NOVEMBER 2012 AfriKids is a Child Rights Organisation working to improve life for Ghana’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in a holistic, inclusive and sustainable manner
NEW BEGINNINGS First cycle of beneficiaries graduate Three years on from the start of AfriKids’ New Beginnings Programme in 2009, the first group of beneficiaries are now graduating from the project, and some have gone on to set up their own businesses. New Beginnings is a programme for displaced children who may have been working in hazardous labour or living on the streets. The programme focuses on giving some of northern Ghana’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children a decent start in life. The programme was set up in 2009 with the support of The Baring and John Ellerman Foundations, to support children
who had worked in dangerous forms of labour, lived or worked on the street, been displaced from their homes or were at home but at risk of dropping out of education due to poverty.
from the project. Some are still in education thanks to the project staff and some are about to set up their own businesses in trades they have been working hard to perfect over the past three years.
All 60 beneficiaries taken on in 2009 received support tailored to the children’s individual situations, through AfriKids’ ‘one child at a time’ way of working. The beneficiaries were either placed back in education or found vocational training places in trades that would equip them for a long and sustainable life. Alongside all of this, AfriKids staff worked closely with schools and communities in the region in order to boost community understanding of child rights.
Rita, pictured above, is now able to set up shop as a hairdresser. When first getting involved with New Beginnings, Rita was homeless and from a very fragile family background with no father. AfriKids’ support means she’s now able to stand on her own two feet.
This year this first group of beneficiaries are now graduating
Thanks to Comic Relief funding, 300 further New Beginnings beneficiaries were taken on in 2011. We can’t wait to report back on their progress over time. They, like Rita, have a lot to look forward to.