Volunteer at Osu Children's Home in Ghana

Jeg har her valgt, at vise jer hvad det er jeg kommer ned til i Ghana, og hvad det er mine opgaver bliver.

Make a difference in the lives of the orphanage. Help empower the local community and school children and help them increase their capacity to do what they have determine is important to their future - education.
Positive changes are popping up in the lives of people everywhere! You and I may never know the full impact of your volunteer work until we know the statistics of the many lives that has been changed as a result of our Volunteer effort.

Osu Children's Home is a community for orphaned, abandoned and needy children from ages zero to eighteen years. It was started in 1949 by an NGO known as Child Care Society. It was then located in the premises of the present Cripples Home at Kaneshie, a suburb in Accra, the capital of Ghana. In March 1960 the government took over and moved it to its present location. It was put under the management of the Department of Social Welfare and has been as such up to date.

Volunteers are accepted from all over the world through organisations such as ours, Cultural & Academic Travel Organisation (www.catointl.org). Since 1998 Social Education students from Universities in Denmark have been doing their bi annual practical in the home. Supervision for volunteers is provided by the home. Volunteers are expected to assist in areas of:
Teaching
Taking children out for walks and places of interest
Helping with home work
Sports
Creativity
Mending of clothes, furniture, etc., painting
Washing, playing and feeding of babies
Providing love and attention

QUALIFICATION /SKILLS
Volunteers must have at least a high school certificate. Teacher certification helpful but not required.

ORIENTATION
Each programme begins with an orientation. Talks will be on African topics, staff explains culture; currency and local students describe the social scene. Language training begins. Orientation includes talks about African values.

CITY TOURS
All programme participants will have the opportunity to embark on an OPTIONAL full day tour of one of the most beautiful cities in Africa, Accra. Accra reflects its transition from a 19th-century suburb of Victoriasburg to today's bustling modern metropolis. Participants will visit the W.E.B. Dubois memorial centre for Pan African culture, Independence Square, the state ceremonial grounds, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the National Museum with its splendid display of the exhibits that reflect the heritage of Ghana from prehistoric to modern times, the Arts Centre.
Participants will have the opportunity to buy African handicraft and clothes at the National Arts Centre. The cost of these city tour are NOT included in the programme cost.

THE OSU CHILDREN'S HOME, GHANA

OSU Children's Home is under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare, Ghana. Currently, CPSR AFRICA is in collaboration with them to develop a website for it to have a global dimension. The home houses abandoned children from new born to age 12. It is a lively place with vibrant children looking for love and attention. The OSU Home had over 150 children. They are cared for by the Ghana Government through the Department of Social Welfare.

WHO ARE WE?
Osu Children's Home is a community for orphaned, abandoned and needy children from ages zero to eighteen years. It was started in 1949 by an NGO known as Child Care Society. It was then located in the premises of the present Cripples Home at Kaneshie, a suburb in Accra, the capital of Ghana. In March 1960 the government took over and moved it to its present location. It was put under the management of the Department of Social Welfare and has been as such up to date.

Our Aim Is:
To provide a future of hope through Quality residential care Education Counseling
To children who for some reason have no access to normal family lives To protect and preserve the rights of children in difficult situations
To afford needy children the opportunity to realize their potentials

Which children are admitted?
Abandoned children Abused children Children whose mothers are serving prison sentences
Orphaned children Children whose mothers have to be hospitalized for a long period and Children infected with the HIV virus.

How do we get the children?
Children are referred by;
Hospitals
The courts
The Police
Social Work Agencies

In order for a child to be admitted the home satisfies itself that there is a medical report to state that the child is fit to live with other children, and a report to state how the child was found, and efforts the agency has made to trace parents/relations. This is to help to ascertain that institutionalization has been considered as a last resort.

What happens to the children admitted?
After admission we make several efforts to locate parents or other family members. With abandoned children if we are convinced after three months that there are no known family members we recommend that they be placed for adoption. Children who have to live in the institution are given the opportunity to have education to any level their capabilities will permit them. If a child is above 18 years and is in school or has to live in the home because there is no where else to go, we continue with care until he/she is able to secure a job and live on his/her own. Children with special problems i.e. disabilities, HIV/Aids, etc are referred to specialist agencies or given special care.
Housing

The children live in four separate HOME UNITS. One is a nursery unit which houses babies zero to two years. Three other units house children three years and above. Each of these units has a head that lives in the Home Unit with two subordinate staff.

Education
All children of school going age attend schools in the neighborhood. This is to afford them the opportunity of meeting and interacting with other children. The home has an early childhood development center that caters for those of preschool age and prepares them for basic school.
79 Children are enrolled in schools in the neighborhood. Their fees have to be paid by the home. School fees of 38 out of this number are being paid by the school themselves, individuals or Organisations. There are 9 children who have to be enrolled in primary school in September 2004, making it a total of 88 who will be in school, and from September 2004, school fees of 50 children will have to paid.

Educational Fund
In order to ensure that all school going children have equal opportunity; an educational fund has been established. This fund is yet to be launched officially. Monies collected so far have been put in HFC Investment Services and donors interested in the educational fund are encouraged to pay into it.

Dormitory
There is an emerging problem which has to be tackled before things get out of hand. Many children who have been admitted have no known relatives, they live at the home until they are able to complete school and fend for themselves.
Out of the 124 children now resident in the home, 119 are likely to stay for a very long time or till they become adults and can fend for themselves. Sleeping arrangements are likely to create a problem as many 60% of those above 9 years. It has become necessary to get a new dormitory to accommodate such children. Currently the 20 rooms which were built in the early sixties to accommodate 48 children take one hundred. The growing children need to have a place that is spacious enough to allow them play and learn suitably for their ages. The home now has planned to solicit for funds to build a three storey building on the premises, and also have some of the rooms used as a library and sick bay.

Who funds the running of the home?
The home is funded through quarterly subvention from the Department of Social Welfare but this is totally inadequate considering the kind of services rendered. A large percentage of the expenditure is through the goodwill of individuals, groups, Organisations and churches.

What do we need?
Cash, food, items Vitamins food supplement
Antibiotics,medicine Educational materials Soaps, disinfectants
Body creams Clothing, bedsheets,towels, blankets Baby formula Diapers Toys, T.V set for educational programs

Osu Children's Home Press Statement. Learn more

About Ghana
Ghana, a former British colony known as the Gold Coast, is a country in Western Africa, bounded on the north and northwest by Burkina Faso, on the east by Togo, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Cote D'Ivoire. The total area is 238,537 sq. km. ( 92,099 sq. mi.) The capital and largest city is Accra. Some important cities are Tema, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Tamale.
Ghana has a tropical climate with temperatures varying with season and elevation. The climate of Ghana is tropical with monthly temperatures ranging from 24oC to 35oC. The annual average temperature is about 26oC. Ghana has an estimated total population of about 18 million (2000) with an average annual growth rate of 3%. Average population density is 50 persons/kmsq. About 66% of the population live in the rural areas. 27% of Ghanaians is estimated to be living in extreme poverty (less than $100 per annum), with 30% having no access to safe drinking water. 72.5% of children are enrolled in primary school, 60% in primary Junior Secondary School, and 18% in Senior Secondary. 87% of children attend public school whilst 13% attend private school. Adult literacy is about 48% in general, with adult literacy for men standing at 62%, and 36% for women.