The Ghanaian street child

By Ama Achiaa Amankwah

“I don’t have a mother whom I know, I don’t have a place which I call my own, nobody cares for me whether I live or die, a street child am I.” This is the cry of Ghanaian children in the streets of regional towns in the country, particularly the nation’s capital Accra.

The problem of street children is very complex and has grown over the years. Most of street girls either sell food or ice water and many are porters. Street boys however have a variety of jobs which include truck pushing, acting as aides to persons with disabilities and windscreen washing, with shoe-shining as a major source of income.
Data obtained and researches conducted have revealed the complexity of the issue. One of such research intervention is by the Catholic Action for Street Children, CAS.

The Director of CAS, Bro. Jos van Dinther recalled that in the early years of CAS’ existence it received quite some opposition from government officials and the public, as the idea that they appeared in towns and cities was not accepted. Therefore, he said it became necessary for CAS to obtain facts about them and so prove that some kind of action was needed to arrest the situation.

CAS gained recognition as a non-governmental organisation in June 1993 and committed itself to find out who the street children are, where they come from and what could be done for them. CAS has a house of refuge, a day care centre based in Lartebiokorshie-Accra with interdenominational staff strength of fifty-four. Street children are free to visit the refuge and take part in activities organised for them. These include baby-care, hopeland training centre and sponsorship programme.

Initially, the centre used to cater for pregnant street and mothers. But in 1995 it decided to separate them while collaborating with Street Aid which took over the baby care, to allow CAS concentrate on providing the children on the streets an opportunity to learn and leave the street.

Field workers go out to the street daily to interact with the children and invite them to the refuge. This often takes place at their meeting points including markets and lorry stations.

According to the CAS Director, Bro. Jos van Dinther the initiative should come from the child. As part of the orientation, they are taken through activities such as music, drama and sports to prepare them to go school and workshops. Those who really want to leave the street have to go through the preparation stage and will be sponsored.


Apart from formal education, CAS refuge has a demonstration department that trains the street children in weaving, ceramics and pottery. The refuge relies on the Catholic Church as its superior donor, Organisations and individual philanthropists for its funding. It admits children between the ages of five to eighteen.

Bros. Jos told this reporter that children who visit the centre daily are from all over Ghana. But he could not give the exact figure of children on the streets that have benefited from CAS activities, saying, “it is immeasurable. In our schools and workshops there are over a thousand children currently, whiles an average of eighty come here daily to learn.”

He said CAS does not want by any means fro street children to become dependent on the organisation, does not provide food or accommodation for street children and does not want to attract street children with gifts. “The aims include giving care and support to the children, giving them a chance to learn as well as a voice and develop their self esteem.”

The director explained that a research carried out by CAS during its 10th anniversary in 2003 that traced about half of children that have benefited its activities revealed that majority are settled. The only concern however, he said, is that they are engaged in jobs different from the training they had because traditional jobs are not there.
Consequently, he said they are now encouraging their students to take to other areas like catering.

He stated CAS is aware that 86% of the reasons why these children leave their homes are related to family problems/breakdown. “Majority of these children streets leave the home due to violence, poverty, truancy and divorce. Some are also born on the streets”

According to Bros Dinther although many of these children show interest in learning, some are just not ready. But he believes they are not to blame as they are born on the streets and are accustomed to street life such as gambling and all kinds of activities.

He laments the subject of street children is so large that it is getting out of control and that an urgent action is needed from government, saying, “NGOs can only assist but can never tackle the problem.”

The remedy he suggests is to set up family counseling groups in all regions regardless of religion. He announced that CAS is currently undertaking a research into the issue of children born on the streets to guide them in redesigning its programme.

“All working groups have a mandate to recognize the problem and coordinate child related programmes, create awareness and conduct advocacy.” He urged the media not to concentrate only on sensational political stories but developmental ones.