Children should not be kept in orphanages forever- Social Welfare

Winneba (C/R), Feb. 25, GNA - The Effutu Municipal Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Mr Godwill Francis Acquah has expressed worry about children who are kept at orphanages for many years, with no efforts being made to unit them with their families. He explained that when an abandoned baby is found and sent to the orphanage, efforts must be made by the Social Welfare, the Police and the Orphanage to join him or her to a family either through adoption, fosterage and resettlement.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Winneba on Tuesday, Mr Acquah emphasized that a baby sent to the Orphanage should not remain at the home for ever. He reminded proprietors of children's homes, that the law does not permit them to keep children for more than 5 years. He explained that after 5 years in the home, the home must liaise with families that want children to foster, adopt and resettle, so that children could be nurtured at natural homes and not artificial homes throughout their lives. Throwing light on the number of approved homes in the Effutu Municipality, Mr Acquah said the Methodist Rafiki Satellite Village at Gyahadze near Winneba was the only registered orphanage home in the area.

He said the home which started operation in 2007, by the church, now houses 10 inmates made up of four males and six females between the ages of four and 14. According to Mr Acquah, these children passed through a care order from the court that they were in need of care and protection, before they were sent to the home. The Social Welfare Director commended the Methodist Rafiki Satellite Village for the facilities at the home and urged them to improve it.