Children from homes reunite with families
The Department of Social Welfare (DSW) has reunited 1,183 children from children’s homes and orphanages with their families throughout the country.
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The National Co-ordinator for the National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Mr Fred Sakyi Boafo, said in an interview that it was important for children to be brought up in family units to enable them to have an identity and a sense of belongingness.
He noted that children who were kept in institutions were not able to develop permanent bonding with their caregivers and that affected their development. That was why since 2007, the DSW had worked hard to reunite the children with their families.
As a result, when in 2006 a survey showed that there were about 4000 children in homes throughout the country, the DSW decided to reunite 60 per cent of all those children in homes with their families by 2015.
Mr Boafo, who was reacting to a Daily Graphic story which reported that the DSW had since 2007 closed down 48 unregistered children’s homes and orphanages, explained that before an orphanage was closed down it was assessed by the department to find out if the home was operating according to the law and that its operations were in the best interest of the children.
He added that the department undertook what was known as “Tracing” to locate the parents or relatives of the children. Once that was done, the parents or relatives of the children were counselled to prepare them to receive the children.
“This is done because we do not want a situation where we force a child on somebody who is not ready to accept him or her” he explained.
In the same vein, the children are also taken through counselling to prepare them to adapt and be reunited with their families.
He said in situations where a home was closed down and the parents or relatives of a child could not be traced, the child was sent to another home which was operating within standards.
Mr Boafo said children who were reunited with their families were given a package provided by UNICEF to cushion them when they went home.
Additionally, when children who are reunited with their families need further support, the department registers them with the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme to enable them to get support from government.
According to Mr Boafo, the department continues to monitor the progress of the children to ensure their well-being and see to it that their rights are respected.