aBAN on Neglect

Vital Stats

Callie B

Chapel Hill, NC

people helped100
People Doing It 25

The Problem

A handful of peaceful elections, well-distributed natural resources and successful tourism have branded Ghana as somewhat of a “success story” in Africa. Still, the country is far from thriving. Northern areas of Ghana are poverty stricken, causing mass migration towards the already populated capital: Accra. Uncontrollable urbanization and a lack of environmental awareness are currently drowning Ghana in overwhelming waste. The target of blame is often the seemingly innocent plastic bags full of refreshing pure water necessary to deal with the problem of dehydration. For only about 5 US cents, the people of Ghana can purchase a 500 ml bag of purified water, yet it is causing an enormous waste epidemic. The government’s effort toward waste management is next to nothing, leaving the city with nearly no public wastebaskets and even less waste pickup. The people of Ghana drop their waste directly onto the streets without thinking twice. Trash is clogging gutters, breeding mosquitoes, threatening livestock and destroying property. Increased crowding has not only polluted the streets with waste but also congested them with homeless youth. In Accra, an estimated 60,000 children call the streets their home. These children come from many different backgrounds, yet whether they have been victims of poverty, abuse or abandonment, all have one common thread: neglect. Street children fend for themselves, often working in unhealthy, dangerous environments, eating poorly, and sleeping in unsanitary conditions. As exchange students at the University of Ghana in 2008, we worked with these children by volunteering at two non-profits. Each day we left even more disheartened and discouraged than the previous—with close to 3% of Accra’s population comprised of street children, there was no way that either organization could provide sufficient food or shelter for these kids. It was difficult knowing that once five o’clock rolled around we returned to the comforts of the University, while the children faced the streets, having to resort to begging, stealing, prostitution or worse in order to survive. Soon, we realized that the only way to help these kids would be to enable them to help themselves. We began giving the children an opportunity to gain income by collecting, sanitizing and sewing plastic water bags into unique handmade products. Our project, aBAN on Neglect, proved successful in promoting recycling awareness and providing hope for the street children involved. We believe our project has the potential to make positive changes in the lives of the Ghanaian youth, and our solution is one that address two problems with one united solution (please visit our website: www.aBANonNeglect.com).

Plan of Action

We are working to establish aBAN on Neglect as a viable non-profit organization partnered with Catholic Action for Street Children, Street Girls AID and the University of Ghana to attack two increasingly prominent forms of neglect in the city of Accra: the neglect of children and the neglect of the environment. So far, we have tried to tackle these forms of neglect through the following objective: 1) Decrease Pollution and the Number of Children on the Streets- Providing street children with a means of income (selling their recyclable goods) and marketable skill (sewing) keeps them off the streets, and also reduces the amount of plastic waste littering Accra. Since 2008, we have partnered with three American universities, two Ghanaian universities and several fair trade businesses to help these kids make and sell over 1,000 bags. This translates into providing 20 children with sustainable incomes for food, shelter and education over the past year. This first year has been a tremendous learning process for us, the non-profits and children involved. We have learned a huge deal about the Ghanaian culture and our mission and goals have evolved accordingly. With the support of a grant from Do Something, we aim to expand our programs and address the following objectives: 2) Encourage sound savings and investment practices amongst the Ghanaian Street Children- Savings rates in Africa, specifically Sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana, are the lowest in the world. One solution to improve and deepen the financial markets in this region has been micro-finance opportunities for the poor. We have seen this lack of savings firsthand working with the street children, and would like plan to incorporate both a savings and an educational program into our model to help the children attain their long term goals. 3) Increase public awareness of the issues through a city-wide campaign that educates and creates a sense of urgency surrounding both child and environmental neglect. We were surprised at the lack of awareness and apathy regarding both issues. The current Ghanaian students and Professor we are working with at the University of Ghana, all agree that it is of utmost importance to educate and involve more Ghanaians on this project. Accomplishing these goals would serve to make the capitol city a richer, healthier, and safer environment for all of its inhabitants.