Money Matters

How much does it cost for us to do a vision clinic and crusade in Ghana? Many of you have asked this important question. Money does matter. Without your generous support, this opportunity to share God's love through providing clear vision and preaching God's word could never happen.

Our budget for this trip is roughly $12,800. In this post, I'd like to break down those costs a bit and thank everyone for their generosity that has enabled Faith Promise to fund a large portion of this trip.

Airfare from Lexington to Accra for the team makes up the largest cost - $6234.50. This amount covers the cost of airfare for Manny, Todd, Vicki, Jason and Mary.

Surprisingly, the next largest category covers the medical costs of the team members - roughly $2000. Included in this budget category are immunizations for Yellow Fever, Hep A & B, and Typhoid. Also included are medications to prevent malaria and the costs for medical appointments at Repointe Medical. Many of us were surprised to find that immunization costs are not covered by our health insurance and so this cost was higher than estimated.

The cost of the vision clinic is the next largest budget item - $1950. This cost includes the money paid to Kendall Optometry ($1782) for the glasses, the inventory software and equipment, shipping costs for the glasses and equipment, and training for Vicky and Mary to learn how to operate the autorefractor and give the exams. Also in this cost is $168 for supplies to run the equipment. This includes the costs incurred for the eye chart, tool kit for glasses repair, cloths and solution for cleaning the glasses, wrist bands to identify the patients, and labels as well as an estimated cost for tarps or other supplies to protect the equipment from extreme heat and the expected rain.

Our next largest expense covers lodging and meals at the Methodist guest house - $1600. This will cover the three rooms ($40/day each) for Todd, Vicki, and Jason/Mary for 8 nights - $960 and meals for 8 days($20/day each) for Todd, Vicki, and Jason/Mary - $640.

In-country travel costs are estimated at $507. The cost for a van and driver to transport the team to and from the vision clinics will be $275. The remaining $232 will cover the flight from Accra to Kumasi for Todd, Vicki, Jason, and Mary.

Finally, we would like to leave a donation of $500 to Joseph Otsin. This will be seed money to help plant churches in the villages we serve.

Note: Not included in this total are the team's excursion to Cape Coast, passports, and Visas.

The money that you have already given to Faith Promise will cover the costs of the vision clinic, guest house accomodations, in-country travel, and the seed money for the church plants. Any additional offerings will go toward the costs of team members' airfare and medical costs.

We are so thankful for the generosity of all of the members of First Church in supporting missions through the Faith Promise campaign. Donations to Faith Promise can be marked "Ghana" if you would like to provide support specifically for this mission.