The head of the Department for Social Welfare, Comfort Asare has said that it is illegal to take custody of a missing or abandoned child in Ghana without a police report or permission from the appropriate government agency.
Asare gave the advice at the official launch of Missing Children Ghana (MCG), a not-for-profit organisation in Accra on Wednesday (24 May).
The launch also coincided with the maiden celebration of International Missing Children Day in Accra,
“One thing that we want to tell Ghanaians, is that if you find a child abandoned or missing, you don’t have the right to take the child to your home.
“Every vulnerable child must be reported to the police, and it is from the police that the relevant institutions and agencies are contacted for them to continue with further action,” she said.
“Every vulnerable child belongs to the government and it is government who has to decide what should be done with the child, so people who take children to their homes without police report, without social welfare permission or support from government agency, is wrong,” Asare said.
Listen to Rev Dr Comfort Asare in the attached audio file below:
Support
For her part, the founder of Missing Children Ghana, Regina Asamoah called for support for her organisation to reunite missing children in Ghana.
“Over a two-year period, we have received 630 missing person cases, with 80% of these cases being children… all these families contacted us because they have seen the impact we have made by reuniting other,” Asamoah said.
About Missing Children Ghana
Missing Children Ghana is the first non- profit and public benefit organisation that engages the Ghana Police Service and Department of Social Welfare when a person (especially a child) goes missing in Ghana, for any reason whatsoever.
MCG was founded by Regina Asamoah who is a passionate advocate for women and child’s rights.
Her documentary titled; ‘MISSING CHILDREN’ which was first premiered in May 2021 has helped reunite about 200 missing children with their families and still counting.
The initiative focuses on finding and reuniting missing children across the country with the ultimate goal of promoting the well-being of children by helping them grow in families.
At the 2022 Ghana Young Achievers Awards, she received the topmost Award – Young Achiever and Activist of the Year, for her “Missing Children” Documentary Series. This Documentary was also awarded the Most Popular TV Programme by the First African Media Awards.
Similarly, at the 2022 Humanitarian Awards Global, Regina Asamoah was honored for her Missing Children Documentaries.
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
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