Support less privileged children
By Damian Avevor and Angela Ofosu Boateng
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, has called on Ghanaians to contribute to the holistic development of less privileged children in the country.The Archbishop made the call when he recently blessed and commissioned the Kressner Handmaids Orphanage at Ardeyman, Otaten near Amasaman near Accra.
The Orphanage was built by the Rotary Club of Otterndorf, Germany and the Rotary Club of Accra, to be managed by the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer (HDR) Congregation of Accra. The commissioning coincided with the birthday of late Most Rev. Joseph Oliver Bowers, SVD, former Bishop of Accra who founded the HDR Congregation. Saying that civilization of a nation was determined by how much it invested in the development of its people, Archbisho Palmer-Buckle called for support for orphans “to become what they are meant to be”.
He said there was the need to go back to the African tradition and culture where “all children belonged to all parents, thus there were no orphans”. He described children as gifts and treasure from God who needed to be loved, cherished and well catered for, encouraging Parishes, Societies in the Church and benevolent individuals to make consistent contributions for the upkeep of the children.
He commended the Rotarians for partnering the HDR to build the Orphanage.
He noted that the Archdiocese currently runs eight official programmes for the needy, including, City of God, Centre of Hope, Hope for Life, Weija Leprosarium, Home for trafficked children and Catholic Action for Street Children, calling for support for the less privileged in society.
Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection said the Project was a testimony to the importance of partnership and commitment, calling for more of such joint initiatives to develop the country. She stressed the need for a happy, loving, family environment for the full and harmonious development of children, expressing the hope that the HDR would create such an environment for the children under their care. She noted that the Government had set up a Care Reform Initiative to implement a targeted approach to the management of Residential Homes to ensure that best practices were maintained in the homes for children.
The Minister said every child needed respect, love and care and urged caregivers to extend these virtues to children, entreating them to ensure children’s involvement in decisions that affect their lives. Nana Lithur encouraged the HDR Sisters to provide adequate healthcare and education to the children under their care.
The HDR Superior, Rev. Sr. Matilda Sorkpor, noted that the sod was cut for the construction of the orphanage on March 4, 2014 and thanked the Rotarians for completing the Project within a year.
She noted that the Handmaids Sisters’ pivotal mission was to see and understand the suffering of the less fortunate in society and strive to seek God’s wisdom to reach out to others in support of their mission, adding that the building of the orphanage was in fulfillment of the Congregation’s deep rooted vision of comforting orphans, the vulnerable and less privileged children, saying that children were gifts from God.
“The dream to construct a home for children from our hospitals and clinics, children of HIV /Aids patients, and orphans is now a reality. A reality, because today, March 28, 2015, that dream of having a home for these children is no longer dream but a concrete reality.”
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, has called on Ghanaians to contribute to the holistic development of less privileged children in the country.The Archbishop made the call when he recently blessed and commissioned the Kressner Handmaids Orphanage at Ardeyman, Otaten near Amasaman near Accra.
The Orphanage was built by the Rotary Club of Otterndorf, Germany and the Rotary Club of Accra, to be managed by the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer (HDR) Congregation of Accra. The commissioning coincided with the birthday of late Most Rev. Joseph Oliver Bowers, SVD, former Bishop of Accra who founded the HDR Congregation. Saying that civilization of a nation was determined by how much it invested in the development of its people, Archbisho Palmer-Buckle called for support for orphans “to become what they are meant to be”.
He said there was the need to go back to the African tradition and culture where “all children belonged to all parents, thus there were no orphans”. He described children as gifts and treasure from God who needed to be loved, cherished and well catered for, encouraging Parishes, Societies in the Church and benevolent individuals to make consistent contributions for the upkeep of the children.
He commended the Rotarians for partnering the HDR to build the Orphanage.
He noted that the Archdiocese currently runs eight official programmes for the needy, including, City of God, Centre of Hope, Hope for Life, Weija Leprosarium, Home for trafficked children and Catholic Action for Street Children, calling for support for the less privileged in society.
Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection said the Project was a testimony to the importance of partnership and commitment, calling for more of such joint initiatives to develop the country. She stressed the need for a happy, loving, family environment for the full and harmonious development of children, expressing the hope that the HDR would create such an environment for the children under their care. She noted that the Government had set up a Care Reform Initiative to implement a targeted approach to the management of Residential Homes to ensure that best practices were maintained in the homes for children.
The Minister said every child needed respect, love and care and urged caregivers to extend these virtues to children, entreating them to ensure children’s involvement in decisions that affect their lives. Nana Lithur encouraged the HDR Sisters to provide adequate healthcare and education to the children under their care.
The HDR Superior, Rev. Sr. Matilda Sorkpor, noted that the sod was cut for the construction of the orphanage on March 4, 2014 and thanked the Rotarians for completing the Project within a year.
She noted that the Handmaids Sisters’ pivotal mission was to see and understand the suffering of the less fortunate in society and strive to seek God’s wisdom to reach out to others in support of their mission, adding that the building of the orphanage was in fulfillment of the Congregation’s deep rooted vision of comforting orphans, the vulnerable and less privileged children, saying that children were gifts from God.
“The dream to construct a home for children from our hospitals and clinics, children of HIV /Aids patients, and orphans is now a reality. A reality, because today, March 28, 2015, that dream of having a home for these children is no longer dream but a concrete reality.”
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