Following the official launch of the 45th Anniversary celebrations of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana by Her Excellency Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Patron of the Organization in Accra, mini launches of the anniversary have been held in all four programme locations; Tema, Asiakwa, Kumasi and Tamale today.
The anniversary is aimed at celebrating and communicating the achievements of SOS Villages Ghana over the years. The occasion will also be used to engage with stakeholders and community members in programme locations as well as nurture relationships with potential donors while telling the SOS story to gain the necessary support in sustaining quality of care given to beneficiary children.
The National Director of SOS Villages Ghana, Mr. Alexander Mar Kekula says; “we are excited about our achievements in the past 45 years and we intend to use the occasion to intensify our global advocacy on the theme; ‘No Child Should Grow Up Alone’”.
SOS Children’s Villages Ghana runs two main programmes; The Family-Like Care and The Family Strengthening Programme at four locations countrywide; Tema, Asiakwa, Kumasi and Tamale. The Family-Like Care is long term care targeted at orphaned, abandoned and destitute children who have lost parental care. As of 2019, 584 children have benefited from the programme.
The Family Strengthening Programme is a community intervention which is primarily geared towards supporting vulnerable families to be self sufficient and enable them cater for their children to prevent them from losing parental care. Over 5,000 children and 644 guardians have benefited from this programme.
Apart from these, we run other specialized projects including: “Save My Mother” Cervical cancer screening, Quality Education Now project, No Business As Usual project, Sustainable Livelihood, End Child Marriage Now, Wrigley Oral Health, Zuozugu 100 children go to school project among others.
Mr. Kekula noted that SOS Villages Ghana remains committed to its mission; “we remain committed to building families for children in need, helping them shape their own future and sharing in the development of their communities’”.
Other activities marking the 45th anniversary are; a Health Walk, ‘Giving Day’ celebration with Four (4) Traditional Leaders in Ghana, ‘The Hike’ in partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Netherlands, Community engagement programmes and The Patron’s Fundraising Event.