Illegal orphanages spring up in Upper East
Illegal orphanages are springing up in the Upper East Region, the Municipal Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Ms Mercy Pwavra,has disclosed.
She stated this during a stakeholders meeting organised by Afrikids Ghana, a Child Rights Non-Governmental Organisation.
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She said between 2010 and 2011, her outfit, with support from the NGO, closed down two illegal orphanages in the region, adding that one was located at Zuarungu–Gono in the Bolgatanga Municipality while the other is in Tongo, in the Talensi District.
Ms Pwavra said in the two orphanages, the children had been lumped up in small apartments, with the managers of the orphanages administering medication on the children, instead of taking them to health facilities to seek professional medical care.
She said in all about 43 children were rescued, and that at the Zuarungo-Gono orphanage, one death was recorded due to the failure of the managers to send the child to a health facility to seek proper medical care.
Ms Pwavra said there were orphanages in the region operating in hideouts, and stressed that her outfit was working with Afrikids Ghana and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police to stop the menace.
She disclosed that most of the illegal orphanages covered their operations because they dealt in child trafficking and cautioned those indulged in such acts to stop or face the law when caught.
On custody, paternal and maintenance cases, she said her outfit had been able to solve a lot of them and mentioned logistics and transport as some of the major challenges they face and commended Afrikids Ghana, the Police and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCSE) for their support.
Mr David Pwalua , Head of Partner Project of Afrikids, said the organisation was working to confront issues affecting children but the magnitude of the problem meant his outfit alone could not fight the menace.
He said Afrikids Ghana, with funding from Comic Relief, was implementing a 3-year programme, aimed at curbing child labour issues and indicated that the project had supported about 300 needy students, some of whom were still in school whilst the others were into skills training.
Fifty child rights clubs had also been formed in schools, including the formation of child panels with support from the Department of Social Welfare and DOVVSU.
The Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Daniel A. Syme, lauded Afrikids Ghana for its good works and appealed to it to assist the district assemblies to deal with issues affecting children, especially in the areas of by-laws.
Source: GNA