While families were out on Easter Monday having a family fun time and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, others were not lucky, including children who live on the streets.
Strolling through the almost empty streets of Accra on Easter Monday, pockets of these street children were seen trying so hard to hang on to the little that had earlier been donated to them to sustain them till the return of vehicular traffic on Tuesday, April 19.
The story was however different at the forecourt of the Oak Plaza Hotel, East Legon, where a party dubbed ‘A Day with the Prospective Dreamers’, was organized for people living on the streets. Jenx Youth Hub International, brought together most of these people, fed them, donated clothes to them, gave them education on sexual reproductive health, and registered them in their database to have a continuous engagement with them.
Pouring out his emotions while calling for the public’s intervention, the supposed head of the street youth at Shiashie, Charles Amankwah, said, “We have known the streets all our lives, and we will plead with the public and the government to also think about us and to show us, love.” “We deserve love too and will wish people can help cater for us to realize our dreams,” he added.
The Ag. C.E.O. of Jenx Youth Hub International, Mrs. Winifred Nana Yaa Otoo, in her welcoming address described youth homelessness as tragic – “that while some people own so many houses that they have to hire someone to keep track of it for them, some people have to sleep on the sidewalk because they can’t afford rent. Unfortunately, not a lot of people realize this. The common notion is that homelessness is somewhat a choice.
That the homeless deserve what they are going through because they didn’t study hard or look for a job. But no, it isn’t like that at all.”
Jenx Youth Hub International currently has some youth they are seeing through school and skills training and is also partnering with the SteelCore Company to build a world-class housing facility that would serve as a shelter for homeless youths, and also provide a space for counseling, boot camps, vocational training, leadership and entrepreneurship workshops.