Brampton-native mother celebrates her eldest daughter’s newest role at A4H, who started her journey with A4H as one of the original campers.
Mercy Ankoma-Mensa is a single mother of four who’s worked as an Early Childhood Educator (ECE) for the Peel District School Board (PDSB) for more than a decade. Balancing a full time job while taking care of four kids, one of them being a special needs child, came with its challenges but she’s always leaned on her family for support.
In 2013, her niece got a coaching job at an elite basketball summer camp in Brampton and told Ankoma-Mensa about it so her kids would have something to do in the summer and for their early interest in basketball. She wanted to register them right away but was worried about pricing.
“Abena was so kind enough to give me a subsidy. As a single mother, it was hard to pay for four children, but she was kind enough to subsidize the camp for them [so] that I was able to afford it. They started the camp [and] they loved it” said the ECE
A4H Sports continues to provide subsidies for families in need and will find a way for any camper to attend camp. Over the years, they’ve grown and created a multi-sports camp in addition to their basketball camp in various locations across Brampton and Caledon. They have speciality weeks such as all-girls week, stem camps, and top 40 camp.
Having different summer camps allows children to grow in multiple skills and be a part of a community of like-minded people. They learn leadership skills and create long-lasting friendships and memories at camp. Ankoma-Mensa remembers how much fun her kids had at A4H Camp and why she loved it for them.
“It [kept] my kids out of trouble. They had a place to go, they didn’t have to go out with friends and wander around and be out there to get in trouble … I could see the joy in them when they [would] go to camp, and I could see them coming home happy everyday and [they looked] forward to [going] every morning. And that was something that was so exciting, exciting for me, even as a mom, knowing that my kids are going to a place where they enjoy going, where they love to go.”
“I know in camp, you have to share the ball. So sharing is important, and caring for one another is very important. So I noticed that my kids were in the camp early, and none of them [got] in trouble at school. They [learned] to share. They [learned] how to care for other people, they [learned] how to give a turn to their friends and how to be there for one another. And I think the camp had a very big impact [on their lives], and I’m so grateful and thankful that they [learned] life skills because [knowing] how to mingle with other kids [is] very, very important in life and children learn it at an early age … they have to like each other, they have to play as a team and all that has impacted them so much as they have grown, I can still see it in them”
In 2016, her daughter, Emmanuella Dwumfour got her first job as a coach at A4H. As someone who’s been attending as a camper every summer, she was thrilled to be teaching kids the fundamentals of basketball as she was once taught years prior.
Then she went away to complete her post-secondary education, moved back to Brampton after getting her Bachelors and started her young adult life in the work field. Then in 2025, she got the opportunity to work at A4H once again but in a marketing and communications role, a field she’s worked in for years.
Ankoma-Mensa was amazed and so excited for her daughter, and in a way, she has re-sparked that connection with an organization she’s loved for years.
“Like, it couldn’t be what I dreamed [of]. … I told [her] to take it because that’s where [she] grew up, technically, and now [she’s] back to it. So it was meant to be! I was so excited to see my daughter working for the same company where she was once a camper … I couldn’t be happier”
As summer camp season approaches, Ankoma-Mensa shares her advice for parents who are looking for a summer camp fit for their children.
“… their child will grow and learn how to be with other children and learn how to share things with other kids and learn how to listen to coaches, teachers, [the] elderly, to bring their children to A4H. … It’s an amazing program [that will] benefit any child, any child. It doesn’t matter who the child is. … My daughter, who has special needs, hard-of-hearing, was able to be a part of the camp. That’s how inclusive the camp is.”
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