Georgina Naa Odarkaa Lamptey: Turning kindness into a lifelong mission

For years, Georgina Naa Odarkaa Lamptey has quietly invested in the lives of children whose dreams could easily have been cut short by financial hardship.

She has paid school fees, supported medical expenses, provided health insurance and transportation, and helped children remain in school.

Through the Eastbourne Foundation, she has supported more than 10 children over the years and currently assists about five.

But behind her commitment to helping others is a deeply personal story of a woman who once received a helping hand herself and made a decision never to forget it.

“If somebody has done that for me, I need to do it for somebody,” she says.

That belief has become the driving force behind her philanthropic work.

The Eastbourne Foundation was established five years ago to support children in need, particularly those facing financial difficulties that could prevent them from continuing their education.

For Georgina, the work is not about a child’s tribe, background or social status. What matters is genuine need.

When cases are brought to the attention of those who assist with the foundation’s work in Ghana, the welfare committee of the foundation assess the circumstances and inform her. She then provides financial support where necessary.

Her support has gone beyond paying school fees. For some beneficiaries, she has taken responsibility for health insurance, transportation to and from school, medical expenses and other educational needs.

Her motivation, she says, comes from her own background and life experiences.

“If you have help, you can get somewhere,” she says. “There are people who can do things, but without help, they may not get the opportunity to become what they can be.”

For Georgina, helping a child is therefore not merely an act of charity; it is an investment in human potential.

Her journey of supporting others has not always produced the outcomes she hoped for. One girl she supported was exceptionally brilliant. Georgina followed her educational journey closely and provided support for her schooling and other needs.

But as the girl approached graduation, family circumstances changed and she eventually disappeared from Georgina’s life. The experience was deeply painful.

In another case, Georgina supported a girl from primary school through senior high school. After the girl completed school, a misunderstanding arose between Georgina and the beneficiary’s family concerning the assistance she had received.

The relationship broke down and the support could no longer continue.

Such experiences have taught her about disappointment and human nature. Yet, they have not stopped her from helping.

“I don’t think that is a deterrent to helping somebody,” she says. “You can’t have everything right. So I still do it.”

For Georgina, disappointment should not destroy the desire to do good.

Her passion for helping children is rooted in her own experience.

When she was preparing to train as a community health nurse, one of her pastors, Emmanuel Aladira, came to her aid.

The course was a three-year programme, and the pastor helped her obtain the items she needed for school, purchasing enough to support her throughout the training. The gesture made a lasting impression on her.

Years later, as she became professionally established, she remembered that someone had once looked at her potential and decided that she was worth supporting.

She came to believe that she, too, had a responsibility to do the same for others.

Born and bred in Adedeinkpo, a suburb of Jamestown, Accra, Georgina began her education at Ayalolo Cluster of School and completed her middle school education with distinction and was among only two pupils in her class to achieve that feat.

Yet, her journey was not always straightforward.

After completing school, she stayed home for some time and briefly tried her hand at catering. She did not enjoy it.

Then one day, a friend told her she had applied to nursing school and encouraged Georgina to do the same.

She took the chance and that decision changed her life.

She performed exceptionally well in the national entrance examination, placing second in the country, and in 1982 began training as a community health nurse.

After graduating, she returned to Accra and began working at Princess Marie Louise Hospital, popularly known as the Children’s Hospital. Her ambition, however, did not end there.

When she heard that a former classmate had written the General Certificate examination and passed, she challenged herself to do the same.

“If she can do it, then so can I,” she reasoned.

She studied for seven months, wrote the examination and performed well enough to continue her education.

Her determination produced remarkable results. During her nursing training, she emerged as the highest-performing student in the country in her first year. When she graduated in 1992, she again excelled in practical nursing.

She later trained as a midwife and practiced for about 25 years before travelling to the United States.

Even as she approaches retirement, Georgina is thinking about how she can continue giving back.

She currently supports about five children through the Eastbourne Foundation and hopes to expand her community work after retirement.

She plans to establish a reading club where children can come after school for help with their homework and improve their reading skills.

She is also considering starting a non-denominational Sunday school to reach children in the community who may need spiritual, educational and social support.

Her vision is to create a space where children can be welcomed, fed, guided and encouraged to become the best version of themselves.

For Georgina, retirement will therefore not mark the end of service, but rather offer an opportunity to do even more.

By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu

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