Global Reach: Past Grantees

Context:

According to the Consortium for Street Children, there are 21,140 street children, 6,000 street babies and 7,170 street mothers under 20 in Accra alone. They live and work in appalling and often exploitative conditions. Most of the street children come from Ghana’s poorer regions in the northern part of the country. The Upper East Region in whose capital, Bolgatanga, Afrikids is based, is one of Ghana’s poorest: nine in ten people cannot afford to have three square meals a day. Furthermore, 48% of children between the ages of 8-11 years old are not in school. Many of them are helping their parents in the fields or working in the local mines. Some end up on the streets. While low economic status is often cited as the major cause for streetism, parental neglect, divorce/separation, child fostering and cultural practices play a role. Afrikids has so far counted 570 street children in Bolgatanga (population 66,700).

Organizational Profile:

Afrikids is a child rights organisation working to improve the lives of vulnerable children in and around Bolgatanga in Ghana’s Upper East Region. Employing a community concentration model, Afrikids has focused on the Upper East Region and established a network of institutions (such as foster homes, schools and child right centres) that it uses to address the root causes of each child’s suffering. Afrikids also works with a range of stakeholders, including the police, local authorities, schools and parents to counter threats such as child trafficking, child labour, the ritual killing of ‘spirit children’ (born with disabilities and believed to be possessed by evil spirits) as well as ‘streetism’. Afrikid’s UK office is mainly responsible for fundraising, while the Ghana Head Office is for programme development and implementation. Nick Kumah has been Afrikid’s Country Director for several years and has considerable experience in leading development organisations. He is assisted by Director of Programmes David Pwalua and Bolgatanga Area Programme Manager, and Cletus Anaaya, who is also responsible for the School of Night Rabbits.