DON BOSCO YOUTH HOME TO BE EXPANDED (PAGE 30, DEC 14)

A Catholic-based charitable organisation has embarked on an expansion programme in a youth home at Tema Newtown in order to fight child labour, streetism, school dropout and truancy at the beach community of the area.
Located at Tema Manhean, overlooking the sea, the Don Bosco Youth Home started operations in 2003 and has over 100 children between the ages of eight and 16, who are undergoing rehabilitation and reformation for re-integration into the community.
The inmates were picked from the beach, the streets and the harbour where child labour was prominent.
The children underwent two phases of sponsorship rehabilitation and reformation during which they were given psychological and health training.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Programme Co-ordinator, Mr Francis Tetteh, who is also a social worker, said site plans were ready for an expansion programme in the next two months, to make room for the centre to enrol younger children, as well as adults, in it.
Mr Tetteh said the project was initiated in 1993 by Fr Ivan Stojanivic, a Crotian, who set up vocational centres in Sunyani, in the Brong Ahafo Region, and Tema, in the Greater Accra Region.
He said the Tema Newtown centre catered for orphans and vulnerable children who lacked parental care and came from a poor-economic background.
He said the children, when picked, were investigated and given psychological training to facilitate their quick absorption into mainstream life.
Mr Tetteh noted that most of the children who went through training at the centre found it rather difficult to re-integrate into the community, because of a lack of amenities in the community.
He stated that the centre was funded through fund raising and support from some good-spirited people and organisations, and commended the Zenith Bank in Tema, the latest to visit the centre for presenting GH¢5,000 worth of items to the children.