The Executive Director of a Cherish a Child Foundation, Salome Delali Atiglah, has called on all stakeholders to join the National Streetism Awareness Project (Child Protection Initiative) to raise awareness about the plight of street children and promote collective action to support children protection/right and well-being as a preventive measure.
Speaking at this year’s International Day for Street Children, Ms Atiglah said every child is important and therefore does not belong to the street.
“Cherish a Child Foundation stands in solidarity with all street-connected children across Ghana and the world”, she pointed out.
“We stand in solidarity with the boy who fled a beating and found the streets. We stand in solidarity with the girl selling water at the traffic light instead of sitting in a classroom. We stand in solidarity with every child whose childhood was interrupted by poverty, violence, or neglect”, she stated.
”But solidarity is not a sentiment. It is an action”, she added.
On this International Day for Street Children, she declared that no single hand can pull a child off the street, but joined hands can.
In an address delivered on behalf of the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Chairperson of the event, Dr. Prince Boamah Abrah, emphasised that street children are among the most vulnerable in society and deserve compassion, but not condemnation.
He noted that many of these children are driven to the streets by factors such as poverty, neglect, abuse, and limited access to basic social services.
According to him, the theme calls for a fundamental shift in mindset—from criminalising vulnerability to protecting dignity, and from neglecting needs to restoring hope.
Dr. Abrah stressed that the government, through programmes such as LEAP and the School Feeding Programme, supports vulnerable households to reduce the economic pressures that push children onto the streets.
He called on all to choose compassion over indifference and protection over punishment in order to save children living on the streets.
Speaking also at the event on behalf of the Chief Director of MoGCSP, Dr. Marian W. A. Kpakpah, a Principal Programmes Officer from the Department of Children, Madam Angela Kangah, stated that justice means creating systems that listen to children and respond to their needs rather than punishing them for their poverty. “In doing so, we are choosing to invest in a brighter future for the entire country,” she added.
Cherish a Child Foundation (CACF) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to instilling moral values in children, empowering them to become exceptional citizens. Street-connected children are identified as among the most vulnerable and the NGO has prioritised their support through various initiatives.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com