Churches tasked to cater for orphans

Accra, May 3, GNA - Reverend David Kwadwo Ofosuhene, Board Chairman of All God's Children International, has appealed to churches to provide orphans and vulnerable children a place of love, hope and a sense of belonging within the Christian environment.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, he said there were many references in scripture which helped to recognise the fact that churches had a role to play so far as orphan care is concerned, adding; 'orphan care is the heartbeat of God'.

Rev. Ofosuhene, who is also a Steering Committee Member of Ghana without Orphans (GWO), a Christian movement dedicated to restoring orphans to their relatives or adoptive Christian families, noted that churches must honour their responsibilities and involve themselves in foster parenting.

He said orphanage and foster homes should serve as an emergency placement for those victims; and citied an example 'where one man or woman caters for 30 children which eventually worsens the situation'.

He said the act in some of these homes were not the best and emphasised the need for orphans to have families to call them their children.

Rev. Ofosuhene said there was the need to sensitise church members and the public at large on the need to partake in orphan care ministry.

He said the GWO was embarking on a number of activities to promote communication within and among orphan networks, help advocates to share their successes and challenges and learn from each other as they design and test working models to improve services to orphans and families.

He said a five-member delegation, led by Rev George Abaidoo, National Co-ordinator of GWO, is participating in a Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) 2015 Summit, currently ongoing in the United States.

He said last year, he participated on behalf of All God's Children International in the 2014 CAFO summit which registered 2,600 foster and adoptive parents, orphan advocates, pastors and leaders from 35 countries to explore effective foster care, adoption, family preservation and global orphan ministry.

The CAFO summit inspires and equips Christians to care for orphans with wisdom-guided love, which has developed into the national hub for what Christianity today called, 'the burgeoning Christian orphan care movement'.

Moreover, beginning from the last week of October, 2015, the coalition of the various orphan bodies would mark the 1st anniversary of Orphan Week, a week of activities to provide spiritual support to orphans across the country.

Rev Ofosuhene, therefore, urged pastors, philanthropists, benevolent organisations, and other religious bodies to join GWO and its affiliates as well as the Social Welfare Department to invest in orphan care.

GNA