Shelter for Abused Children needs refurbishment - Manageress
Mrs Love Grace Ahlijah, the Managing Director of the Shelter for Abused Children and the Girls Correctional Home at Osu in Accra has appealed to philanthropists and benevolent societies to reach out to her outfit to renovate the centre.
According to her, since its establishment in 1950, the facility has not seen any form of renovation despite the increment in the number of children on a daily basis.
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For her, government’s contribution alone was not enough as she urged individuals and organisations to come on board to help give the children a befitting future.
“We need refurbishment of the centre because this place was built in 1950 and no renovation has been done since then. It is a state institution and the government is doing her bit but it is not enough so we need support from individuals and corporate entities to run this place.
“We need to build more dormitories, infirmary and recreational facilities for the children. It is a home for the abused child so we need a lot of support to make this place a safe haven for the children,” she said.
Donation
Mrs Ahlijah made the call last Thursday when members of the Charlene’s Angels Foundation, a US-based NGO, visited the home to donate some items to the children to facilitate teaching and learning at the facility.
The group had earlier donated similar items to inmates of the Osu Children’s Home and the Echoing Hills Village at Madina before going to the Shelter for Abused Children.
Mrs Love Grace Ahlijah - Manageress of Shelter for Abused Children and Girls Correctional Home
The items, worth $4,500 included children’s dresses, shoes, toys, textbooks and other educational materials.
Presenting the items, a member of the Charlene’s Angeles Foundation, Mr Emmanuel Tetteh Junior, noted that the donation formed part of a three-day training programme organised by his outfit for caregivers at the Osu Children’s Home in October.
He said his outfit was touched by the plight of the children and decided to support them to enable them to acquire more knowledge to become responsible adults in society.
“The last time we came here to host a programme for the teachers and we decide to come back to support the children as well. We believe that knowledge is power and as children, they need to read more to broaden their knowledge on issues around us,” he said.
Charlene’s Angels Foundation
In October, members of the Charlene’s Angels Foundation, led by the founder, Mia Henson, organised a three-day training at the Osu Children’s Home for caregivers who were drawn from some orphanages in the Greater Accra Region.
Mia Henson, a social worker and a graduate of the Morgan State University in the United States, equipped the participants with trauma-informed care supplemental resources to aid them in dealing with juveniles who have been traumatised.
The training, which attracted about 40 participants opened with the treatment of topics such as the definition of traumatic stress, types of traumatic stress, how children respond to trauma, managing emotional hot spots, effects of trauma reminders, how to help children identify and cope with trauma reminders, transcending trauma and role of caregivers.
Other topics treated were therapeutic crisis intervention, goals of crisis intervention, encouraging positive relationships, skills building, behaviour support techniques, goals of emotional first aid, strategies for emotional first aid, understanding aggressive behaviours, immediate response priorities, verbal strategies and life span interventions.