ORPHANAID AFRICA: 2002. I have been living in Ghana for ten years.
*100: What inspired you to start OrphanAID Africa?
OAA: The feeling that I, an ordinary person could change things, that it really didn't take much money to transform a child's life..that with a few dollars you can give the gift of education.. Or even the gift of life itself with proper food and care...in short, that change was possible and within my reach.
*100: What is OrphanAID's mission?
OAA: I like to summarize it in just one line:
"Helping children to grow up in stable, safe and permanent families."
But the official mission is:
Orphan Aid Africa is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. Its aim is to support orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana through programs in Care Reform, family support , education and development. Our goal is to ensure that children grow up in safe and permanent family settings with appropriate care and protection. OA is an implementing partner in the National Plan of
Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
Vision
The staff and management's vision for OrphanAid Africa Ghana is:
To create an environment where orphans and vulnerable children grow up in safe, permanent and loving family settings with appropriate care and protection and with equal rights and opportunities.
To support the implementation of the NPA by migrating our family support programs to other specialized stakeholders and focusing on the areas of:
-De-institutionalization
-Tracing and reunification
-Training of parents, foster parents and social workers to support the program of tracing, reunification, and de-institutionalization work in the NPA so many OVC inappropriately placed in homes (usually for reasons of poverty) can live in family care.
*100: What have been the greatest challenges to accomplishing OrphanAID's mission?
OAA: The huge amount of money involved in child trafficking. The child trafficking
industry is powerful and completely underground so there is a mafia-like structure around it which is very frightening and has led to threats and great violence toward us and me in particular. The biggest positive has been the introduction of the national health insurance, the availability of anti-retroviral nationwide, a structured response to AIDS at the level of the
Ministry of Health, and the general ease of collaboration with government ...plus the fact
that Ghanaian society is so tolerant, moral, and caring.
*100: What has been the single most gratifying experience/victory you've had since you've been at the helm of OrphanAID?
OAA: The best experience is seeing beautiful self-confident young women and men walking around with their heads held high -- when I know that they were hours away from death when they came to us as small children.
100 Stars for OrphanAid Africa!!!
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