Under the auspices of the French Embassy in Ghana, OrphanAid Africa has launched the OrphanAid Weekend, a series of events in Accra to raise awareness on the problems faced by vulnerable children in Ghana. The events will encompass a range of entertaining and awareness creation activities, and much more.

On Friday, December 3 the ‘Shoprite Takeover’ would be a day of competitions and prize giveaways at the Accra Mall. It would be followed on Saturday by the Blakk Rasta and Friends concert at Alliance Francaise. The free concert features some of Ghana’s biggest music stars including Samini, Fifi Sellah, and King Ayisoba.

The OrphanAid Weekend, will end with the Fun and Games day with football star, Marcel Desailly on Sunday. There would be football games, races, swimming, bouncy castle, and other games for the children at Marcel Desailly’s newly opened Lizzy Sports Complex in East Legon. The event would be hosted by the World Cup winner himself.

The ‘Every Child Deserves a Family’ theme for the period is in line with OrphanAid Africa’s continued call for an end to institutionalization in orphanages in favour of kinship and extended family care for children.

According to OrpahAid Africa, orphanages are not a culturally appropriate or sustainable solution for caring for children. Children need to grow up in families and with a permanent bond of care and affection that no orphanage can provide. OrphanAid Africa practices a system where it rescues children from orphanages and supports poor families to care for their children.

OrphanAid Africa is aware of the existence of 148 orphanages in Ghana, and has data on children living in 95 of these orphanages. Approximately 85%, of the children in orphanages in Ghana are not orphans and have living family. Since2005 OrphanAid Africa has stopped supporting orphanages and focused all its activities on resettling children with their extended family.