Strengthening families in Ghana

SOS Family Strengthening Programmes, Ghana

Family Strengthening Programmes are an essential part of SOS Children's Village's work, as they aim to prevent parents from abandoning their children by helping families to stay together. Family Strengthening Programmes were set up in Ghana in 2005 and, with the support of the local community, have helped hundreds of children and their families.

In Ghana, almost one third of the population lives below the poverty line, which has an enormous impact on children's welfare. Many families lack the income they need to send their children to school and most cannot afford for their children not to be working or helping out around the home. SOS Children's Villages help these families by providing food, health advice, counselling, access to education and micro-credit finance to ensure that each family is able to care for their children independently and give them the care they need.

Currently the programme supports 1,210 orphans and vulnerable children and 434 carers in various communities in Eastern Ghana, Greater Accra and the Central Region of the country. Twenty families have become self sufficient and have left the programme. By the close of this year 100 families are expected to become self sufficient and will also leave the programme, whilst other families and children will be added.

The success of the Family Strengthening Programmes in Ghana relies heavily on community support. SOS Children's Villages recognises that it is essential to involve the wider community, to share its work, to draw the community's attention to its own resources, strengthen the people and build up their confidence. The ultimate goal is for each family to stand on its own feet and care for its children independently. They just need to be trained and encouraged.

Before Family Strengthening Programmes begin, local chiefs are therefore contacted to ensure they support the projects, and they are asked to nominate reputable community members to contribute to the programme as volunteers. These people help SOS Children's Villages to identify vulnerable communities and give ongoing psychosocial support to those that benefit from the programme. Others are also involved in making sure the programmes are implemented. These include NGOs and community-based organisations such as women's groups, churches and other local organisations.

Interview with Ghana Family Strengthening Programme Coordinator

Anthony Owusu Gyamfy is a Family Strengthening Programme co-ordinator in Ghana. Thanks to his professional experience and creativity, he has been able to give fresh impetus to the programme. In an interview with SOS colleague Catherine Ngo Biyack he speaks about his work and the programme:

Mr Owusu: SOS Children's Villages Ghana is currently implementing Family Strengthening Programmes in twelve communities in three out of ten regions in Ghana. First of all, we provide basic essential services to the children, which include providing relevant education, providing food when the parents cannot afford it, make sure that they have adequate health and housing facilities. Apart from that, we are also doing programmes that improve the income levels of caregivers and parents who are supporting these children. We are also training supporting communities to build their capacities to endorse the family strengthening programme. We are building partnerships with key stakeholders so that together we can support enough children in those communities.

Catherine Ngo Biyack: You, as the co-ordinator, what do you do exactly?

Mr Owusu: I co-ordinate the programme in Ghana by supporting the project officers that are working under me to make sure that they have adequate resources, and I monitor and evaluate the programme where necessary. And I also train community leaders, volunteers and staff.

Catherine Ngo Biyack: How do you proceed in the selection of the children and families to be supported? In other words, do you have eligibility criteria which you take into consideration?

Mr Owusu:Criteria that we have been using for the past three, four years is that we are looking at children who are at risk of being abandoned by their family because of extreme poverty, because they have lost one or both parents and they cannot support themselves or because one of their parents is terminally ill. We work with the community based on these criteria and resource people to identify those who need support in the communities.

Catherine Ngo Biyack: Have you ever received some feedback from the beneficiaries to be sure that what you are doing is appreciated on the ground?

Mr Owusu: We get positive feedback from our beneficiaries all the time. From our children, from our women, even from the community members because most of their lives have changed. We have ensured that all the children are in school, the income levels of caregivers have improved, we have introduced a micro credit scheme that can last for a long time, and we believe that we have also mobilized resources outside SOS Children's Villages.

Catherine Ngo Biyack: You have a large team here in Ghana which includes not only SOS co-workers, but also community members and volunteers. So, what makes the family strengthening programme so popular here?

Mr Owusu: What makes it popular in Ghana is the fact that we get the community involved in the planning and the management of the project, such that the community members consider Family Strengthening Programmes in Ghana as their own.

Catherine Ngo Biyack: You have also introduced a new project in Asiakwa - about 100 km northeast of the capital, Accra - called FLIP, which is Farming and Livelihood Improvement Programme.

Mr Owusu: Yes, it is a new innovation in Ghana because it supports young people in agriculture and farming and also improves their life planning course, so that together we will resolve a series of problems and unemployment in some of these communities.

Catherine Ngo Biyack: When you started this programme, one of your ambitions was to draw the community's attention towards their own resources, strengthen them and build their confidence so that they can take care of their children themselves. How far have you got with this objective?

Mr Owusu: I believe that we have achieved a lot under this objective. Now, most of the communities have mobilised resources on their own to undertake issues on children's rights and HIV/AIDS in the programmes. Besides that, the community members are given all the support in terms of what we do in those communities.