Ghana Trip: March 14.

Beautiful boys at the Village of Hope Orphanage.

On Saturday morning, the Touch A Life team members tackled the task of interviewing the 21 rescued children to acquire their biographies. Because of the level of excitement generated by the new visitors at the Village of Hope, all of the children wanted to participate, resulting in the acquisition of over 100 biographies. It was chaotic, hilarious, productive and fun. 

The team members explored the local village of Gomoa-Fetteh and spent as much time as possible bonding with the kids. In the evening, some of the Touch A Life team members doled out new shirts from our donors for the kids. Kids Caring 4 Kids and the ATO Fraternity at Pepperdine University donated shirts from their causes and the children loved trying on their new clothes. They were so excited to receive new outfits. It was so much fun playing and laughing with them. 

Up next: the tale of the traumatic 10-and-a-half-hour drive to Lake Volta...

Some of the 21 rescued by TAL in their Kids Caring 4 Kids shirts.

Pam, bonding and coloring with the kids.

Mark and Rachel, donning the new Touch A Life foundation shirts, which feature the name, handprint and rescue date of the children the organization has saved.

Mark was the first boy rescued off of Lake Volta by the Touch A Life Foundation.

Pam and Rachel with Mark.

Sweet boys at the Village of Hope.

Rachel

Jessica Wallace.

Jessica Wallace is the amazing new intern for Touch A Life Foundation. Jessica is a junior at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. She is enrolled in the university's Social Action and Justice colloquium, a program that requires students to participate in an internship for a non-profit organization in order to further develop their understanding of service-based businesses. For her internship, Jessica has decided to join the Touch A Life team. For the next four months, she will play a huge role in the development of the organization in the Los Angeles area. Jessica is confident, talented and well-spoken; surely, her work will serve to benefit Touch A Life and the children the organization supports. 

Rachel

(Originally posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2009.)

Rachel Johnson.

To all of the avid readers of the Touch A Life blog: Hello!

My name is Rachel Johnson and I have just been hired as the Director of Project Development for the Touch A Life Foundation. I graduated from Pepperdine University in April 2008 and I currently live in Santa Monica, CA. I met Pam at a luncheon at Pepperdine in March 2008. Because of our brief meeting, I ended up going to Ghana with her in August to serve at the Children's Art Village, a camp dedicated to allowing the children at the Village of Hope Orphanage to express themselves through music, art and dance. Pam and I truly bonded on that trip; it was evident that God had placed us in each other's lives for a reason.

After a few months of discussion and deliberation, Pam offered me a job with the foundation, which was a dream come true. I have always had a heart for non-profit organizations (specifically those dedicated to causes serving African nations) but I also had interests in careers in writing, journalism and international affairs. I wasn't sure how to combine all of my talents, skills and passions but God clearly spoke to me through Pam's offer for me to come work with her and Touch A Life. This job is perfect, exciting and challenging, as it combines elements of each of the vocations I was initially considering. I am so blessed to work alongside someone as talented, passionate and incredible as Pam. 

I'll be taking over the blog from here on out and I'd love to hear any comments you, the reader, may have. Thank you for visiting the Touch A Life site. Read on and enjoy!

:: How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment to start improving the world. ::

Anne Frank

Rachel

(Originally posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2008.)