Reintegration of five children of the Timaltaba orphanage

Reintegration of five children of the Timaltaba orphanage

Reintegration of five children of the Timaltaba orphanage

On Friday the 18th of October BRAVEAURORA took part at the reintegration of five children back into family based care and out of the Timaltaba orphanage, located in Gbeogo Tongo in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The reintegration was organised by the district office of Social Welfare Tongo and supported by the regional officer Edward Apiga of the Upper East region. Braveaurora was represented through the executive director Mister Abdul Rahman Gbana Idrissu, the social worker Susana Agana and the volunteer Cornelia Greimel. Additionally besides the children and the future caregivers the owners of the orphanage and the pastor were part of the program.

Throughout the program the regional and the district director of DSW emphasised the importance of children growing- up with their families. They highlighted that it’s essential that the DSW and all the people present at the program work together as a team to make a sustainable reintegration of the children possible. Furthermore they encouraged the parents to report any difficulties they face to their case worker and ensure them that the DSW will try to support them in the best possible way. In addition to that they talked about the strengthening of the foster parent program as a crucial aspect to realise the mission of family- based for all children.

Regarding the action plan of the national headoffice the two orphanages Timaltaba and “The Light of the Vulnerable” in the region should be closed by the end of 2021. To reach this goal the reintegration of five children of the Timaltaba orphanage was an important step. Now there are eighteen (18) children left in the home, for who the further steps of the reintegration process are still need to be planned. However the owners of the orphanage showed themselves willing to support this plan. Also they pointed out their interest to further support children and their families outside an orphanage by registering as an NGO.

For the three (3) girls and the two (2) boys, who are between fifteen (15) and sixteen (16) years old, started a new part of their life on Friday, in which they will be back living with their communities. Their caregivers (mainly grandmothers and aunts) seemed all really concerned about the children’s well-being and some of them mentioned doubts about their ability to meet all the needs of the children in the best possible way. These initial insecurities appear to be very naturally both for the children and the caregivers. That’s why a sustainable follow-up support for those families is really essential now so they get their confidence back and the children can continue to develop safely and achieve their goals in a protected family setting.

Since BRAVEAURORA already has gained successful experiences in the reintegration process and the follow-up support for children, we are very happy to be such a close partner of DSW in this regard and are always ready to support it with our expertise.