Our Story

Our Story

Victoria Aba Colecraft epitomizes the vibrantly aging elder. She is our wonderful mother.

Multitalented and multifaceted, she has worn many hats concurrently and consecutively, always a pillar of her family and community– ever engaged, active, involved, learning and imparting knowledge.

Since her youth she has exemplified a keenly independent and caring spirit, working hard every single day -to take care of herself, her family, and countless others over the years- from infants to the elderly who are her extra special passion.

She credits her maternal grandmother the strong influence who fostered a love of elders in her that forged a lifelong commitment to the aged resulting in “Mpanyifo Anyakofo (Friends of the Aged)” starting in the early 2000s in our hometown Winneba, Ghana. She, with the unfailing support and assistance of our father, her husband Mr. Emmanuel A Colecraft made it a personal mission to bring together a remarkable and dedicated group of like-minded friends, acquaintances, and helpers for the singular purpose of bringing attention, companionship, and joy to elderly people in the Winneba community. Over many years Friends of the Aged hosted numerous events celebrating the elderly in the local community and fulfilling the mission for which it was founded. As the years rolled on, the Friends of the Aged have themselves become the Aged leading our mother to wonder who would carry on the vision. 

Even as our mother pondered the future fate of Friends of the Aged, we, her children, grappled with the questions of the who, how, and where she and Dad would be attended to full time if and when the time came.

In 2015 a divine epiphany came to their oldest daughter, Francesca, a busy medical doctor practicing in Michigan, USA. As she cared for a beloved feisty 90-year-old patient in her last days, she thought about her now aged but still very vibrant parents far away in Ghana, and beyond that about herself and her siblings and our spouses. Where would we end up and who would help us as we became inevitably less able? No one wants to be a burden, feel stuck in a nursing home, or stay home alone, isolated and forgotten. The solution came through to her crystal clear- “You will have to build it”. 

Maybe you are like us and live far away from your aging loved ones and cannot be there for them physically. Or perhaps work and other life demands and circumstances have usurped your ability to provide optimum attention or assistance to the elder in your life, to ensure he/she remains vital, safe, remembered and relevant. Or maybe you are the one seeking to downsize and looking for somewhere to be part of a vibrant community during retirement. 

Welcome to Vibrant Aging Community Center- A wonderful home environment that may just be better than home! We are all about aging vibrantly, banishing isolation and building community.