Website for Osu Children's Home

Accra, Aug. 27, GNA- A website was on Friday launched to provide the Osu Children's Home in Accra with an online community which would serve as a convener and a catalyst for donor funding as well as form closer partnerships between the Home and the society

The website, to be accessed at WWW.osuchildrenshome.org, would also afford stakeholders the opportunity to learn about the activities and needs of the Home.

Mrs Mary Amadu, Director of Social Welfare, thanked the GROBOPLUS Limited, for designing the website, which is valued at 10 million cedis, free of charge.

"This will help all who want to have information about the Home to access it and where possible assist," she said.

She said it was envisaged that the new ICT status of the Home would bring about effective management and planning of the institution. Mrs Amadu appealed to donors to assist the Home, expand its facilities to accommodate the increasing intake.

She said since 2000, the Home had admitted about 250 children annually, which is three times higher than the number admitted before this period.

The Home, therefore, needed to expand dormitories and other facilities that were currently very congested to be able to accommodate more children and ensure good health for the inmates.

Mrs Amadu cautioned private orphanages that were not operating under the Department of Social Welfare to register and ensure that they obeyed regulations governing the establishment of orphanages.

She said the proliferation of orphanages was very alarming and should be checked by law, "since some of the operators are said to be using the children to solicit for donor support, and thus refuse to allow adoption."

She further stated that the adoption of such children without the knowledge and involvement of the Department of Social Welfare was an offence and could create a problem for the child, should the adopted parents die without a Will.

Mrs Amadu called for a nationwide education on good parenting to halt the increasing spate of teenage pregnancies, irresponsible parenting, abortion and streetism, since those were the remote causes of the current increase in the number of orphans nationwide.

She stressed the need for effective collaboration and networking among all stakeholders to uplift the socio-economic, spiritual and moral status of orphans in the country.

Mr Enoch Currie Tetteh, Managing Director, GROBOPLUS Ltd, said the company would further ensure the provision of a computer laboratory with Internet access, online games, tutorials and many other educational programmes for the Home.

"We will also ensure an ICT training for the children at the home to help them compete favourably with the global world," he said. He appealed to potential donors to use the medium to pledge their support for the training and upbringing of children in the home.