Lecturer urges corporate bodies to support children in need

Accra, Oct. 11, GNA 96 A corporate volunteering programme under the auspices of Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and Save Our Souls (SOS) was on Wednesday launched with a call on corporate bodies to support children in need to enable them develop physically, socially and psychologically.

"To develop into psychological healthy human beings, a child must have a relationship with an adult who is, protective and fosters trust and security,=94 Dr Dan-Bright Dzorgbo, a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Ghana, said.

Corporate volunteering is a unique corporate social responsibility tool that benefits the company, its employees and society as a whole and also creates opportunity for corporate bodies to spend time as well as support the development of orphans and vulnerable children.

Dr Dzorgbo noted that SOS had over the years been supported by foreign sponsors but the time had come for individuals and organisations to show love to children.

He said though SOS provided children with a family in the village, the children needed love and support from people outside the village. "Sharing our life experience with them, showing them how to choose their career can help them expand their world view and enable them to get a better perspective of life.=94

Mr Nii Doodo Dodoo, Programme Manager, National Volunteering, encouraged employers to get involved in projects they felt strongly about saying such activities were not only beneficial to the recipient but the companies as well.

He said the corporate volunteering project could be tailored to improve company teamwork while investing in the communities as well enhancing corporate image and staff morale.

Mr Kojo Mattah, National Director of SOS Villages in Ghana, said the partnership with VSO fell in line with one of the strategic initiatives of SOS called the International Participation and Partnership, which encouraged them to collaborate with other international and local organisations to present a common front and seek support for the work they did.

He said the vision of SOS was to see every child grow up in a family with love, respect and security and their mission was to build families for children in need, help them shape their own future and share in the development of their communities