She is only nine years old. Yet little Ruth has endured more hardship in her short life than most people experience in a lifetime.

Ruth shared her story during testimony time at the Bible Club. “My father left us. My mother could not feed me so I was forced to beg and steal food.”

Ruth (photo right) lives in Jasikan. It is a small village located in Ghana’s remote interior rainforest (Volta Region). The economy is simple and relies on subsistence farming.

“Every day I would steal carrots, bananas, or oranges to eat. Sometimes I would steal corn. I was so hungry I had no choice.”

Kids for the Kingdom national director Bernard Asare had grown up in Jasikan. He was familiar with the Volta Region. “I had it on my heart to minister to the children in Jasikan and the other small villages but did not know where to begin.”

Bernard Asare, who is currently serving as a pastor for a small church in Ghana’s capitol city of Accra, heard about Kids for the Kingdom. He came to Kids for the Kingdom with a plan to reach the Volta Region children through Bible Clubs and feeding programs.

The Volta Region ministry grew quickly. Today Kids for the Kingdom-Ghana conducts weekly Bible Clubs in twelve villages in the Volta Region reaching 768 children. The monthly feeding programs in Jasikan and the Volta Region provide 12,200 hot meals per year.

Ruth was one of the children in Jasikan that heard about the new Kids for the Kingdom Bible Club.

“I went to Bible Club because I was interested in God,” Ruth recalls. “I was hungry and they provided a good meal. I was able to listen to God’s Word because my tummy was full for once.”

At the weekly Bible Club Ruth began to learn God’s Word. She learned that stealing was wrong. She was taught to trust the Lord for all her needs. Then one day she shared with the Club leaders, “At Bible Club I learned it is wrong to steal. I learned to trust God to provide my food - and now He does.”

In addition to weekly Bible Clubs and monthly feeding programs in the Volta Region, Kids for the Kingdom-Ghana is reaching children with Christmas box distribution. Additionally we have established a job-training program in Jasikan to provide skills leaning for 40 teen girls. In 2008 a new skills-training center for boys will be opened in Accra. Additionally several new Bible Clubs and feeding programs will open in the capitol city.