Ghana has over the years witnessed a mushrooming of orphanages despite the existence of a well established extended family network.
This continued at an alarming rate with almost 40% of the 95 orphanages surveyed having opened since 2002, because people do not look at other alternatives.None of the orphanages or homes in the country are registered in accordance with the Children's Act 560.
A countrywide census in 2006 revealed 148 orphanages. Since then 15 applicants have been turned down and 10 new ones were not captured. A census by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) revealed that their operations do not conform to the required minimum international and national standards.
They do not comply with the laws of the country. Government is currently exploring the possibility of other families taking care of orphans and vulnerable children apart from sending them to 'homes' or orphanages. Dubbed, "Care Reform Initiative" (CRI), it seeks to de-emphasize over reliance of care systems for children based on institutions to a shift towards a range of integrated family and community based care services for such children who would otherwise go without appropriate parental care.
Research has shown that orphaned and vulnerable children or children without parental care have a long trail of painful experiences characterized by economic hardship, lack of attention and affection, as well as psychological distress.
Other problems include loss of inheritance, increased of risk abuse, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination and isolation, drug use and crime. Children need to grow up in families with a loving caregiver for life and not in institutions.
The Coordinator of the CRI, Ms Helena Obeng-Asamoah disclosed that all the orphanages registered as non-governmental organization (NGOS) and are therefore operating illegally. "None of these homes is registered and do not operate within the laws of the country. If you are an NGO, you can't go ahead and care for children until you apply. You need to take that step. The approval will be done by notice and gazetted."
However, she said they have not been closed down immediately because they are human institutions that have a lot of children under them. Section 105 of the Children Act (Institutionalized Care and Miscellaneous Matters), sub section 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 stipulates: 105. (1) The Government may establish a home referred to this Act as "a home" for the care of children in such areas as the Minister may determine.(2) Any person or an NGO may also establish and operate a home for the care of children subject to the approval of the Minister.According to her, out of about four thousand children living in the 127 un-registered orphanages nationwide, 3, 800 have families, while only 200 are orphans, and are only at the homes because of poverty.
She said under the CRI, these orphanages are required to be accountable as most do not have record books. Already, two orphanages have been closed down officially. "We are not just closing down. A lot of work is going on to try to let them come up to standard. If we finish and we have to close down we will do it. Others may be assisted to do something different if need be," she elaborated.
Recognizing funding as one of the major challenges faced by all orphanages and homes within the country, she said that finding ways to make use of the extended family system within Ghana is a way to save money, as well as provide children with an environment more nurturing than an institution.
Since most children at orphanages or homes stay there because of poverty and not because they are actually without a family, money spent at such homes could be put to better use supporting poor families so that they can care for their own children.
"In fact, using funds to either assist or solicit assistance for children's families makes it nearly 9x cheaper for children to stay with families than in a home," she stated.
In addition to being more cost effective, she said that making an effort to keep families together also fortifies communities, while simply rushing to take children from impoverished families and put them in a home is a hasty decision which can have a negative impact.
"So often a foreigner will come to visit Ghana for 6 weeks or so and then decide they want to come back and start an orphanage. What happens next is that children from poor families end up leaving their house to stay at the home and never want to go back," she said. "The intentions are good but we need to be more thoughtful about our approach."
She was quick to add that this is not so say that foster care goes without its own set of challenges, particularly if a child's only option for a foster family is outside of the extended family network."It is very difficult to get someone to care for another person's child in Ghana. They are more likely to adopt as several social and cultural issues put them off," she said.
"That is why we are looking at the direct family as the first option and other family members second. In the case that neither is available, we are looking to other members of the community."That's why the CRI initiative is looking to religious and women's groups to provide support networks to potential foster parents."If a foster parent knows that there are other people in their community who understand what they're going through, then they will be more willing to take up that kind of responsibility," she said.
"It makes it easier when you have people to talk to about your challenges."If members of the community are still unwilling to take on the responsibility of caring for another person's child for a given amount of time, Mrs. Sharon Abbey, current director of the Osu Children's Home in Accra said that sponsoring a child is another possible solution.
