By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Oct. 25, GNA – Princess Margriet Francisca of Orange-Nassau, Lippe-Biesterfeld of the Netherlands, and Mr Jan Smit, a Dutch entertainer, have paid a working visit to the SOS Children’s Villages.
As part of their visit, the two patrons of the SOS Children’s Villages interacted with children, the youth, and families supported by the institution.
Princess Francisca expressed her joy of returning to Ghana after ten years, saying, it was refreshing to hear firsthand from the beneficiaries SOS had impacted.
She said one of the mothers shared her experience of how the organisation’s Family Strengthening Programme had helped her to earn a living to get her children back to school.
“I have met with an SOS mother who moved with her family from the children’s village to a house in the community. I had a wonderful day in beautiful Asiakwa.
“The children at the child rights club told me how they learn to stand up for themselves, be supportive of one another, to prevent child pregnancies, and about their future. I was impressed,” she said.
She said they had also listened to the testimony from a mother who participated in the family strengthening programme and thought it was amazing.
“Thanks to SOS Children’s Villages, she could invest in her shop and increase her income. I was delighted to see these results of the hard work of SOS with my own eyes.”
Mr Smit, who is a singer, actor, and television host, was happy for the opportunity to interact with mothers and children 10 years after his last visit to Ghana.
“The last few days, I have had some very inspiring conversations with children, SOS mothers, and beneficiaries from family strengthening programmes. After 25 years, I am still a proud ambassador of SOS Children’s Villages,” he added.
Mr Anthony Owusu-Gyamfi, the Acting National Director of the SOS Children’s Villages in the country, welcomed the delegation, stating that the visit was timely, as it added to the celebration of institution’s 50-year existence in Ghana.
He said SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana was focused on advocating for the rights of children and empowering families and young people facing difficult situations.
He stated that within the past two years, over 300 children were rescued from child labour through the Protecting the Future (PTF) project, which was an intervention to menace including trafficking in the fishing industry on Volta Lake and is currently being implemented in the Ada West and Awutu East Districts.
He explained that the rescued children were rehabilitated and reintegrated into their families of origin, who were financially supported through grants and financial literacy training, and further assisted to join Village Savings and Loan Associations, to have financial grounding.
Mr Owusu-Gyamfi added that such families under the programme were also taken through parental skills training and educated on the risks associated with child labour and trafficking.
The project, he indicated, also strengthened the capacities of the communities, families, and duty-bearers, including the Ghana Police Service, the Department of Social Welfare, the Ghana Education Service, and the Judiciary Service, to address issues of child labour and trafficking of children.
GNA