Who would have thought that a game of duck-duck-goose would change a life, but that’s exactly what happened. In the summer of 2016, Robyn Neuerburg went to Ghana, Africa on a medical mission trip. On the last day of the trip, the team hopped in a canoe, went across a lake, and walked to an obscure village. The moment she set foot in Ahiavekope, Robyn knew she would be back to help even more people. After the team provided medical care to over 100 people, and despite the language barrier, Robyn was able to teach the children how to play duck-duck-goose!

The entire medical team was moved by their experience of serving in the village that day. After she returned home, Robyn shared how meaningful the day in the village was with her husband, Joe. Importantly, she shared how she felt that God was telling her to build a school in the village in order to provide an opportunity for a brighter future. Ahiavekope, which is located along Lake Volta, has one of the highest rates of child slavery and trafficking in the world. Slave masters prey on rural areas of Ghana, including Ahiavekope and other villages along Lake Volta, and use the promises of money and a better life for villagers’ children – education and hope for a better future – only to enslave them in Ghana’s fishing industry. However, when there is a school in the community, the likelihood that slave masters’ tactics work is drastically reduced.

In November 2016, Robyn returned to Ahiavekope and met with the Chief and village elders. She shared her vision of building a school and her hope that it would enable the village to break the child slavery and trafficking cycle. In fact, the Chief and village elders shared Robyn’s vision, and took her to the exact spot in the village where, over the last 50 years, they had dreamt of a school being built. Isaac’s Dream broke ground in February 2017, and opened Prosperity Academy’s doors to the community in September of 2018. Since 2018, Isaac’s Dream established another campus and enrollment grew from an initial 60 students to more than 350 students. In addition, Isaac’s Dream provided housing for teachers, clean water to the village, and covered medical expenses for those in need. More recently, Isaac’s Dream is continuing to improve the lives of those in and around Ahiavekope by building a medical clinic that will be able to meet routine medical needs and emergency situations that arise throughout the region. What started out as a simple game of duck-duck-goose has evolved into a mission to break the cycle of lost childhoods and give hope for generations to come.