Langford man fulfills promise to use flag 'meaningfully' by building library in Ghana

When Isaac and his family became Canadian citizens, he received a big flag and made a bold commitment.

“I promised myself,” Isaac says. “I’m going to use this flag meaningfully.”

Isaac didn’t know how he was going to do that then. He had been so focused on working to bring his wife and sons here for a better life.

But then he returned to Ghana to visit his hometown.

“I feel so sad when I went back,” Isaac says of seeing the old elementary school he last attended 30 years ago. “[It] was in a deplorable state.”

Isaac says the problems ranged from no real toilets, to a roof full of holes, and classrooms empty of books.

“I wasn’t happy about what I saw,” Isaac says. “So I decided I’m going to do something.”

He immediately bought seven whiteboards for the school, before promising to do even more later.

“I’m going to go back to Canada,” Isaac says, after posing for pictures in the school with the new boards. “And in two years I’m going to come back and build a library.”

Isaac’s been working two jobs (as a delivery driver and retirement-home server) 10 hours a day, seven days a week, to fund his project.

He also approached local thrift shops and used bookstores and received more than 3,000 book donations.

Although he had no intention of asking the public for support, after his story first aired on CTV News, Isaac received dozens of offers to help from across the country and launched a GoFundMe page.

One of the people who offered her support was a senior named Heather.

“I felt the need that I could help Isaac in some way,” Heather says.

She wondered if he could help her make a positive difference for one of the students.

“I asked him to find a little girl for me,” Heather smiles.

Before Isaac could do that, he had to facilitate the installation of a new roof outside the library and the extensive renovation inside, which included the delivery of new school supplies and all those donated books.

“[I hope] to keep them reading, to keep them learning,” Isaac says. “So somebody can also come from the school and be like me.”

Isaac recently returned to Ghana for the library’s official opening, to follow through on his promise to fill the school with hope again, and keep that commitment to use his flag meaningfully.

“I put the flag on the library,” Isaac says, showing me pictures of students studying in the bright new room, surrounded by shelves of books, with his Canadian flag featured prominently on the wall. “When people walk in they see this building was built from Canada.”

The flag prompted an 8-year-old student to approach Isaac.

“A little girl walked to me,” Isaac recalls with a smile. “[She] looked at the flag and said, ‘God bless Canada.’”

The girl’s name is Linda. She’s the youngest of 11 children being raised by a single mom. Now the girl is receiving health care and extra food thanks to Heather.

“This might be the beginnings of something great,” Heather says, looking at a picture of Linda that was sent with a message of thanks.

“She calls me grandma,” Heather smiles.

Isaac calls it kindness. Which he says he learned is what being Canadian is all about – and why he’s already started saving for his next project to build the school new bathrooms.

“You don’t have to be rich to do good,” Issac says. “Whatever you have that you can give to make other people’s life better, just do it.”