Rescue Projects - Orphan Care

Rescue volunteers shares in the belief that orphans are the most vulnerable in our society hence, our programs focus particularly on bringing care to the door steps of orphans and taking steps to tackle the root causes of social orphans,

CATEGORIES OF ORPHANS

1. Biological – Children whose parents are no more (maternal, paternal or double)
2. Social / Created orphans (children neglected by their parents)

•     Abandoned children
•     Victims of broken marriages
•     Runaway victims of child/forced marriages.

Unfortunately, both types of orphans are found in the streets of Ghana.

Rescue over the years have been receiving migrants from the northern zone of Ghana who are stranded in the Capital city in search of life’s basic needs; cloth shelter and food.  Most of the female migrants that visits Rescue for help happen to be victims of child marriage.  Some of these runaway girls find it difficult to go back home when we advise that with fear of being captured or their own family returning them to their ‘husbands’.  They rather prefer to face hardship in the cities than go back.

Some of these unlucky girls who remain in forced marriages after they are mostly kidnapped are so young that they are ignorant about everything marriage.  They face so many challenges; formal education halted, maternal issues ranging from pregnancy to child care, and poverty becomes their companion.  Those that escape to the cities are not free from challenges either. They are exposed to a lot of social vices both day and night since their first stop are one of these: lorry stations, open markets or the streets. Victims become artificial orphans since they are completely cut away from their families.

In order to help curb the problem Rescue Volunteers decided to attack problems of orphans from the root by getting other NGOs with similar objective on board to run programs in the northern zone where most of the social orphans hail from.  Rescue believes that these victims can be assisted through a national program that introduces opportunity for the victims to live in a safe environment, learn a trade or engage in other economic ventures while campaigning against the act and guiding children and youth to stay away from child marriage and develop themselves.

Rescue plan for orphans is advocacy and priority for victims under the self-development program.

• Providing shelter for young orphans (orphanage or families ready to accept and care)
• Empowering victims through skill development programs.
• Community forums on root causes of orphans in Ghana (child marriage, parental neglect of children from broken home, and ….)
• Durbar with chiefs, queen mothers and other community leaders to address preventable orphan situations.
• TV and radio documentaries on causes of ‘artificial’ orphans in many orphanages in Ghana.
• Making advocates of anti-social orphans

Rescue is in collaboration with other NGOs in the Northern zone of Ghana to run programs at schools and communities that the practice is rampant.  Some of the programs explained at the launch are targeting victims of child marriage for necessary support to manage the various situations they have been put in by the early marriage.  The activities were announced to differ from community to the other since victims in different communities face diverse challenges and have different cultural practices that play vital role in the solution of the problem.

1.   National coordinating office

a.   Location – Accra

b.  Duties –

• To oversee work of the zonal coordinators
• To meet with orphanages and negotiate agreement terms
• To report to partners on sponsored activities
• To lead in advocacy programs at strategic level that may affect national policies.
• To solicit for funds to support the orphanage program.

c.   Set-up – Rescue Head office

2.   Zonal coordinating directors

a. Location – Northen, southern and middle belt

b.  Duties –

• To instruct and supervise activities of community overseers
• To ensure that programs and projects for the zones are implemented according to plan

c.      Set-up – private residence and offices

3.  Community Overseers

a.  Location – Odumase Krobo, Koforidua, Accra, Ellembelle,                                      Damongo, Tamale, Duu, and Nalerigu.

b.   Duties –

• To direct and supervise volunteers in undertaking various activities in the communities
• To ensure that programs and projects are carried out efficiently
• To ensure program sustainability by ensuring that systems run effectively
• Monitor activities at short intervals and report on progress

c.   Set-up – abandoned community offices and schools, residence           of  coordinators

4.  Volunteers (care takers, monitoring officers/liaison officers, advocates) school leavers, unemployed youth, rescue beneficiaries with care skills

a.  Duties are assigned per skills and need

5.  Foster families – families ready to take in the children and with Rescue                 assistance provide

• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Education
• Health care
• Social upkeep

6.  Orphanages – institutions set-up for orphans, duties           based on agreement terms.