Dreams of Faith and Hope

Father Paul Mensah was born on January 15, 1961 in the small village of Awaso in the western region of Ghana to the late Peter and Cecilia Mensah. He is the youngest of seven children, the only one to have gone on to college in Ghana, receiving a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and a Masters of Arts in Divinity.

Father Paul was ordained and incardinated on July 28, 1990 in Ghana in the Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese. Later he traveled to minister in Nova Scotia and Alberta, Canada and to Fresno and San Jose, California. While in San Jose, he continued his studies at Santa Clara University and earned two Masters of Arts degrees in Spirituality and Educational Administration.

In addition to his parochial ministries and studies in San Jose, he was the Chaplain to the correctional facilities and Juvenile Hall in Santa Clara County.

Whenever Father Paul went back to his town of Awaso, he became increasingly aware of the overwhelming effect of young peoples’ lack of progressive education and failure to thrive in a global economy. Over 98% of the children do not even progress to high school due to poverty. Moved by the plight of these children, Father Paul began to focus on education in order to break the cycle of poverty and provide them with a brighter future and dignity. In his dream, Father Paul wants to give back to his community in a powerful, yet simple way.

His vision is to start an academy, as part of a team effort, which will provide technologically current and relevant education that will empower the children to advance and take their rightful place in the global community. The driving force behind this mission is the loving support of the communities in which he has served in Canada, the United States and in Ghana. These communities have unselfishly and generously given of their time, talent and treasure for the realization of this mission.