Afrikids Ghana mainstreams 98 street children into formal education

Afrikids Ghana, a Child Rights Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has mainstreamed 98 street children in the Bolgatanga Municipality into formal Education for the current academic year.

The beneficiaries had received lessons in literacy, numeracy and life skills for a period of nine months and were given educational materials such as school uniforms, bags, exercise books, mathematical sets among others to start the process.

The NGO, which had further enrolled 10 other beneficiaries into vocational and technical skills programmes, had funding support from the Emerging Markets Foundation, another NGO based in the United States of America.

The programme was on the theme, “The School of Night Rabbits”.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Bolgatanga, Mr David Pwalua, the Director of Afrikids Ghana in charge of Programmes, said “these 10 beneficiaries will also be finishing their training next year, and transition, as the crop of new young entrepreneurs who will be able to earn their livelihood and live independently away from the streets”.

The Director indicated that Afrikids Ghana had over the years through the School of Nights Rabbits project trained and mainstreamed a number of such vulnerable street children into the formal schools who had completed their education and vocations and were in employment.

He stressed that his outfit viewed child protection and street children as very critical, hence, the initiation of the School of Nights Rabbits project to cater for such vulnerable children in society.

The Director admonished the beneficiaries who had been enrolled at the basic school levels to take their education seriously to enable them become responsible adults in future.

He further entreated all stakeholders including parents, teachers, traditional and religious leaders to play leading roles to help minimize “streetism” and to ensure that all children of school going age were all in school.

Some of the parents and caretakers of the beneficiaries thanked Afrikids Ghana and Afrikids UK as well as the Emerging Markets Foundation, for making it possible for the children who were out of school to be mainstreamed into the formal education system.

Credit: GNA