Regional News of Thursday, 11 September 2014

Source: GNA

Compassion Ghana supports children

Compassion International, a non-governmental organisation, (NGO) has made huge financial commitments that are shaping lives, especially children in some of the poorest communities in Ghana.

At the heart of Compassion International Ghana’s interventions is the desire to help develop the human resource potentials of some of the poorest children in Ghana, Mr Amos Safo, Communications and Brands Manager, said in a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and copied to Ghana News Agency.

Compassion Ghana currently provides holistic child development, child advocacy and child protection programmes to more than 52,000 children in Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Volta and Ashanti Regions, in partnership with some churches.

According to the statement, the NGO makes monthly financial support of GH? 4, 687, 572 ($1,211,259) to more than 200 of its church partners for the upkeep of children.

It said the NGO spent GH¢ 809420.11 ($218,614.48) from 2007 to 2014, to support a number of children to undergo major medical care such as hole-in-heart surgeries, acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy, correction of osteogenesis imperfect, and genital deformity.

The statement said Compassion Ghana had also provided 11 computer resource centres with playgrounds costing GH? 1, 558, 700.07 ($420,985.84) to 10 church partners for use by school children in some communities.

“Two of such well-furnished resource centres with 30 computers each, were handed over to the Apam and Nsawan–Adoagyiri Communities in the Central and Eastern Regions,” the statement said.

The statement said the NGO had granted interest free non-recoverable loan facilities to caregivers of beneficiary children to undertake various ventures including tilapia farming, mango plantation, teak plantation and sewing.

“Since, 2007, a total amount of $680,245.42 has been disbursed to support caregivers and church partners to enable them to provide better care to their children.”

The statement said the amount goes into training parents in small-scale business skills and financial management, plus seed capital to start.

“Compassion Ghana hopes that the ability of parents to continue to take care of their children and provide for their household needs in future would be attributed to the strong financial foundation they are being given,” it said.