The Staff
Edem Kosi Richard Adjordor
Ghanaian Director/Co-Founder
- Joy & Edem
Edem Kosi Richard Adjordor, 30, is a member of the International AIDS Society. He lives in Kpando, Ghana and his parents are Madam Rosemary Aku Wordey from the royal Kendra Clan of Kpando Dzanti, and Mr. Peter Wallace Adzordor from the royal Dzoka clan of Kpando Konda, in the Volta region of Ghana.
Edem completed secondary school in Kpando and has attended the Teacher Training College in Amedzofe. When Edem was only 17 he and several of his friends started a youth organization called the Volta Star Family Fun Club. Edem also started computer store in Accra with His cousin Harrison Addom, called Radiant Vision, and was the Operations Manager for several years in addition to being a volunteer teacher in Konda.
Edem is currently the Regional Coordinator for the international web-based Global Youth Action Network and is the Co-Founder of Coalition of Youth Groups in the Volta Region. He has attended dozens of youth and development workshops and even organized several workshops for youth in his region in the past couple of years. Edem won 2007 World Bank small Grant Youth award to educate youths in Volta Region on the Mellinum Development Goals. (MDGs) and was elected as the youth representative at the national level at the just ended Jubilee Leaders Youth Summit.
Edem works unpaid for HardtHaven and spends most of his days at the Home helping with the kids, fundraising, working on projects, working with volunteers, and raising support in the community. Edem has contacts all over the world, is extremely motivated and creative, and is an essential part of HardtHaven. He hopes to be able to travel to Europe next year to raise awareness and funds for HardtHaven.
Joy Hardt RN, BSN
Executive Director/Co-Founder
Joy Hardt, 25, originally from Spokane Washington, is currently a United States Naval Officer and psychiatric nurse stationed at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina and currently deployed to Djibouti (Horn of Africa).
Joy is a part time student at Webster University and will graduate with her Masters in International Relations in 2011. She is a member of the International AIDS Society and the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. Joy attended the XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008), which was held in Mexico City August 2008.
Joy has been to Ghana 6 times to work on HardtHaven and has traveled to ten other countries. She hopes to be discharged from the Navy in 2013 and to continue her work in Africa and poverty stricken countries around the world.
Lisa Fuller RN, BSN
US Director
- Lisa
Lisa Fuller, 34, lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a registered nurse and after many years of providing bedside care for Oncology patients, she now manages global clinical trials for Biogen Idec. Lisa is also a part-time graduate student at Boston University and is working on a Masters of Business Administration in Health Sector Management.
Lisa had always wanted to volunteer in Africa and found her way to HardtHaven in December of 2007 and she fell immediately in love with the country, the people and especially the children. Once back in the US, she took on the position of Volunteer Coordinator and then became HardtHaven’s US Director.
Sonjelle Shilton
Board Member/Secretary
- Sonjelle & Asantewa
Sonjelle Shilton first came to volunteer at HardtHaven in August of 2007, staying for a period of 6 weeks, during that time she felt such a connection to the children that she decided to come back to work as the Country Home Administrator. She volunteered a second time at the home in this capacity from February 2008 to July 2009. Sonjelle is responsible for fundraising and project development, managing the HardtHaven Volunteer Program and serving as the secretary for HardtHaven.
Sonjelle graduated from Rutgers University in 2007. She returned to the US to pursue a Masters degree in Nursing. Once this degree is completed she plans to return to Africa to continue to work with children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, hopefully one day making her home permanently in Africa.
Jessy van de Beek
Home Administrator
- Jessy
Jessy van de Beek is 29 years old and is from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Ever since she was a little girl, issues in developing countries attracted her attention. After graduating from the Vrije Universiteit at Amsterdam with a master’s degree in International Public Health, she started working at HardtHaven in June 2009.
During her masters Jessy spent a period of four months in Benin accomplishing a qualitative research on the Beninese Health Care System. The research was part of a PhD and a cooperation between the ministry of health of Benin and two universities. She interviewed different actors on the process of procurement, distribution and maintenance of medical devices and health care technologies. The interview analysis were used to make recommendations for Ministry of Health on how to improve the current system. Jessy and her supervisor are working on a publication.
In Benin Jessy did not only accomplish her research. While she was analyzing the results and writing the report, she worked at two orphanages. One orphanage was located in Cotonou, the economic capital. The other one was located in Allada, a village near Cotonou. The main activities were playing with and taking care of the children, which she loves to do.
The stay in Benin confirmed to Jessy that she is very committed to work in a developing country and that she would love to share and expand her knowledge and skills. She is very devoted to her job as home administrator and is gaining more experience every day. The children at HardtHaven are like family to her and Kpando is now her hometown. She is not planning on going back to the Netherlands in the near future.
The children call them Tassi (Ewe for “Auntie”)
Matrons/Staff
We want to recognize our matrons for all the hard work they do at HardtHaven. Our matrons cook and clean all day for all our children. They bathe the little ones, provide hugs, and teach them songs and stories to ensure they remember their Ghanaian heritage. They are an essential and integral part of HardtHaven.
HardtHaven, Ghana