Liberty arts department donates supplies to school in Ghana founded by alumnus

In 2011, Charles Koomson (’13) traveled from his home country of Ghana to pursue a Master of Divinity at Liberty University. He wanted to learn how to enhance the ministries he founded in Ghana, which included Berean International, a Christian K-12 school, and the House of Mercy Assembly of God church.

“I said to myself, ‘I need to get out and know more about what our friends overseas are doing so that I can broaden my knowledge and use that here,’” Koomson said. “I told my pastor about it, and he recommended I go to Liberty University because he said it was one of the best theological institutions in the world.”

But after arriving in Lynchburg, he experienced problems with his off-campus housing arrangements and began to question the decision. A passerby overheard Koomson’s situation and introduced him to a Liberty professor from Ghana: Dr. Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, who serves as chair of the online English program. Adu-Gyamfi invited Koomson into his home, helping him get acclimated to his new surroundings. The two quickly formed a strong connection that continues to this day.

“It was a miracle that I came into contact with him,” Koomson said of Adu-Gyamfi. “He became like a father to me in the U.S. He gave me counsel, a place to sleep, food to eat, and it all got better from there. He taught me how to live in the U.S., and he was a great help to me. He still is.”

At Liberty, Koomson said he was inspired to carry out the university’s Christian mission and model of servant evangelism to his school just outside Accra, Ghana’s capital.

“Liberty prepared me a great deal for the work of my ministry,” he said. “I came for pastoral studies, but at the end of the day, I became more than a pastor; I became a better all-around person. When I saw what Liberty was doing (in education), I thought, ‘How can I do something like this?’ In my evangelism course, I learned about how to evangelize by serving others, and I used that in the school. I started with a small group of kids, teaching them about Christ, and through the school, a lot of the parents have also come to know Christ.”

Adu-Gyamfi has remained connected to Koomson and his school, making regular trips there. In addition to money and prayers, Adu-Gyamfi and his family send a 40-square-foot container twice a year filled with supplies, such as shoes, clothes, soaps, and school supplies. Last year, he sent sewing machines to start a local sewing ministry for Koomson’s church.

When Adu-Gyamfi learned about a new requirement from Ghana’s education department to add visual arts curriculum, he approached Todd Smith, chair of Liberty’s Department of Studio & Digital Arts (SADA). Smith and his students developed the idea of an art supplies drive.

“The Ghana government education department has included visual arts as a required component of the curriculum, and the kids are examined on it,” Adu-Gyamfi said. “The challenge is that there is a woeful lack of resources to support that. You go to the schools, and besides the pencils they already have and maybe a few spare crayons, many don’t have supplies. Dr. Smith and I saw this art drive as an opportunity for some of the things we take for granted here to be sent to the children who need it in Ghana.”

The drive was held last fall during the university-wide Global Focus Week. Students collected enough crayons, colored pencils, paper, drawing pads, paints, and other materials to supply all 200 students at Berean International. SADA has also funded an art teacher for a year at the school. Koomson received the supplies around Christmastime, and he said the students have been ecstatic to try their hands at art.

“The impact on the students has been incredible, and it has inspired them tremendously,” he said. “To realize that there are people who love them enough to provide such items, even from as far as the U.S., that has made the students so happy. There would have been no way for me to find or buy these supplies here in Ghana, and the students got them free of charge. It was truly a blessing to receive these things from Liberty.”

Smith and Adu-Gyamfi recently spoke to Koomson and his students on a video call, where Smith shared some of his own artistic creations and encouraged the students to engage in the arts with a Christian worldview.

“Who knows how many students will go through this classroom and impact their culture in the visual arts?” Smith said. “I want every culture to realize they have been given artistic gifts by God that they may not realize, and that He has an eternal plan for their gifts. When I spoke with this class, I shared this wonderful concept — that God is the original Creator/Designer and that the Holy Spirit lives within them and can empower them with ideas, skills and concepts that will bring Him glory. Each child in this classroom, and future classrooms around the world, has the potential to impact the aesthetic tapestry of their community, region, and country for God’s kingdom.”

He said God blessed the arts drive, and they plan to do more in the future.

Adu-Gyamfi said he has recommended Liberty to other pastors from Ghana who have graduated and returned to help minister to their community.

“I would love to host students or graduates from Liberty who have a passion for missions, art, and teaching. They would do so much for the children and the people here (in Ghana).”

The arts drive, he said, is “just the beginning of something big that God is going to do, and we are trusting God to do so for us with people’s prayers and support. I know He can do something great with this.”