.... to address Street Children and Homelessness.

Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah, the daughter of late President Nkrumah and CPP Member of Parliament for Jomorro has called for an urgent action to address street children and homelessness in the country.

Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child asserts that “States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development”.
Speaking to this writer in London recently, She said due to the hidden and isolated nature of street children it is very difficult to accurately estimate how many are on the streets. She said many of the children she has come into contact with include those who have been abandoned by their families or sent into cities because of family's intense poverty often with hope that a child will be able to earn money for the family and send it home.
It is estimated that Ghana has over 1.5 million children living in extreme poverty, with approximately a quarter of who were on the streets. She stated that the recent floods in the north displaced families and children with many now leading nomadic lives, carrying their possessions with them and called on churches to open their doors for these displaced families.
She said despite the significant efforts by the government and non-governmental organizations the situation is not getting any better as the number continues to grow dramatically, with more children ending up on the streets.
She said the mental, social and emotional growth of these children are affected by their nomadic lifestyles couple with the harsh elements they are exposed to, including drug use, fending for themselves, scavenge for food or find exploitative physical work (Kaya) and/or stealing to survive.
She called for a concerted action by all stakeholders to address the needs of homeless street children. She said under CPP development plan (akin to the previous 7 Year Development Plan of her late father’s government) house-building, social welfare, health care service at every district, and a duty to provide a decent home for every Ghanaian will be of right. That means tackling the housing problem and improves the living conditions on a long-term basis by providing affordable homes in every district of the country. She said, “Every Ghanaian will have a stake in the nation's wealth, the days of mud houses will be over. Every one is entitled to have a decent home”.

She said under the development plan, there will be initiatives to assist street children through programs which would be designed to provide safety, health care, counseling, education, vocational education and other social services.
Samia said under the plan government will work with organizations to develop practical strategy to address the issue of street children and homelessness as well as to provide regular individual contact, offering much needed care and love. She said, “We’ve all read the disturbing statistics of the problems in the north in the last few weeks. Many elderly people don’t have enough to eat and over 2,000 children don’t know where their next meal is coming from”.
Poverty, joblessness, hunger and homelessness are rampant in the country, to an extent not seen since the early 1980s. Yaba Christina said, “Many of these people live in relative obscurity”. Many aren’t the visible homeless we sleeping at shop fronts and in kiosks or begging for change at traffic lights, she says. They are individuals who’ve have fallen on hard times; they are living among us, all over the country.
In the north, Samia met Ramatu and her small 4 children. They live in a mud house that is made of mud, home made mud bricks and straw. When the floods came it washed their house away. Now she and her 4 children are homeless. She also met grandma Aliya who is trying to raise her 12 grandchildren in their old home. They are living in one room and some of the children are having to sleep on the veranda. Their parents migrated to the south several years ago and never returned. Their home is in a very bad condition and is made of mud and straw. Grandma Aliya is 70 years old with no formal income.
In the Volta region, she met Angela and Yao who are polytechnic graduates but can’t find work and at 25 years old, both are homeless.
She said the essence of the program is to help street children overcome the trauma of life on the streets and give them back their childhoods, and ultimatively their lives. She said homelessness and begging are big problems in the country that must be addressed. She said as the country becomes prosperous, she cannot leave behind her social responsibilities. She said the issue of street children and homelessness must be tackled head-on.
An executive member of National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) that this writer spoke to said, “We should be commending Samia for her sacrifice to bring attention to this growing problem”. He further stated, “She is lobbying on behalf of the poor and the weak for change. Those we have elected in the two main parties do not see the bigger picture. We need new leaders who understand the definition of Public Service”.
He said in Accra and other major cities, there is very little compassion for the street children and the homeless families. There are many people who would like the street children and the homeless to be jailed for vagrancy. Visibly upset, he said, “This is insanity at best and we’ve got things absolutely backwards in this country since 2000.” He said contrary to popular belief, most homeless street children ( Koborlor, Kaya etc) and families did not become so out of choice and not because they are lazy, stupid or immoral. Many homeless street children are victims of abuse in the form of neglect and abandonment by their parents or other relatives.
He said many are victims of life tragedies, including persistent poverty. Women far outnumber males in being homeless with their children. Most women who become homeless are escaping abusive relationship with their male partners or been thrown out of the family home.
Families with children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless, according to the executive of the National Union of Ghana Students. He said with rents soaring, many people can’t afford housing. He said it’s disturbing to see women and children wandering the streets with no where to go. Destitute families are becoming a common feature on the streets of Ghana and it’s time someone stands up and fights for these people. Remember they are fellow Ghanaians, he added”.
Samia said, “many children, some as young as 6years old, end up on the streets because they are abandoned, orphaned, or thrown out of their homes”. She said, “At least over a million Ghanaians will go to bed tonight on the street. Of that number over half are children and added many children want a bed in which to sleep, food that’s fit to eat, a place where they can fee safe”.
On the streets, life can be precarious for the homeless, especially girl-child. She wants every district to have an accommodation or hostel with on-site counseling for mental health problems and substance addictions. She said, “By giving people housing and services, they will go out and get a job, pay taxes and help develop their community”.
Since entering into politics in 2008, the daughter of the late President Nkrumah has become a rallying for progressive views on social issues and development. She is being promoted as a rising star of the Progressives and next president of Ghana.

Peter Jeffrey
Houston, Texas.