Founder of Orphanage receives German National Award

Kinder Paradise, an orphanage run by a German citizen, Saturday celebrated their 10th Anniversary in style when the German Government conferred on their founder, Silke Rösner, the German Order of Merit for her meritorious work in Ghana.

Silke Rosner, founded Kinder Paradise in 1998.

Conferring the National Award on her, the German Ambassador to Ghana, Marius Haas, said the German Government has notice the tremendous work that Mrs Rosner is doing with children in Ghana.

He noted that there were a lot of Germans in Ghana who have undertaken other laudable projects in the country. According to him, the word Kinder means Children in Germany.

The overall aim of the Kinder Paradise project is the reintegration of street children into society. 

These children should grow up into independent, self-confident and responsible members of their community; they should achieve educational qualifications according to their abilities, stand up for themselves in daily life, and later be able to support themselves and their families financially.

Kinder Paradise is a Christian charitable institution, with the aim to care for street children, orphans and children in need, led by the awareness that the government cannot solve the problem of street children unilaterally.

Kinder Paradise was initiated in order to support the efforts of the government in this respect.

The founders of the project are following their call as Christians. They are convinced that it is their God-given task to take care of the street children.

Reliant upon their calling, they have set themselves the goal of making a contribution to the development of lasting solutions to the problem of street children.

Kinder Paradise offers children and young people a family structure within the project accommodation.

For the partly impoverished, marginalized, deprived of their rights, socially neglected and uprooted children, integrative care provides the possibility of reintegration into the community.

The family atmosphere helps to ensure a positive mental, spiritual, and physical development of the children.

Currently Kinder Paradise has 40 permanent employees and additional volunteers. It has two extra centers at Adenta and Osu.

The project is financed solely by donations from organisations such as Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, who have supported Kinder Paradise since 2002; the company Bonita Moden, who sponsored the construction of a school including all running costs until 2008 and an additional housing unit was built through funds initiated by Mrs Johanne Groenevold (Circle of Friends from Ostfriesland, Germany).

In 2006 HelpAlliance started supporting this project for the first time, the aims of which are to alleviate the misery of the street children of Accra.

HelpAlliance was founded in 1999 by staff members from all parts of the Lufthansa Group. It is a voluntary, non-denominational, politically independent organisation.

As part of the 10th Anniversary celebration, HelpAlliance, laid foundation for a new kindergarten school block for the orphanage.