When Rovaughna Richardson stood before the congregation at Williams Memorial Baptist Church, she did not only recount a decade of service in Ghana but also presented a story of young women moving from vulnerability to healing, opportunity and independence.
Richardson, a licensed professional counselor who has served in Ghana, West Africa, since 2016, is the founder and global servant leader of Esteem Resources Africa, a nonprofit organization established in 2022 to support young women and girls, including survivors of ritual servitude, human trafficking, and other forms of marginalization.
Her recent presentation highlighted a big milestone: ten years of serving in Ghana.
One of the central issues Richardson addressed was trokosi, a traditional practice involving the ritual servitude of girls and women. Although the practice was outlawed in Ghana in 1998, Richardson explained that it can remain difficult to identify and address because of its hidden nature and the complex social structures surrounding it.
Her response revolves around what she describes as a continuing missions model, one that moves young women from dependence, to interdependence, to independence. Esteem Resources Africa approaches that mission through five interconnected areas: restoration, compassionate companionship, empowerment, independence and advocacy.
Restoration begins with addressing wounds that may not be visible. Richardson provides counseling and mental-health education while emphasizing that healing cannot be separated from the other realities affecting the young women she serves.
Compassionate companionship means staying beyond the initial intervention. Richardson recalled witnessing during the COVID-19 pandemic how assistance could reach people without sufficient follow-up afterward. For her, meaningful service requires walking alongside people and understanding what happens after the immediate crisis has passed. Empowerment then gives young women practical tools to build their futures. Through vocational and business training, internships, mentorship, life-skills development and business planning, participants are encouraged to identify their strengths and imagine possibilities beyond the circumstances they have known.
Richardson shared the stories of several young women whose paths illustrate that transformation. One participant developed a business plan with aspirations of becoming a dressmaker. Another, despite never attending senior high school, demonstrated remarkable aptitude for numbers and gained employment in a hospital food department. Others have pursued university education, teaching, catering, fashion and technology.
The organization’s work also extends beyond individual women. Richardson emphasized advocacy and policy engagement, arguing that sustainable change requires attention to families, communities, national systems and institutions.
After ten years, she said the evidence of the work matters. Counseling sessions, vocational training, internships, scholarships, business support and partnerships provide measurable ways to understand the organization’s impact.
But for Richardson, the numbers ultimately point back to people.
She ended her presentation with a simple message to the church members: meaningful service is not just about giving. It is about understanding and walking alongside people long enough for them to discover their own independent strength and capacity to thrive and creating the conditions for that transformation to reach families and the communities at large.
