Less-privileged children in Sang get home

The Catholic Bishop of the Yendi Diocese, Most Reverend Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, has called on parents to accept children with deformities and give them the needed attention.

Inaugurating the first phase of a housing facility for rejected children at Sang in the Mion District over the weekend, he said such children, who were often labelled as “spirit children” due to certain birth defects, such as protruding eyes, abnormally large head, and those who are unable to walk at a certain period, needed special care and underscored the importance of love and compassion towards the less privileged in society.

The facility, named “Nazareth Home of God’s Children,” comprised dormitories, washrooms, library, chapel, dining hall, kitchen and shops, while the second phase would include basic and vocational schools and a workshop.

He commended the Chiefs and people of Sang for their support towards the construction of the home by providing land, and expressed the hope that many lives would be transformed in the area.

Reverend Sister Stan Terese Mary Munmuni, the Founder of the Home, said children with such defects had always been killed and buried secretly in the area, and expressed the hope that with the construction of the home, such children would be given the needed care and compassion.

She commended the various organisations, groups and individuals, who supported the construction of the home for their benevolence and appealed for more support to sustain it.

Mr Rene Dogbe, a past President of the Tamale Rotary Club, who chaired the function, said all children, irrespective of their health status, needed physical, spiritual, psychological and emotional support to grow, and urged parents not to discriminate against children with certain conditions.

He commended the founder of the home for utilising the funds donated for the intended purpose, and called on leaders to emulate the gesture to reduce corruption and promote development.

Various organisations and individuals, who graced the occasion, presented cash and other items, while others presented cheques and pledges totalling about GH¢10,000 to support the upkeep of the inmates of the home.