Ghanaians have been entreated to as much as possible encourage foster parenting and guardianship as a major social protection measure to end the rising influx of children on the streets.
This call has become necessary due to the societal fact that not all orphans and vulnerable children find their way into orphanage homes but rather most often end up on the streets where they are exposed to all kinds of social vices all in the name of fending for themselves.
It is against this background that the Founder and National Coordinator of Ghana Without Orphans, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO),
Rev. George Abaidoo has become the lead advocate for the critical need for foster parenting and guardianship.
According to him, Ghanaians believe in the family system hence orphans and those vulnerable unfortunately can also be offered some hope if people should start adopting and fostering them which can go a long way to reduce the burden and load on orphanage homes and centers.
Ghana Without Orphans is a movement of church organisations and groups which implement family-based solutions for vulnerable children in the community.
GWO is part of World Without Orphans which has a vision of seeing orphaned and vulnerable children thrive in loving families rather than in orphanages.
Rev. George Abaidoo was speaking at the official launch of a new Book which is expected to serve as a guide for raising, fostering and nurturing orphans and vulnerable children in general.
The Book titled: “Manual for Vulnerable Children’s Ministry” was launched on Sunday 22nd May 2022 at the Assemblies of God Ghana Cedar Mountain Chapel in Accra.
The book was written with support from the Bethany Christian Services.
“Since our advocacy commenced in 2014, we have been at the forefront of advocacy so far as these issues are concerned.
For me, the best thing we can do as much as possible as a church, organizations and specialised groups is to resort to foster parenting, guardianship and adoptions to bridge the gap.
We realised from past observations that in certain cases even people who are ready to marry get discouraged when they find out that their partners have no parents whether foster or guardians,” he lamented.
Touching on the book, he revealed that the Manual for Vulnerable Children’s Ministry is a timely intervention to the proper ways of adopting, training and nurturing of vulnerable children in order to achieve the best standards of care and social protection.
“Ghana Without Orphans (GWO) is an offshoot of World Without Orphans, (WWO) born out of the understanding of God’s heart for orphans and His command in Scripture to take care of them. We have made a country-wide effort with determination to provide all orphans and vulnerable children a place of hope, love and a sense of belonging within a Christian family environment and thus enable them to reach their full potential in Christ.
We believe the church in Ghana can help make this vision a reality considering the 4,432 orphans in 133 Orphanages with an equal number of vulnerable children living on our streets and ghettos learning to be abused and a nuisance to our country.”
Touching on how it all began, Rev. George Abaidoo recalled that he had a vision to set up an orphanage but considering the cost involved he later had to divert into promoting and encouraging foster parenting and adoptions rather especially among churches and families.
“Imagine if we have churches and organised homes absorbing a number of these vulnerable children as their own, I bet no one will be loitering on the streets.
This is where we can see and feel the full participation and involvement of communities in such matters that deserve critical social attention.
The Ghanaian society and the government as a whole stand to benefit a lot from this since we won’t have to worry about people becoming liabilities,” the man of God stated.
