By Eric Appah Marfo
Accra, Jan.27, GNA — The New Apostolic Church on Thursday donated 30,000 Euros to support activities of Chance for Children, a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), to address streetism in Ghana.
Apostle Samuel Oppong-Brenyah, Lead Apostle of New Apostolic Church, Ghana North and Apostle Benjamin Ohene-Saffo, Lead Apostle for Ghana South, Togo and Benin, who spearheaded the donation, said the gesture formed part of the Church’s contribution to improve living conditions of street children.
Apostle Oppong-Brenyah said the donation was the third financial commitment from the Church to the NPO due to the great work they were doing for the children.
He said they would continue to support Chance for Children and similar organisations as and when the means were available.
The Apostle urged other institutions and churches to pay attention to street children and help turn their situation around.
“Everything we do must be based on love. I am therefore appealing to other organisations to bring in their support, especially to those who do not have anything and have lost their parents. We need to all come together to cater for them and by so doing, fulfil God’s command of loving our neighbour as ourselves,” he said.
He thanked members of the New Apostolic Church for their offerings and financial commitments to the Church, adding that, it was through such supports that the Church leadership was able to make the donation.
Mr Daniel Awuley Nartey, Director in charge of Hebron Home and Street drop and Centre of Chance for Children, expressed appreciation for the donation, and noted that funding was a major issue confronting the Organisation.
He said the donation would help them fulfil their mandate and groom street children to become good citizens not only for Ghana but also the world at large.
The Director mentioned the difficulty in sometimes coming up with the right solution to meet the needs of the children, as another challenge.
He said the NPO would use the donation to reintegrate the children into their families and support them in every endeavour.
Mr Nartey called on Government to mobilise NPOs, Churches, Corporate Institutions, and Schools to dialogue on how to find a lasting solution to streetism in Ghana.
“The number of children on our streets keep growing and expanding. We cannot do the work alone. We need a collaborative effort from Government and other stakeholders to permanently deal with streetism,” he said.
The New Apostolic Church is an international Christian Church, with its teachings founded on the Holy Scripture.
It has been in the Ghana since 1969 and has a membership of about 419,000. It has about 2,800 congregations in Ghana alone.
As part of the Church’s Corporate Social Responsibility to society, it has embarked on provision of water wells in all parts of the Country.
Some beneficiary communities are Bebume, Kwanfinfi, Nsoatre, Akrofouso, and Abesim.
Apart from the social intervention programmes mentioned above, the New Apostolic Church also supported the State during the COVID-19 outbreak by contributing 20,000 Euros to the COVID- 19 Fund.
Chance for Children is an NPO that operates in Accra, Tamale, Kumasi, Takoradi and Dambai, to strengthen street connected children and their families to have a dignified life.
It was founded by Amon Kotey and Daniela Ruedisueli in 1999.
They are currently working with Mr Daniel Awuley Nartey to provide leadership for the Institution.
Aside a drop in centre at Agbogbloshie, and a home for children at Hebron, they also support several children and families all over Ghana through branches in Kumasi, Tamale,Takoradi and Dambai.
Since 2021, Chance for Children has collaborated with some companies.
It is running a TVET Agency to empower street children through Technical and Vocational training.
The children’s home currently houses 70 children and together with other branches, support over 3,000 children nationwide.
GNA