African Street Kids - Orphanage Foundation

African Street Kids - Orphanage Foundation (ASK-OF) is a non-governmental organization committed to providing the needs of orphans and street children victimized by HIV/AIDS or physically challenge in the society, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class, religion, colour, cultural difference or social background, it will help orphans to fit into the society morally, spiritually and mentally.

We are daily mixing with street Kids in Accra, Ghana, to enable us to find the kids in greatest need of support from ASK-OF. 

ASK-OF aim is to assist kids who are on the streets by giving them a stable home.  In the Orphanage, they can mix with other kids and build their confidence for present and later life. While doing this, we want to show a general awareness about the needs of Accra’s street Kids.  All who sleep rough, who are homeless and work in the streets of Accra to enable them to eat what little food they can buy.

Bus Stop Kids

There is a part of Accra that needs our undivided attention.  A part of Accra that needs our help, a part of Accra that is looked down on and ignored by the local people, and sadly, it is mostly children, Girls.  Early in the morning you will hear the sound of Accra waking around 5.30am, in the centre of Accra there is a bus station, an open station with no covering.  All the buses large and mini start appearing at around 6.30am.  By 9.00am the station in busier than Heathrow Airport with buses coming and going.  They continue in and out of the station until around 6pm.  By 7pm there are no buses, the station becomes empty and quiet.  Then slowly the station begins to fill again, but this time it is with children of all ages.  It is no longer a bus station; it is a home for the homeless children.  Many of these children have children of their own. 

Many children were attracted to Accra by promising stories from friends and peers. In reality, street life is much harder than most children expect. The street children struggle to take care of themselves. They try to make a living by doing all kinds of jobs. The boys often earn money by shining shoes, pushing trucks, gathering refuse and carrying it to the dump site. Some street children are ‘hawkers’ which means they try to sell their wares (often small items like chewing gum) hanging around, especially by chasing vehicles. The girls often sell water, oranges and bread. Some children sell plastic bags at the market. You can also find a vast number of girls who carry loads of goods in bowls on their heads. These girls are called the “kaya yee”.

Then there are the homeless children (girls) that have touched my heart and need taking off the streets, these girls walk to an area called Sodom & Gomorra.  They earn money to survive through prostitution.

 (they are just children, please see case story under MIRAN). 

Men from the city will pay for their services as well as the street boys.  Here in the UK the girls on the street get drawn into it by drugs; they do not get drawn into prostitution because they need food to live.  It is mostly to feed there habits of drugs (God touch the prostitutes in the UK and release them from there habits and torments).

For the Children (Girls) in Accra it is to live daily, to eat daily, and to survive daily. The street girl is among the most vulnerable on the streets, and street boys will offer them some form of protection in return for sex. Not to mention the personal effect this has on a girl, it also means that they are at a high risk of getting pregnant. The boy will then deny all knowledge of his relationship; the girl is then left to bring up the child on their own. Street girls are also at a heightened risk of becoming infected with STD’s and STI’s.

Please look through our web site and join us in helping these kids.