Assessing contributions of non - governmental organisations to the education of street children in the Accra metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

The phenomenon of streetism is becoming a growing concern in Africa and Ghana in particular. The urbanization and industrialization processes being undertaken have focused on the cities and towns to the exclusion of rural communities and settlements. Unfortunately however, this is rather compelling many children to abandon their education and relocate in city centres without deep concern and assessment of the consequences. This research therefore assesses the contributions of Non - Governmental Organizations to the education of street children in the Accra metropolis. It deals with commitment of NGOs to the plight of street children in the Accra metropolis. The study population was made up of NGOs working with street children in the study area. The NGOs were selected by purposive sampling because they satisfied all conditions therein to merit the selection. Secondly, subjects within the NGOs were picked by virtue of their position. Also, 100 rescued street children were interviewed from four NGOs. Data from these subjects were gathered by the researcher through a self-prepared questionnaire and interview schedule. Initially, 26 NGOs were identified and given copies of the questionnaire. However, only seven NGOs produced data relevant to the research topic. Based on the results of the data collected, it was found out that many of the street children being taken care of would have preferred formal education to practical skills training that the NGOs offered them. It is therefore the hope of this researcher that the appropriate steps would be taken to reverse the trend in order that full benefit of NGO programmes offered street children would be realised.