14 Oil city magazine |
Father ’ s Home Care Ministries has marked its 12th anniversary with the opening of a purpose-built home for young children and their caregivers in Anto on the road to Accra . The Christian NGO ’ s first home opened in Butumagyebu in January 2001 , initially offering shelter to eight children . Over the years it has grown significantly taking in over 100 children and providing them with a loving and secure home . For some of those their stay at Father ’ s Home was relatively brief but others have stayed for many years due to their personal situations . Reintegration in children ’ s own family settings is always pursued but sometimes it is simply not possible . As the range of ages of residents widened so their needs diversified . In response the decision was taken to build a centre in Anto especially for younger children , with the original residence transforming into a Youth Development Centre catering for around 20 older residents in post-school training or the early stages of work . The vision for the Anto site is that it will become a village for younger children consisting of several family houses and a primary school on the 2.8 hectare block of land . The aim is to welcome 100 children in the future . The first step towards the village has been the completion of a two-storey building with four family flats . Two young couples and 13 children , aged between two and twelve , are now living at the Home ; each couple forming a family unit with six or seven of the children . The children are still driven to the schools they attended while living in Butumagyebu to provide consistency in their education and so they can keep their friends . Those at Father ’ s Home ( the name refers to the fatherhood of God ) come from different backgrounds , but what they have in |
common is that they have all suffered through abandonment , rejection , abuse and exploitation . Each has been identified and brought to Father ’ s Home ’ s attention by individuals anxious for their well-being , friends , members of their families or the social services . Their personal situations have been investigated , studied and discussed and the final decision to take in a child is never reached without consultation with all the persons concerned and the consent of the municipal authorities . These children now have a home . They are learning to live with others , to live in accordance with certain rules , to show that they respect others and themselves , to take heart , to feel that they are cherished . They are struggling to find an identity and have great need of affection . Little by little , however , they allow themselves the right to be children , in quite simple terms . Staff members are committed and generous young people who are willing to share their lives with the children and act as fathers and mothers to them . The presence and involvement of responsible persons , who fill a parental role in relation to the children , is an extremely important factor . They are there to protect , educate and support each of the children in his or her personal development . The establishment of Father ’ s Home Ministries was the initiative of Francis Kweku Jackson with the support of generous benefactors . The NGO is run by a dedicated board , of which he is a member , responsible for formulating policies , rules , regulations and guidelines for implementation by staff . The Department of Social Welfare assessed the NGO in 2011 and issued it with a national license to run the home due to the high standards of its work . |
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