The Social Welfare Department of Ghana has disclosed that they are more focused on uniting street kids with their various families rather than putting them in foster homes.
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The Assistant Director of the Social Welfare Department, Seth Appiagyei shared that when it comes to the reintegration process, the family unit is the best place for these kids as opposed to group homes.
On his accord, uniting these children with their families is the only sure way of permanently keeping them off the streets.
“Keeping these street children in Madina is a transitional phase. The best place the child is to be is with their families. When we keep them in our Madina facility for an extended period of time, they move back to the streets in a few weeks. So social workers do their best and we unite them with their families as soon as possible”.
He indicated that these children always have the street story which is not the truth but after trusting social workers, they tell their true stories and that is where the efforts are made to locate their living relatives.
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“In reintegration, we prefer to take the children back to their roots than keeping them in a home. After finding out their real stories and homes, we take them to their parents rather than take them to homes across the country”, he stated.
Seth shared these in an interview on the Happy Morning Show hosted by Samuel Eshun and hosted on e.TV Ghana and Happy98.9FM.
The increasing trend of child beggars and street kids in Ghana has raised concerns amongst the public. Some fear the risks these children are exposed to and their future as at such a young stage, they are susceptible to negative peer influence.
By: Joel Sanco