Unaccompanied And Separated Children:

 A New Hope For The Vulnerable
By Wifah Jennyhans in B’da
Some 30 parents drawn from 5 subdivisions in the North West have begun taking lessons on required criteria for foster parenting.
    These parents earmarked to provide shelter and basic needs to Unaccompanied and Separated Children in their communities were selected following pre-selection criteria designed by Martin Luther Jr Memorial Foundation, LUKMEF with recommendations from community leaders.
    Over 30 unaccompanied and separated kids as at November have been databased by LUKMEF within this crisis period in these communities and need provision of basic necessity until they reunite with their biological families.
    “The ultimate goal of foster parents every child within this crisis period is in the arms of the biological parents” Tanyi Christian, CEO of LUKMEF emphasizes.

    As explained byAgbor Clovis, North West Coordinator for Child Protection with UNICEF, many families in the North West region have been affected by the Anglophone crisis and lots of children have been displaced, unaccompanied and are separated from their families. It is for this reason that LUKMEF is going down to the field in the localities of Ndop Central and Bamessing in Ngohketunja Division, Santa Central, BabaII, Awing and Matazem in Mezam Division where they currently operate to register, temporally keep these Unaccompanied and Separated Children with the foster parents while tracing their biological parents for reunion.
    Participants from the above communities were thus trained in the first phase of numerous trainings on criteria to qualify a family host of Unaccompanied and Separated Children as stipulated by law, the Dos and DON’Ts in foster parenting, the steps required to play the role of foster parenting while insisting that ultimate goal of any foster parent is to have the children reunite with their biological families.
    In the end, participants were told to draft small business projects which can be funded by LUKMEF such that would be foster parents are economically viable to provide maximum care to these children. Their competence shall later be tested and selected for the service.