Dear Friends
A heartwarming story from Ghana, Linked to the Futurestars Charity but also a story about friendship, life and support……
Emmanuel Okyne-Tetteh
Emmanuel Okyne-Tetteh is the Futurestars Charity Country Manager in Ghana. He was the first Ghanaian I met when I arrived in Accra and he helped me design and set the Futurestars Project way back in 2015. He worked part-time for three years delivering and managing the project from 2015 until 2018. Then due to additional funding raised we were fortunate enough to offer him the full-time role at Futurestars as the Country Manager. He is my right-hand man and we have been running the Futurestars Charity together since 2018. I could not run successful projects in Ghana without him and he is the most vital person in our charity and is responsible for everything we do in Ghana 365 days a year.
Ethan’s Background
Emmanuel and his wife Phyllis had their third child Ethan in 2020, it was clear from an early age that Ethan had some health problems which were finally diagnosed as a Hole-in-Heart and Mitral Valve Regurgitation, which causes a backflow of blood due to the failure of the heart’s mitral valve to close tightly.
We spoke about this regularly and were aware that at some stage when he was old enough, an operation would be needed to repair the hole in the heart Ethan was born with. These operations are very expensive and also very rare to be undertaken in Ghana. So the family set about finding charitable & medical organisations all over the world who could help Ethan. To start with, the family got introduced to the Save A Child’s Heart Foundation in Israel who were going to cover the cost of procedure less all other expenses. Unfortunately, the war broke in Israel and this did not materialise. However, a quick decision to make the trip to another medical foundation in India saw him have the open heart surgery he needed.
The Fundraising plan
Emmanuel and his whole family and friends in Ghana started raising the funds they needed, and then for those of you who didn’t know I had a milestone birthday back in August 2023, and celebrated with a party for many of my family and friends. I decided to ask my family and friends to make small donations to a go fund me page for Ethan rather than buy me birthday presents. This is where I found out exactly how generous and caring my friends and family were….The page went crazy and together we were able to support Emmanuel and his family with the funds they needed to get Ethan to India and get the life-changing surgery he needed. Some of the donations were so generous (you know who you are) and you will see from Emmanuel’s story below just how much it meant to him and his family…..
The Okyne-Tetteh Family Story
A Tale of Hope – Ethan’s Journey
Conclusion
This is a story of hope, love and support – My thanks go out to everyone who made a donation to the cause as part of my birthday celebrations.Ethan will need continued support as he grows up and we will be there to support him. If this story has touched you and you would like to help us with his ongoing medical support please use the link below to make a one-off donation of your own and we will use it to support Ethan, As you can see it will be very much appreciated.
Thank you for your time and generosity.
Simon
Simon Milton
Futurestars Charity Director