hope campus at Fetteh
The story of the Nkunkanye children can be related to a popular novel titled "End of the Tunnel" by a Ghanaian author, Peggy Oppong. This novel is about a beautiful and exceptionally brilliant girl named Sekyiwaa who was born into a happy middle-class family. She lived happily with her parents until her life took a drastic turn when her parents divorced. Sekyiwaa and her two younger siblings were plunged into a nightmare of intense suffering as they struggled to survive. This heartbreaking story is no different from that of the Nkunkanye family.
Adolf Nkunkanye and his younger siblings, Kofi, Ndonwunbor, Mary, and Samuel are the children of Bawa Nkunkanye and Amali Nsambaan, who were staunch members of the Kpassa church of Christ and large-scale farmers in Kpassa-Bisignamdo, a small town in the Oti Region. The couple cultivated crops like cassava, yam, groundnut, and corn in a nearby village called Limina (4 kilometers away from Kpassa). The couple's hard work and dedication to farming ensured that they had enough food to eat and a source of income for their family's daily needs.
Aside large-scale farming, Adolf's parents were also into rentals. They rented out 3 rooms of their apartment to fetch them extra income and also as a way of providing accommodation for people in their community.
Mary Nkunkanye (left) and Samuel Nkunkanye (right)
On one fateful Saturday, August 6, 2022, the gas cylinder of one of the tenants was leaking. Mr. and Mrs. Nkunkanye and three other tenants came out of their rooms to help. Unfortunately for them, another tenant had lit coal around the scene of the incident to prepare her meal. This triggered a gas explosion, which caused the couple, along with the other tenants who were helping, to sustain multiple degrees of burns.
Mr. and Mrs. Nkunkanye and the other victims were immediately rushed to Tamale Teaching Hospital (in Tamale) and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (in Kumasi) for treatment. Some days after the explosion, Mr. and Mrs. Nkunkanye and two tenants lost their lives whilst the other tenant continues to battle for his life. Bawa and Amali were both laid to rest at Kpassa on August 10, 2022 and August 14, 2022, respectively.
Shortly after their parents untimely demise, Adolf, the oldest, assumed responsibility for his younger siblings until they were sent to live with their paternal grandmother in their deceased father’s family house. With no source of income, their grandmother, who is a widow, struggled to provide for the basic needs of Adolf and his siblings. Other members of the family were all poor and thus unable to take care of the children.
Adolf Nkunkanye (left), Kofi Nkunkanye (middle) and Ndonwunbor Nkunkanye (right)
All hope was lost until the leaders of the church of Christ at Kpassa reported the case to the Department of Social Welfare, after which investigations were carried out. The social investigations revealed that no family member was capable and ready to shoulder full responsibility for the upbringing of these five children. Based on these findings, the Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare arranged for Adolf and his siblings to be admitted into residential care at Hope Children's Village. Adolf and his four siblings now have a new home at the Village of Hope, where they are being nurtured for a brighter future. Currently, all the five children have begun school at Hope Christian Academy.
After a long period of darkness, they have now come out of a tunnel of sorrow into a bright light of hope.
Please pray for these children as they adjust to a new environment.