Our
Updated: Feb 15, 2024
11
Supporters
Highest Donation -👑 Recurring Donations -💫 Between $150 & $500 -💸
About
My name is Sha'ine Jaysmine Young and we are Syren Waters.
We believe in the power of transformation, and we've embarked on a journey to create positive change in a small village in Ghana. Our self-funded mission began in 2016, and as we have done all we can alone, we now invite you to join us in making a lasting impact on the lives of the wonderful people in Akyeremanteng village and the family who have set aside all selfish things and chose to put forth their best versions to empower this community.
OUR VISION
Building a Retreat Center for a Better Tomorrow
Join Syren Waters in Making Dreams a Reality
We are asking for your assistance because we have put our all into building within this community and given so much that is now mandatory that we travel again outside of Ghana to build ourselves up with more knowledge, wealth, proper care, and resources so that we can continue giving as we have. They have reciprocated with love, friendship, land upkeep, building, and as much as they can with what little they do have.
We must complete this project by transforming a single room into a retreat center that not only enriches the lives of the residents but also profit-shares with the community.
Together, we can create a future where the people of this village thrive, children receive a quality education, and families enjoy improved living conditions.
Join us on this journey of hope and transformation.
What We Aim to Achieve:
Healing Center: Constructing a retreat center to provide a space for rejuvenation and healing.
Sustainable Revenue: Developing a sustainable business model that profit-shares with the local village.
How Your Support Will Make a Difference:
Empowering Education:
-
Books and Computers: Importing educational resources to enhance learning opportunities.
-
Infrastructure: Improving the local school for a conducive learning environment.
Nurturing Lives:
-
Electricity: Providing a stable source of electricity for the village.
-
Children's Well-being: Ensuring children have access to essentials, from clothing to toys to healthcare.
-
Extracurricular Activities: Supporting activities that nurture creativity and personal growth
Enhancing Living Conditions:
-
Mud Home Improvements: Upgrading homes to provide a safer and more comfortable living space.
-
Agricultural Development: Improving farming techniques to enhance the overall quality of life.
Support the Family Behind the Dream:
-
The heart of our initiative is a dedicated family committed to bringing positive change. Your donations will not only transform the lives of the village but also support the family leading this bold and inspiring initiative.
How You Can Contribute:
-
Donate: Your financial support directly contributes to the realization of our vision.
-
Spread the Word: Share our cause with your network to amplify the impact.
-
Volunteer: Join us on-site or remotely to contribute your skills and expertise.
Transforming Lives in Ghana
It's Story Time
In 2016, before Accra became such a popular African destination spot, my children and I traveled from America's emerging oppressive society looking for a home and community with the idea that we would acquire land and build an art center to educate and uplift those within it.
I'll stop you there, No, this is not the typical storyline, trust nothing on our journey has been typical.
Let's get back to it
We did all the research you could online (barely anything substantial at that time), found a place in East Legon for a few months while we learned the language, and formulated a plan. (Not to mention, I was also pregnant with my 3rd born)
After I had given birth to Nzinga, in my room with the help of my eldest Ohemaa (pictured to the right), we began looking for the land and a community that would welcome us.
Eagerly we traveled across Ghana trotro to trotro, from region to region, enjoying the sites, taking in the culture, improving our Twi, adding some Ewe, a little Ga. We loved it! It was a breath of fresh air coming from a place designed to suffocate you for nearly being born with a darker skin tone.
Racism is everywhere, but here, in Ghana, it was more like classism and THAT IS EVERYWHERE lol.
Akaa Falls
After a year and with the help of a traveling local named Nyame, we found a place full of water and life that resonated so much with our soul intentions.
We inquired about land, purchased a plot, and began our building journey.
We had never built a home before, so we outsourced help from a friend whose brand was to build eco-homes (domes in particular) around Ghana (Migrating Culture). He advised me but was unable to assist hands-on as he was busy building for his current clients.
As we were determined to get this started soon, we decided to pack up everything and squat on our land in hopes this would speed up the process of building. With us having only to build as we had seen our Migrating Culture friend stay on the land in which he was building.
Have You Ever Built An Eco-Structure Before?
Okay let's recap:
-
Hopped on a plane with no contacts in Ghana whatsoever
-
Gave Birth Naturally in my room (With only the children to assist)
-
Bought land and set up a tent to live on it!
Now that we're caught up! Let's stop boring you already, and begin building!
The '2nd in Command' after seeing us camp out on the land, invited us to come and stay in the village with his mother. Akyeremanteng village is full of simple mud homes, without electricity, nor toilets, and with no proper windows but so full of life and love. We took them up on their offer and they moved all of our things to a room in the village.
We felt immediately welcomed not as strangers, but as family, It took no time to adapt. We easily used the toilet in a hole in the ground and enjoyed making night fires, I even watched the mice rub around the room at night, talking to each other, surely to avoid the cat we had adopted. Everyone came to greet us and would ask us to eat with them. After they realized we did not eat meat, they would give us so much of the fruit and vegetables grown in the farming areas. There was one time we had 27 avocadoes! If you know avocadoes, it was hard to eat them all before they went bad.
Men in the village were taken back by our attempts to do 'a man's work' without the help of one and decided they would assist. They helped us to mold the mud blocks and build the first structure!
We came to so many challenges with building this simple structure, weather, funerals, culture expectations, cash flow, unexpected expenses and so much more. Then, right before roofing, I became terribly ill with Typhoid fever in 2018.
The village and it's plant life are responsible for bringing me from my deathbed back to thriving in great physical health. With the help of some unlikely new city friends obtained through our healing services at Syren Waters and the US Embassy, we returned to the States to rebuild and refocus. It did not take us long to recover. So we returned in 2019 to finish what we started!
In 2019, we learned our structure had fallen during the rainy season because it had not been roofed. This time, we ordered bricks, hired a mason and carpenter from the village, built a stable bridge so that crossing the rivers was easier for everyone, and we built a single room on the site, hoping to use it to fund the school in the village and provide better books, computers, and opportunities.
Look at Nzinga! She's so much bigger here :-)
This time, we roofed it!
However, life has thrown us some more challenges, deep shadow work, and we welcomed a new baby in 2021 (Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania). Again in 2023, we traveled back to Ghana in hopes of family and support but were left holding our tails above water. We are reaching out for assistance with completing and expanding the structure built, our travel schedule leading us back to London and the States, and re-establishing ourselves one more time. We have mastered the art of 'bouncing back' and 'overcoming adversity' we are now looking to master 'NOT HAVING TO'.
Your donation, big or small, will make a significant difference. Join us in this transformative journey and be a part of creating a brighter future for the village and its people.
Thank you for considering us as your partner in making a positive impact on humanity.
If you'd like to contact us directly please email info@syrenwaters.org
- Barter Services/Exchanges
- Debit/Credit Cards
- Crypto / Stocks & Bonds