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On the bus on the way back to hotel last night, I met a young man from Ghana that works with an orphanage there.
In Africa, an orphanage has a different meaning that it does to us. It can mean a child who has lost both parents and in those countries that have been hit hard by AIDS, that is common. But more often it simply means an abandoned child. That can be a single parent that feels she/he can not care for a child or it can be a family that has children already and just can't afford another baby so they give it away.
This particular orphanage has 216 children and is working with 21 "rescued" kids.
Orphanages are only allowed to work with children until they are 12. In Ghana, at that age they write exams for high school but only 40% are accepted. Those that succeed have a chance at a future, those that have families have some support, but those that don't suddenly find themselves on the street at the age of 12. No skills, little hope, little future. However they manage to support themselves, it is likely illegal.
Thus the term "rescued child". I don't know if that is a common term or one unique to this orphanage. They are not allowed to care for children over 12 but they are allowed a short time to teach them a trade. So they "rescue" these kids from the street, try to teach them a vocational skill, tailoring, making something, auto mechanics etc. along with some basic money handling skills. The hope is that by the time they are forced to let them go again that they have enough skill and knowledge to survive on their own. An onerous task for a 12 year old.
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