The captain of Ghana’s national football team, the Black Stars, John Mensah and his family have made a donation to the Village of Hope Orphanage at Gomoa-Fetteh. This is the second time they have donated to the orphanage after a similar donation last year. Making the presentation on behalf of the family John’s wife, Mrs. Henrietta Mensah said the donation was in fulfillment of a pledge they made last year that they would return to visit the children. The donation comprises, 5 bags of sugar (50 kg), 10 bags of rice (25kg), 10 packets of detergents, 3 cartons of bar soap, 100 pieces of toilet roll, 5 gallons of cooking oil, 5 sachets of Piccadilly biscuits, 3 boxes of cream crackers, 1 suitcase of used clothing, 1 suitcase of used footwear, 10 packets of ‘kalypo’and an amount of six thousand Ghana cedis (GH¢6,000.00). Mrs. Mensah said that the money should be used towards the education of the children. She encouraged the children to take their studies seriously and to devote themselves to the worship of God and prayer. She also asked them to be of good behaviour at all times. The donation was received on behalf of the orphanage by Mrs. Gladys Bulley, the Child Care Manager of Village of Hope. Mrs. Bulley expressed the gratitude of Management, Staff and Children of the Village of Hope to Mr. and Mrs. John Mensah and their family. The Managing Director of the Village of Hope, Mr. Fred Asare, also thanked the Mensahs for their kindness and generosity. He said the gifts would go a long way to help in the upkeep of the children at the orphanage. He further stated that since the last visit of Mr. and Mrs. Mensah a year ago, six of the children at the orphanage have passed the Basic Education Certificate Examination (B.E.C.E) with distinction and obtained admission to their first choice Senior High Schools. Twelve more children from the orphanage also took part in the B.E.C.E in April and he was hopeful that they would pass with distinction and enter Senior High School in September, 2008. The money donated by the Mensahs would therefore be used for the payment of fees of the children, especially those in Senior High School. He was full of praise for Mr. and Mrs. Mensah and asked for God’s blessings on them, their entire family and all their endeavours. The visibly excited children sang joyously to the praise of God and surrounded the vehicle of Mrs. Mensah for several minutes as each child tried to personally thank her for the visit and donation. Before departing from the orphanage, the emotionally moved Mrs. Mensah promised the children that this would not be their last visit. Also present at the presentation were some officials of the Ghana Football Association (G.F.A). John Mensah and the rest of the players of the national team are currently in South Africa in preparation for a World Cup qualifying match against Lesotho.