Keychain Connections: St. Luke Students Bond with School in Ghana

by Diocese of Des Moines Catholic Schools | October 1, 2025

The keychains were simple—three beads strung together by seventh graders during a mission day at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic School in Ankeny, Iowa. Green beads for their school colors, blue for a school they'd never seen in Ghana, and black in the center to bind them together. The students blessed the keychains and sent them halfway around the world, not knowing they were launching something transformative.

When the photographs arrived weeks later, they told the story: dozens of Ghanaian children and teachers smiling as they held those modest keychains, their joy radiating across thousands of miles of ocean and continent. A handwritten letter from the headmistress of Fr. James Browne Memorial School followed, expressing gratitude that seemed almost too large for such a simple gesture.

"The students enjoyed making them because they knew they were going somewhere and that others would be praying for them because of it," recalled Emily Pollpeter, the former St. Luke's teacher who helped coordinate the project.

Those keychains became the first thread in a tapestry of connection that now spans continents, proving that meaningful relationships can begin with the simplest gestures. What began with beads and blessings has grown into a sister parish relationship that has transformed both a suburban Iowa Catholic school and a rural Ghanaian community.

  

From WhatsApp to Partnership

The relationship began with modern technology bridging an ancient practice. Fr. Ryan Andrew of St. Luke the Evangelist had maintained his friendship with Fr. Raphael, a priest from Ghana's remote Navrongo-Bolgatanga diocese, through WhatsApp messages across continents.

"It initially kind of started in grassroots terms," Fr. Andrew explained. "A lot of people in Africa use [WhatsApp], a lot of people in Ghana, so we would stay in contact that way."

When Bishop Agyenta, Fr. Raphael's bishop, came to St. Luke's for the Des Moines diocese's annual mission appeal in summer 2023, Fr. Andrew approached him with a request: could St. Luke form a sister parish relationship with Fr. Raphael's church, St. Martin de Porres, and the associated Fr. James Browne Memorial School?

"He gave a big thumbs up," Fr. Andrew said.

That brief conversation officially launched a partnership that would soon change lives on two continents. 

Meeting Basic Needs

The partnership quickly moved beyond symbolic gestures to address fundamental challenges facing Fr. James Browne Memorial School in the village of Zwarungu. At the Ghanaian school, 170 students and their teachers shared inadequate bathroom facilities—a reality that starkly contrasted with the assumptions American students make about basic infrastructure.

A single mission day at St. Luke raised $2,000. While modest by American standards, this funding transformed daily life at the Ghanaian school by providing new bathroom facilities that brought dignity and proper sanitation to the school community.

In the summer of 2024, Fr. Andrew and a group of St. Luke parishioners traveled to Ghana to deliver the funds and begin the bathroom project.

"Before, the teachers and students were having to use the same bathrooms because they didn't have enough space, or the other bathrooms were not functional or sanitary enough," Fr. Andrew said. "We started with a beginning, which was a hole in the ground and a workable seat."

The partnership also funded a security wall around the school perimeter. The six-and-a-half-foot barrier protects children from busy road traffic and potential security threats.

"Having that barrier structure makes it much more safe for the kids, which also makes it more appealing to parents to send their kids there," Fr. Andrew observed. "Because if the basic reality of safety isn't in place, that's not going to be a good thing for the school."

In the past year, the school has seen enrollment grow from 170 to 192 students, reflecting increased confidence in the institution's educational mission and improved facilities.

          

Making It Personal

The relationship transformed from abstract partnership to personal connection when Fr. Raphael visited St. Luke in April 2025. His two-week stay created a lasting impact throughout the Iowa school community.

"He was in the school, and he did the Mass, and he went into classrooms and talked with staff, said Misty Hade, the school’s administrator. “I think that was powerful for the students and the teachers to have that personal connection.”

The visit accomplished what no video call could: it gave students a living connection to their Ghanaian partners. Young people who had made keychains for abstract children in Ghana suddenly had a face and voice representing that distant community.

Students began approaching teachers with questions about how the relationship started and why it mattered. "Some of the students had questions on their own about how the sister parish relationship came about, and just they were wanting to know themselves because they were so interested in it," Fr. Andrew said.

Religion teacher Jessica Willer has integrated the partnership into her curriculum, watching students' understanding evolve from curiosity to genuine engagement. 

"At first, many didn't fully grasp it. To help them understand, we watched videos of our sister parish in Ghana and learned about their needs as a school and community," Willer said. "The students were fascinated by their culture and the exchange rate differences, and they had a lot of great questions."

Crossing Continents for Understanding

Fr. Andrew committed to annual trips to Ghana, understanding that physical presence creates connections impossible through digital communication alone.

Emily Pollpeter joined the trip with four others in July 2025, motivated by her desire to see Catholic universality in action. Having taught students about the global church, she wanted to experience it personally.

"My main reason for wanting to go was to see the universality of the Catholic Church in action," she said. "When I taught the Four Marks of the Church to my eighth graders, I always discussed with them how when you go to Mass anywhere in the world, you can expect the same thing. It might be in a different language and have different music, but we have the same traditions everywhere."

