GHANA

Ghana, located off the coast of West Africa and sandwiched in between Togo and Cote d'Ivoire gained its independence from Britain in 1957.

Ghana has a population of almost 22 million of whom over 75% are literate. In terms of religion, the populace is 63% Christian, 16% Muslim and 21% other beliefs.

Ghana originally named the "Gold Coast", is a country rich in mineral resources including Gold, Diamond and other minerals. A large proportion of the populace is engaged in the agricultural sector.

Historically Ghana's first contact with the western world came through the Portuguese who came seeking Gold in the fifteenth century. Christian missionaries also came at this time.

Ghana was colonised by Britain in 1874.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah later to become Ghana's first President was prominent in the struggle for independence. He became its first Prime minister in 1957 and its first President on 1st July 1960.

President Nkrumah spearheaded African unity and emancipation but economic mismanagement led to him being deposed from office in a military coup in 1966. A succession of military coups made things worse until junior officers seized power with Flt.Lt. Jerry John Rawlings as head of the government in June 1979.

They were able to restore justice to the nation before conducting free elections which ushered in a civilian government. However continued economic problems led to a second coup which returned Flt.Lt. Rawlings to power for a second time in December 1981. Having steered the country to prosperity and stability, he stood for and won elections to the presidency in 1992 and 1996. In 2000, he was succeeded by John Kuofor a devout catholic from the opposition NPP party who has in the past succeeded in economic turnaround

The Church in Ghana
Tbe church in Ghana was spearheaded by western missionaries in the nineteenth century. Heading inwards from the coast, they used education as a tool for spreading the gospel. Most Ghanaian schools are still mission influenced.

Because the missionaries came into Ghana from the south, the southern has a much higher percentage of christians than the north. There are several denominations and Christian groups in Ghana including Presbytarian, Evangelical, Methodist and Catholic.

Issues to pray for

• Pray for 150,000 people who have been displaced by land disputes and violence
• Pray for rain. Drought in the northern part of the country and adverse habitat problems have affected agriculture and wildlife.
• Pray for the salvation of the people and restoration of morality. Aids and high infant mortality rate have affected the population.
• Pray for the leadership of the country. Economic problems and high level of indebtedness to the west have led to the imposition of austerity measures.