Only six orphanages are currently operating in the Central Region after the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection closed down 24 of such facilities.
The orphanages closed down were said to be operating without proper licenses.
This was made known by the Programmes Head of Child Right and Protection at the Department of Social Welfare in the Central Region, Felicia Ankrah, on the sidelines of the introduction of the Foster Care initiative.
The Foster Care programme, which has been on trial for sometime now, has now been formalized.
The programme recommends the adoption of orphans by parents who can afford. This is to depopulate most orphanages in the country.
Speaking to Onua FM‘s Kwame Kakarba on Wednesday, Acting Director of the Central Region Department of Social Welfare Monica Siaw underscored the importance of Foster Care, saying the programme is to get the orphans out of institutions to homes in order for them to experience family life.
She confirmed that most of the orphanages closed down in the Region did not meet the standards.
“I realized most of [the inmates] were not even orphans as they had their parents alive.”
She said the mere presence of orphanages saw some parents shirking their responsibilities and placing their children in those facilities.
Ms Siaw called for the collective training of children for the future benefit of the society and the country as a whole.
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