The West African country of Ghana is in many ways a success story. It's neither war-torn nor dictator-ruled, businesses do well there and investment is heavy, and one of their citizens just finished a stint ... a very long stint ... as Secretary General of the United Nations, one of the biggies in prestige jobs in the global village.

The country gets no pass on other problems rife in Africa, however, as allegations of corruption and a huge HIV/AIDS population both come with the territory. Of course, the UN is involved in most aspects of government, or non-government as they prefer, and makes a habit out of sticking its tentacles into many local pie charts.

In the report we were discussing in the previous post, we were treated to an 'interesting' point of view regarding an orphanage, and one official's ... a Social Welfare guy ... thought process that somehow managed to contort the reality of hundreds of thousands of orphans into kids being moved from 'comfortable homes' into care for the heck of it.

Go figure.

Okay, let's do that.

Where could a contortion like that come from?

Well, according to the report, in 2005 the Social Welfare Department started identifying private orphanages, insinuating that people are going into the biz because of the, "popularity and money that operating an orphanage can bring", and beginning to insist that licensing it the key ... an apparently new hoop.

And speaking of hoops:

Eric Appiah Okrah, a child protection officer with UNICEF, said the fact that these orphanages have been working with the DSW over the years without a license does not make their operations legal. He abhors the current situation in the country where private orphanages are springing out without any recourse to standard. Reforms in the sector are long overdue, he added.

Reforms? Hmmmm. What sort of reforms?

As part of some the standards set out, orphanage operators will be required to: have a written Statement of Purpose and a children’s guide; a placement plan devised in consultation with each child; periodic review of the child’s needs and development; and an ability to support individual children when they need it.

AND, they've been conducting WORKSHOPS.

Well, that ought to to it.

There are some voices of reason, however, like that of Bishop Kwaku Addei who runs an orphanage, who points out that the government cannot and will not provide for all the children needing care in Ghana, that private orphanages fill a need and that the government should, "support them instead of putting impediments in their way".

UNICEF's take?

According to UNICEF officer Appiah Okrah, none of the orphanages can replace the love that a parent has for his child and therefore families should be encouraged to keep their children instead of putting them in orphanages, adding "in the African family system, the external family structures makes it possible for a child whose parent were dead to be catered for by other family members."

Do they really not get that the "external family structures" in Africa are gone? They've been dying off for the past twenty years at an ever-increasing rate and leaving nothing in their stead.

It's all well and good to say that the "best idea is to strengthen family structures and discourage the institutionalizing of orphans", but is saying it enough to put food in the mouths of hungry kids now? Does an idea provide the protection from harsh elements of a roof?

The report says the ultimate objectives of the Care Reform Initiative of 2007-2008 is to "inform, educate and legislate". Can anyone take that home for dinner?

Is also says the aim is to "protect orphans and vulnerable children from mistreatment, neglect and abuse, close down badly run children’s homes, improve conditions in homes that provide quality care and ensure appropriate care for children suffering from serious illness and handicap."

Fine and dandy, if ... and only if ... in the process of protecting, etc., etc. they're not cutting off the legs of the only foundation kids may have.

Lest anyone suspect some huge American adoption market is prompting people to actually remove children from "comfortable homes" and place them in orphanages ... and I'm sure someone will ... allow me to point out that only 20 US immigrant visa's were granted for children born in Ghana and adopted by American families in 2005. Here's the US State Department page for the country.

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