Theme: “Yaa – Naa/Sos Bihi Songbu fundraising durbar”

Following the spate of child poverty in most parts of Tamale in recent years, the overlord of the Dagbon Kingdom, Yaa – Naa Abukari II, has organized the maiden “Yaa – Naa Bihi Songbu” fundraising durbar to support to the work of SOS children’s Villages in Tamale.

According to Yaa – Naa Abukari II, this initiative became necessary with the rising numbers of children displaced in the local communities and the 2016 Ghana poverty and equality report that stated that the Northern Region continues to have the highest poverty rate.

The dire picture

In his speech, Yaa – Naa Abukari II told the gathering that there are still 3.65 million children living in poverty today and this accounts for 28.3% of all children.

“A child is also said to be likely to live ten times in poverty than adults, meaning 1.2 million children live in households that are unable to provide even adequate food to support the growth and development of the children” – he added.

Speaking on the purpose of day’s gathering, Yaa – Naa Abukari II expressed his concern on the spate of child poverty in the region and said it was time to appreciate the gravity and staggering reality that the region is lagging behind in the fight against poverty.

“Many more children are rendered homeless and vulnerable due to the ripple effect of adult poverty. I see our children in deprived conditions, I see the pain, hunger, lack of education and many more written on their faces. I see many of our young girls travel to the big cities to be Kayaye and our boys travel to the South in search of non-existent jobs” – he lamented.

The intervention of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana

Yaa – Naa Abukari II commended the contribution of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana (SOS CV Ghana) to community development and explained that the NGO is a social development organization with emphasis on child welfare.

“This organisation has for the past 45 years cared for vulnerable children by providing them with support in the areas of basic care, education, good nutrition, shelter, healthcare, strengthening of their families and advocating for the rights of the vulnerable” – he said.

The Board Chair of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana Association, Mr. Maxwell Kojo Atta – Krah also reiterated the work of the organization and added that the organization runs two main programmes namely the Family – Like Care and the Family Strengthening Programme.

“The Family – Like Care currently provides a home to 640 children in four children’s villages in Tema, Asiakwa, Kumasi and Tamale while the Family Strengthening Programme is a community outreach interventional scheme that focuses on children who are at risk of losing parental care in the local communities. So far our community programme has reached out to 250,000 children in different communities” – he said.

Partnership for sustainable development

Mr. Maxwell Kojo Atta – Krah went further to call on local sponsors and groups to consider partnerships, collaboration and some forms of sponsorship in order to enable the organization reach out to increased numbers of vulnerable children and their communities at large.

“Generations after us should be able to fulfil their potential and contribute heartedly to the development of their communities. Individually, we can do little but together we can do more” – he said.

He concluded by saying that the successes chalked by the organization over the years would not have been made possible without the benevolence of individuals, partnerships/collaborations as well as both international and local sponsors and donors.

Some notable successes in Tamale

SOS CV Ghana opened its children’s village in Tamale in January 2010 with just two children under its Family-Like Care programme. Today, there are 12 family houses with 108 children (56 boys and 52 girls) who are being taken care of by 12 mothers and 6 Aunties. Each house has 8-10 children who come from various communities in the Northern Sector and some parts of the Brong Ahafo and Eastern regions.

The Family Strengthening Programme has impacted 5 communities in the Tamale Metropolis and 10 communities in the Sagnarigu Municipality.

Its medical centre also takes care of the health needs of the children within the children’s village as well as the general public. This centre is currently serving surrounding communities with an average OPD attendance of 80-100 patients a day.

The SOS Herman Gmeiner School also provides quality education to 372 children which is inclusive of children under our care.

Statistics of progress made in Tamale

FAMILY STRENGTHENING (FS)

• Reached out to over 2,000 children
• Provided educational support such as school fees, school uniforms sandals bags, text and exercise books and trained the children on child rights and protection
• Built and furnished a primary and JHS block with a computer laboratory, 12 Seater KVIP and play equipment for the Zuozugu community.
• 36 children under the direct care of SOS CV Ghana have so far completed Senior High School with 4 currently in tertiary level
• 88 youth have acquired vocational and technical skills and have set up their businesses in Carpentry, Masonry, Auto mechanics, Dress making among others and totally self-reliant and able to support their siblings and families.
• Provided tables and equipment to promote table tennis sports among the children in  the Zuozugu School
• Empowered 580 care givers by providing them training in parenting skills, financial literacy and business management and facilitated the formation of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs)
• The “End Child Marriage” project also reached about 1,000 children in 20 schools in 10 communities in Sagnarigu municipality.
• Equipped the computer laboratory with 25 computers, 25 desks and chairs to promote ICT training among the children in Zuozugu community School

  MEDICAL CENTRE

• Through the “Save My Mother” project, cervical cancer awareness creation has reached many thousands of people with the successful screening of 2,500 the 530 positive cases were referred for treatment.

THE SCHOOL

• The Hermann Gmeiner School has registered between 74% and 100% distinction in the BECE over 7 years.
• 110 children have successfully completed our school with 42 of them in various universities both in Ghana and abroad.

SUPPORTING COMPANIES

The organization continues to receive support from NEDCO, Stanbic Bank, GRIDCO, and the Church of Pentecost Children’s Ministry in providing overall care for some children in the children’s village at tamale. These companies have adopted family houses in the children’s village and have an obligation to provide some financial support to cater for the children in the adopted family houses.