"Most people who are well off are busy people," she said. "When you sponsor a child, all of the responsibility still lies with us at the home, the sponsor just takes care of the cost." "With your own children it's difficult," she said. "With a child who has grown up in a different environment, you can just imagine- especially if they are older at the time when they are leaving the home to go stay with a family.
"Reaching out to churches and individuals as well as existing NGO's also helps the department of social welfare tackle another of its major barriers in its attempts to make the lives of children in homes and orphanages better- being under-staffed.The department only has two social workers in each district, and they are in charge of all cases, ranging from abuse to disability and delinquency."Some have been given motorcycles to try to ease issues of mobility," said Ms. Obeng-Asamoah.
Still it is a heavy load for two people, and makes it difficult for the department to carry out its responsibilities."We are trying to do something about it," she said.Contrary to the perception that adoption from homes is easy, Ms. Obeng said that upon receipt of application, the department does a thorough investigation, and that due to cultural factors, preference is given to adopters who do not have children.
Ms. Obeng stressed that most children are adopted by Ghanaians. "With international adoption the report need to come from outside. We are trying to discourage where a couple take Ghanaian children without being to Ghana before. They are required to be here for at least three months."Ms Obeng who is also a former director of the Osu Children's home and the current director Mrs. Abbey denied allegations that Osu gets a chunk of donations to orphanages.
Rather, they said Osu keeps proper records, has professional staff that can talk about issues and auditors who come to the home periodically. "Most proper homes get more money just that they don't keep records. Osu often shares what it gets with other homes," explained Ms. Obeng.
Orphan aid Africa has within the framework of the CRI closed its children's home / orphanage at Ayenyah, near Dodowa in the Dangme West district and renamed Orphanaid Foster Family Community (OFFC).Majority of the children who were at the orphanage have been resettled with their relatives in the various regions.
However, for those with special needs that could not go back to their homes, Orphanaid has established specialized facilities with foster parents available to care for these children in safe and permanent family homes.
Consequently, Orphanaid's vacant building has been handed over to the office of Ghana Education Service in the district for use as school.Awo Boatemaa Aboagye, Community Care Director of OFFC in an interview said all 72 children have been resettled.
She explained that they traced the family, unify the child with it and monitor to see the outcome. She noted that family care is the best because every child has a right to grow up in a family, or else it becomes difficult for them to integrate into society later in life.
According to Awo, recruitment of children into orphanages is by asking people who cannot take care of the children to bring them and that the DSW do refer children to them. She said that six children were adopted about four years ago and that the DSW handled adoption. She said that the home received donations twice a year, which indeed fall below that of Osu.
Awo disclosed that recipient families were happy to reunite with their children. "Some children were in the orphanages because of poverty. We visit them at least twice a month and give each child between C 20 to C50 a month for their upkeep."She stated they do not get any support from government but only register with the department, recruit their staff, social workers come round to supervise and health ministry officials come to give them medication during national immunization programmes.
Awo believes that foster care can really work in Ghana due to the inheritance system. "What happens is that families are already poor that's why they reject responsibility. If government can outsource money to keep the foster system running, most families, even extended family members will be willing to take care of the children," she stressed.
She added that since they began the reintegration, there have been times where direct parents of some children have declined to take them and other family members have accepted the responsibility.
Archibald Asare, 25 years and a former resident of an orphanage located in the Central region shared his eighteen years experience in a home with Public Agenda.
Although not an orphan, he said he found himself there because his parents couldn't afford the cost of keeping him in an incubator when he was born prematurely.
He said he was once adopted to Nsawam in the Eastern region but had to return to the orphanage because his adopted father's wife did not accept him. Now a sports teacher at Orphanaid Africa Foster Family Community, Archibald lamented that he will never in his life hope that any of his children or any child should stay in an orphanage.
"We attended school but we also engaged so much in farming activities. Sometimes they even subject us to corporal punishment and some children become timid and are not able to face life normally," He said he is all for foster care saying that "family love is necessary".
The Founder of OrphanAid Africa, Ms Lisa Lovatt-Smith stated that children need to grow up in families not orphanages, as only a family can ensure their proper transition into society.
She added that her organization believes in the rights of families and the right of the child to grow up in a family and that OrphanAid approach was based on strengthening families to care for their own children.
No comments:
Post a Comment