Born: 1975
Financial adoption: Mrs. Jellema – Dekker, fam. van Dijk- Beltjens en N.N. all from Holland. For Abena we are looking for €25 additional sponsoring per Month.

Abena was born in the mid seventies and has a severe mental handicap. It was in 2001 that she was brought from the Psychiatric Hospital in Accra to the Hand in Hand Community. At that time, she was lonely and frustrated, probably because she missed her friend Afia, who had been brought to Hand in Hand the year before.

Abena has her own place where she always sits, directly next to the dining-hut. You don’t miss her because of her strong personality and loud deep voice. She can scream and weep loudly at times and this can be difficult to understand.  Sometimes the cause is obvious like a treasured possession has gone missing but often she cries without obvious cause. If Abena is crying intensely, she may take off her clothes and run around. Caregivers  try to console her or let her cry for a while and then seek once again to console her.

Of course Abena can also be very happy. She  can roar with laughter and shake your hand enthusiastically. Abena doesn’t talk but she can say mama. She loves necklaces and medicines. On the other hand, she hates money. If you would give her some, she throws it on the floor with disgust!