The Rotary Club of Kumasi-Premier International has supported the SOS Children’s Village, Asokore Mampong, with beddings to improve the wellbeing of inmates.
It comes after a needs assessment showed inmates for 15 years had yet to change the mattresses they got at the inception of the village.
Under the Literacy and Education project of the Rotary Club, the group is anticipating that the gesture will improve in the education of the children.
President of the Rotary Club of Kumasi-Premier International, Rotarian Avinash Lakhani, explains, “If the children are comfortable, if they have a good night’s sleep, their academic performance gets better.”
Fifty-two mattresses were procured by the club at a subsidized rate from Latex Foam, ensuring some funds were invested in the purchase of 104 pillows and 102 pieces of bedsheets.
“We thought that every child deserves comfort. They are living without their parents and SOS Children’s Village is doing a fantastic job of housing and educating them, so we had to do our part as well,” Mr. Lakhani added.
The Rotary Club of Kumasi-Premier International, after receiving its charter over a year ago, has invested in many projects to relieve the vulnerable.
To increase the reach of the club, they have extended an invitation to interested people to join in building improved communities.
“We need to help everybody in society. Everybody who wants to do good should look at the option to join Rotary,” he added.
A Tour of the SOS Children’s Village in Kumasi
The children’s village, established fifteen years ago, has the capacity of 120 inmates.
They take in children who are deprived of parental care through the social welfare departments.
To ensure children under the care of the village live in a proper family setting, children live in twelve family houses with a capacity of ten children per family home.
Under the family shelters, there are mothers employed to offer support for children.
Mr. Benard Amoako, Director for SOS Children’s Village, explains, “We believe that children grow better in a family setting, so what we do is to create family environments for these children, which is why we have the family houses.”
With these settings, children are expected to plan and share their challenges with their mothers.
The village, aside from the orphanage, hosts a basic school offering education to children within the environs.
The village also runs a family strengthening program, which is helping weak families that are struggling to take care of their children.
It is a means of preventing children from losing parental care.
“We meet the families outside the village; they are presently working in the Ejisu and Juaben areas. We build their capacities and support the caregivers with the necessary skills and resources they need to be able to take care of the children,” Mr. Amoako added.
Also, the No Business as Usual project, which operates under the SOS Children’s Village, also helps develop entrepreneurial and employability skills of the youth.
The project’s ultimate goal is to get youth into employment to resource them enough to support their families.
About Rotary Club
Rotary International is a renowned humanitarian service organization that brings together a global network of volunteer professional leaders and businesses dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.
The key areas of focus include disease prevention, support of the environment, basic education and literacy, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, economic development and peace-building.
It connects 1.4 million members of more than 46,000 Rotary Clubs in over 200 communities and geographical areas.
In Ghana, it has 70 clubs, of which five are already located in Kumasi.
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