Child Dream Foundation was founded in 2009 by Bernard Fianku, a social worker who has experience in running various different projects in Accra. Mr Fianku has worked for NGOs for fifteen years, including for three private orphanages, most recently Touch A Life Foundation. During this time he has developed the street children project, which attempts to tackle several different areas to enhance the lives of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).
- PMB KA 97 Airport
- 0244664168
- info@childdreamfoundation.com
About Us
CHILD DREAM FOUNDATION
MISSION STATEMENT
Child Dream Foundation works to empower young street, trafficked and vulnerable children by providing opportunities for them. The project aims to give them the skills education and desire to leave the streets and live fulfilling lives.
OBJECTIVES/VISIONS
- Healthcare for street children, both for minor ailments and for more grave, long-term illnesses
- Vocational training, for example, hairdressing
- A feeding program for children, providing nutritional, healthy food
- Providing micro-credit for families to start small businesses
- Providing funding for school fees for children
- A sports program for the children
- To provide sports academy for OVC
CHILD DREAM FOUNDATION PROJECT
It is estimated there are around 60,000 street children in Accra who live without medical help, decent food, education, and who are vulnerable to attack and abuse. These children come to the city both with their parents, relations and alone.
In Ghana, as with other parts of Africa, those living in rural areas are increasingly moving to cities such as Accra in search of work. Up to 60% of the population of Ghana work as farmers, meaning there is a steady influx of migrants to Accra and other big cities. There are various reasons for this:
- Farmers are starting to struggle to make ends meet
- Droughts can cause crop failure and force farmers to look for other work
- Perceived opportunity to make money in big cities
- A lack of opportunity to start farming land. Micro-credit and loans are difficult to come by.
Children often migrate to the cities by themselves seeking work to buy food. Another reason children might leave home is due to the rising number of dysfunctional families, which have been increasing since the 1950’s. Now it is common for marriages to fail and this may be another reason why so many children leave their villages, as new spouses fail to accept the children.
There is a great difference in quality of life between rural areas and city life. Many rural areas are lacking in running water and electricity, so it is no surprise that many people seek a better life elsewhere.
However, life in Accra is difficult and there is not enough work for the sheer volume of migrants. If they manage to find work, it is often selling petty items to earn a living. The circumstances that these street children face are often horrendous, and children living on the streets often find themselves being taken advantage of, for example, being raped, or end up resorting to prostitution and crime to make ends meet.
Work has to be done in the rural areas themselves in order to stop the influx of young people. However, as an emergency measure, these young people need help in the way of vocational training, sports therapy and health care in order to live lives that are beneficial to the community and to prevent the perpetuation of the problem when these children have their own offspring.
SPORTS PROGRAM
The main focus of this project is to develop the sports program in order to maintain a constant contact with the street children and provide them with guidance and discipline they may not otherwise be exposed to.
- To provide transport to enable 100 street children to attend regular soccer training sessions i.e. 3 per week and Sunday games over the period of a year.
- To teach 100 street children soccer skills and to facilitate football games between different teams.
- To feed 100 children weekly on Sundays after their sporting activities.
- To provide the children with medical facilities on an ad hoc basis.
- To hire a trainer and assistant to train the children.
- To provide the children with some basic sexual health education and life-skills training on a weekly basis.
This project targets 100+ orphans and vulnerable living on the streets around Kantamanto Railway Station between the ages of 6 and 17.
This project concentrates on inner city of Accra around Kantamanto, with a view to expanding the program to various different suburbs and other big cities in the future.
- Street soccer academy has been formed ( Fortune Football Academy)
- Over 80 street children to have an attendance over 80% attendance rate to weekly Sunday sessions.
- Over 80 street children to have over 80% attendance in sexual health/life-skills classes 80% of the total to have 3 red cards or less throughout the year (indicating good discipline)
- Soccer scouts to attend at least two training sessions per year to view possible talent.
- Children to remain in a good state of health and for various essential treatments to have been carried out throughout the year.
-The director hires staff in the form of a trainer and assistant trainer and conduct monthly meetings with these members of staff, to discuss children’s development and their attendance rates.
-A bus and driver has been hired in order to transport the street children to and from the training sessions and the weekly matches in order to ensure the children’s attendance.
-Purchasing soccer kits, training kits, balls, and hiring potential pitches.
-Distributing food rations and vitamins to the young people.
– The program director monitors the purchasing of clothes, shoes, food and vitamins. Proposed budgets would be reviewed on a quarterly basis.
– The children are supervised by the trainer and assistant trainer, and overseen by the Director.
– The project is evaluated on the basis of consistent attendance by the children. The big challenge with this program is achieving a consistent level of attendance and engaging the children over a long period of time.
– The Director of the program evaluates the attendance data collected at each practice to see if attendance has increased or decreased over the month period.
– Behavior of the children is also been evaluated on a monthly basis, in terms of numbers of red and yellow cards received.
– The children’s soccer skills is monitored on a monthly basis to see signs to improvement. All of these elements is tracked month by month to ensure progress.
– Each week children report any injuries/ill health to the trainer/assistant trainer and all cases and medical treatments are documented and evaluated monthly in terms of cases treated and how vital/useful this medical care is to the children