The trip revealed profound truths about faith expression across cultures. At Mass in Ghana, Pollpeter experienced the same readings and liturgical structure she knew from Iowa, but expressed through dancing, individual gift-giving, and enthusiastic singing that extended services to two hours.

"It was incredible to be able to put faces and names to the community we've learned about and prayed for," she said. "To see how welcoming and kind they were just because of this connection we have was beautiful."

The differences were as instructive as the similarities. 

"Their faith was very similar to ours, but the biggest differences that stood out to me were how giving they were of their time and money," Pollpeter observed. "Most Masses we attended had two collections. Everyone got up and gave money, even if it was a little bit."

For American visitors, the experience reinforced that liturgical universality transcends cultural expression. Despite different customs, the fundamental elements remained identical to their Iowa worship experience.

"The readings were the same. It was the same structure of mass. It was a priest. It was the altar," Fr. Andrew noted about one parishioner's realization. "It just really hit home for him the beauty of the unity of our faith, even amidst the diversity of the expressions of that one faith."

Classroom Connections

The sister parish relationship has become integral to Catholic education at St. Luke's, expanding students' understanding of their global faith community. Jessica Willer has watched the partnership transform her students' perspectives.

"Our students are beginning to understand the global Catholic community through the sister parish relationship," she noted. "The students’ efforts—praying, making cards, creating gifts, and mission days—have shown them that they can make a big difference in someone's life."

The educational impact extends beyond religious instruction. Students learn about economic inequality through exchange rate discussions, understand global geography through prayer intentions for specific communities, and grasp Catholic universality through correspondence with peers who share their faith but not their circumstances.

As the school administrator, Misty Hade recognizes the partnership's role in the school’s broader educational mission. 

"I think it's important for our students to see the aspect of life outside of their lives. To see people all the way across the world and how their lives are different, and how this is our way to step up and help in whatever way that might be," Hade said. "Yes, it's important to help the people in our communities, but we also have to think about people beyond Iowa, beyond our country.”

St. Luke teachers have contributed school supplies, books, and teaching materials. Students have created colorful letters sharing information about their lives and community.

In return, Ghanaian students crafted individual leather pouches featuring their school's crest and mission statement. Each pouch was personalized—from one specific child to another.

  

Future Commitments

The partnership continues growing through sustained commitment and expanding participation. Multiple St. Luke families have inquired about joining future trips, and the relationship is open to middle school students and older when accompanied by parents.

"There's actually a good amount of students who have asked their parents if they could go," Fr. Andrew said.

St. Luke parishioners continue to support St. Martin de Porres and Fr. James Browne Memorial School through the "Tithe of the Tithe" program, which sends bi-monthly donations to support various needs at their sister parish and school. 

Individual parishioners have also contributed significantly, with one donation enabling the purchase of church pews that the Ghanaian community couldn't have afforded independently.

The community has rallied around the annual trips as well, raising thousands of dollars to help defray travel costs for participants, ensuring that financial constraints don't prevent engagement.

Mutual Transformation

Perhaps most importantly, the transformation flows in both directions. While St. Luke provides financial support and material resources, the Ghanaian community offers equally valuable gifts: examples of joy despite material limitations, demonstrations of authentic faith expression, and models of generosity from those who have less.

"Both parishes are missionaries to each other in different ways, I think," Fr. Andrew said. "Their generosity, their hospitality, their joy is just palpable. Their faith is palpable. And so I think both from St. Martin de Porres and from St. Luke, we're enriched and strengthened in our Catholic faith in different ways."

This reciprocity transforms the traditional model from charity to partnership, from helping to mutual learning. The Iowans travel to Ghana not just to serve but to receive, not just to provide but to be enriched by the experience.

For students, the relationship provides concrete understanding of Catholic universality. Jessica Willer hopes the partnership teaches fundamental Christian values. 

"I believe this relationship helps students understand the universality of the Catholic Church. Having the personal connection to a parish and school that they pray for frequently and learn about often helps students understand the idea of giving and thinking beyond ourselves in our community,” Willer said.

Fr. Andrew notes the Ghanaian community doesn't have a whole lot of material things, but “they are very, very, very, loving,” which captures the heart of the relationship: meaningful connections transcend material circumstances. 

Whether expressed through keychains, security walls, bathroom facilities, or church pews, the principle remains constant—authentic relationships, sustained by faith and commitment, create transformation that enriches everyone involved.

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Partnership at a Glance

• Summer 2023: Bishop Agyenta visits St. Luke and approves the sister parish relationship.
• November 2023: St. Luke students create keychains on the feast day of St. Martin de Porres.
• June 2024: Fr. Andrew and St. Luke parishioners visit St. Martin de Porres and Fr. James Browne Memorial School for the first time.
• April 2025: Father Raphael visits St. Luke for two weeks.
• July 2025: Fr. Andrew and St. Luke parishioners visit St. Martin de Porres and Fr. James Browne Memorial School for the second time.

Transformative Projects

• Security wall construction around Father James Browne Memorial School
• Bathroom facility improvements
• Church pew purchase
• Ongoing bi-monthly financial support through "Tithe of the Tithe"

Fr. James Browne Memorial School

• 192 students
• Pre-K through middle school
• Zwarungu, Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga
• Northern Ghana