Healing Words Foundation, a US-based NGO, recently donated a variety of literary items to pediatric patients at the FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital, to help improve upon their reading skills.
Approximately 150 books, ranging from non-fiction to reference books written in English and Amharic, were presented to the children, many coming from various countries including Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.
The books were to help supplement the efforts of FOCOS Hospital in educating these children while they undergo treatment for various orthopedic conditions and disorders, sometimes staying at the facility for 3- 6 months.
The books were also a welcomed addition to the new children’s activity center currently being built at the hospital.
Speaking to the media about the donation was the Founder of Healing Words Foundation, Dr. Akua Ampadu who said “FOCOS was chosen as the inaugural benefactor of this project, due to its commitment to helping alleviate spinal deformities and disorders in children around the world.”
She further stressed on the benefits of the foundation’s donation to the children at FOCOS.
“Many of these children have extended stays at FOCOS Hospital before and after their surgeries and thus we felt providing reading material would have a positive impact on the overall healing process,” Dr. Ampadu added.
Receiving the items was the Chief Administrative Officer at FOCOS Hospital, Mrs. Leticia Osei-Poku who commended Healing Words Foundation for their generosity.
She assured the foundation that the books would be put to good use for the greater good of the children.
Healing Words Foundation is an NGO that recognizes the importance of reading to a child’s holistic health, and uses bibliotherapy to ignite and perpetuate a love for books among patients and their families.
The Healing Words Foundation will replicate donations like the one done at FOCOS Hospital to hospitals across the globe, engaging young children in inpatient and outpatient facilities in the act of reading.
For more information on how you can support the work of the foundation, visit http://www.readingandhealing.org/
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Credit: FOCOS Hospital
