Thank You Friends – 2023 Update

Thanks to my friends who supported me going back to Ghana. When I’m there, I have no doubt that this is the important work of my life. I wish I could transport you all there with me so you could experience the joy of giving to these communities and the difference we make together.  I was in Ghana for two weeks and we raised over $22,625 together. We fed almost 522 kids on the streets with donations of $2000 worth of food to two orphanages. We hosted basketball clinics with the inner city team we support – A special thanks to the BYU Mens Basketball team who donated jerseys, shorts, shirts, balls and pumps. 

A Favorite Moment: When we were in Accra there’s a neighborhood called Saraha that is very poor. Most parents are in the city working, so there are tons of older kids who take care of their younger siblings. We parked our truck, and handed out food to the children. We were swarmed by people. It was humbling and one of my favorite moments of the trip.

Thank you for your support. 
Make sure you follow me at @kofij11 for live updates!

-Kofi Johnson

Kofi invested in two barbers to start their own businesses. They came from the village to the city with the passion and skills to begin, but didn’t have a place to work from. Kofi invested in a permanent location for them and upgraded their tools.  Now they can double their monthly income. Although they don’t have traditional education, Kofi was impressed by their heart, their gumption and their work ethic to make it happen.  As Kofi learns his own entrepreneurship skills in his own barbering business, he’s able to share what he is learning with them.

Graceful Grace School Update

Kids are doing well and using the playgrounds, desks and the new health clinic we installed last year. Thank you to all of our donors who have given for multiple years, allowing us to build upon each year’s project. Teachers and students are grateful for the meals we provided and gifts we handed out.

Because I grew up in the system and at these schools, I can relate to the kids and how much these means to them. – Kofi

Hope through Sports

Each year, Kofi receives donations from local soccer clubs and basketball teams. He takes jerseys, shirts, and balls with him to donate to an inner-city team he supports. This team is close to Kofi’s heart, as its from the neighborhood he grew up in. They enter community tournaments to (hopefully) win prize money. This money is what they use to feed their families.  Soccer and basketball has been essential to Kofi’s life, and providing coaching and gear to this team is a bright spot in the trip each year. The team organizes community clinics and clean-ups throughout the year.

Miracle of Maintenance

The 2019 Trip highlight included remodeling an entire inner city basketball court. Before, the court was run down with broken hoops. Kofi and his crew fixed the rims, changed the nets, painted the whole court, built 4 long benches for the courts, put in 4 new trash cans for the court to help maintain a clean environment. While he was there, Kofi gave rousing speeches to the kids about taking care of their neighborhoods. He has infused pride in their their updated court and taught them the values of sportsmanship.

volunteer opportunities

Kofi Johnson is passionate about giving meaningful volunteer opportunities to students while making a sustainable impact to his home country of Ghana. If you’d like to donate directly to Kofi for in-kind donations or sports equipment, please contact him at [email protected].

Tifie Humanitarian is the Fiscal Sponsor of Going Back to Give Back. 100% donations made to Going Back to Give back, go directly to this project.

A Rewarding Return

Kofi Johnson grew up in an orphanage in Accra Ghana and was adopted to a family in Utah when he was 15. He goes back to Ghana to give back to the orphanage he grew up in and provide sports training and soccer clinics to the community. His service trips include donating basic and much needed supplies to the orphanage, teaching soccer clinics and sports training for the community. Kofi’s dream is to expand the opportunities at the orphanage to include trade skills and scholarship opportunities.