Meet Ama
She Found the Courage to Change
As a global organization, Awana serves an incredibly diverse blend of children. Geography, socioeconomic status, government instability — those are just a few among a host of factors that have a deep impact on the children, and that we keep front-of-mind when we equip leaders to serve there. In Ghana there’s an urgent need to address struggles with sex, drug abuse, alcoholism and unplanned pregnancies among the teen population. Our leaders minister to that need through the Reach4Life program, a Gospel-centered curriculum that helps teens better understand their choices and the consequences they have on individuals and communities.
When Awana introduced the Reach4Life program to the school chaplain at a government senior high boarding school in Ghana’s Eastern Region, the chaplain was eager to see change among the students, to help them understand the consequences of their actions and learn how God means for them to live. And after a year of implementing biblical programming, the progress was undeniable. The school saw a significant decline in risky behaviors — particularly sexual immorality — and an increase in positive behaviors.
One of the most powerful stories is that of Ama, a student at the senior high school.
After spending a year immersed in the Reach4Life program, Ama made a bold decision in May 2024 to surrender to Christ and renounce sexual immorality. That decision was accompanied by a courageous and shocking confession: Ama openly revealed that she and other students had been involved in sexual affairs with school authorities.
Ama’s bravery, inspired by Godly influence and practical Gospel teaching, led to a national investigation and ultimately, a restructuring of the school’s leadership. Today, the school is a safer place and the students within its walls have undergone a remarkable transformation. When kids learn who they belong to, who they were created to be by the Creator Himself — when they learn where belief in morality truly comes from and that there is a bright, eternal future ahead of them when they turn toward Jesus — everything changes.
