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.
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.