This three-year project is a combination of direct assistance to street children, awareness-raising and activation of their families and local communities, and lobbying & advocacy with regional and national governments in Ghana. The project reaches 1500+ street connected children, and aims to bring about structural change, focusing on the communities in Northern Ghana where many street connected children come from. Using an integrated approach we tackle the root causes of streetism, such as poverty, child neglect and abuse.
Do you want to contribute to safeguarding children’s rights and equal opportunities for vulnerable children in the north of Ghana?
The Wilde Ganzen Foundation partners with us on this project and will add 50% on every donation that we receive!
Local support = more impact
The children’s families, their communities, local and national leaders are actively involved in the activities and are encouraged to take ownership of the problems and the solutions themselves. Cooperation is also sought with other aid organizations that work for street children in the various regions in Ghana, in order to make an impact at a national level. The major advantage of the multi-year approach is a continuous implementation of the activities, more cohesion and therefore more results and impact.
The three-year program has the following concrete goals:
1500 Street children and young people receive street education and information about their rights and how to claim them.
> 50 Young people are trained to become Child Rights Champions and actively stand up for the rights of street children through advocacy and awareness-raising activities.
> 50 Street children live in a safe family situation and go back to secondary education, which they complete with a diploma.
> 70 Street girls are rehabilitated, return to their family/community and receive vocational training in a profession of their choice. After completing the training, they receive starter packs and support to work independently.
> 3 Communities in northern Ghana, where relatively many street children come from, are made aware of and actively discuss children’s rights and how they can be protected.
> Child Protection Committees are established in these 3 communities, within which members of actively work in the community to protect children’s rights.
> Every year, at least 5 advocacy and awareness-raising activities are organized at both local and national levels (e.g. stakeholder forum, demonstration, information to schools, media campaign, webinars, etc.), which contribute to increased awareness of leaders, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders to implement sustainable solutions for street children.
> Collaboration within the National Coalition of NGOs and CBOs Against Streetism (National Coalition of NGOs and CBOs Against Streetism) has intensified and members are actively working together to achieve their common goals.
With this unique project we stand up for the rights of the most vulnerable children in Ghana and we ensure that the vicious circle of poverty is broken for them and their families. To prevent children from ending up on the streets again and again, we strive for structural changes and ensure community ownership at local, but also national level. So that hopefully one day, our work will no longer be needed.
The Wilde Ganzen Foundation is partnering with us on this project! Wilde Ganzen is a Dutch NGO, founded in 1957 with a mission to reduce poverty and inequality through community-led initiatives. The NGO supports community-based organisations in the Global South and their Dutch partners in joint efforts to achieve a better future.
