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Welcome to April,  when Christians or followers of Christ worldwide observe the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I love Easter because God demonstrated His love for mankind by giving His only begotten son to die and to redeem us from sin and its punishment, as captured in John 3:16.

So, we can learn by also giving out of love. Let’s put our love into action this month of April by spending a little time thinking about the less fortunate children in our societies and how we can be a blessing to them.

Why children? The answer is simple. This foundation is interested in the welfare of children. But if you want to extend your thoughts to include all other less fortunate people in our communities, that would be awesome. The Bible mentions in Proverbs 19:17 that “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”
Any action that puts a big smile on a needy child’s face can mean so much to both the child and the giver. We should not limit our love for the needy to just the month of April. It would just be nice to keep the smiles on the faces of such children all year round.

According to a UNICEF study, there are more than 200 million street children in the world, with an estimated 153 million orphaned children worldwide.
Let’s shift attention to Ghana, where our foundation currently works. I don’t know who to blame for the children on our streets or at the orphanages. In fact, will anybody even own up to it? My agenda is not to apportion blame. I would rather commend those who have provided homes and shelters for some orphans and needy children.

The truth is that their parents have abandoned some of the children we call orphans.
In common usage, an orphan is a child who has lost both parents to death. But that is not the case for every orphan in Ghana. I am told the parents of some of these orphans intentionally left them at the doors of the orphanages when they were still babies. Reasons for the irresponsible actions include poverty, divorce, abuse, fear, and even traditional beliefs.
And what about the many children surviving on the streets? Such children are exposed to the vagaries of the weather and all manner of criminals.

I still remember the sound bite from a 2011 story I did on a street child for GTV. A boy about seven loitering at Circle, now called Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, told me he was on the street because, in his own words, ” My dad says he won’t marry my mum again.” He also told me he was out on the street to get food and money for his ailing mother and siblings.

As sad as this boy’s story may be, it is the same for many children on our streets. Figures on street children in Ghana are always disturbing, with the capital, Accra alone, estimated to host more than 90,000 street children.

The “fortunate few” catered for at the various orphanages usually depend on the benevolence of philanthropists, organizations, churches, and individuals with little or sometimes no support from the government. UNICEF reports that more than 4,000 children in Ghana live in residential homes, often labeled as ‘orphanages.’
Apart from food, toiletries, clothing, and shoes usually presented to the orphanages,  the children also need essentials, including potable water, educational materials, clean rooms, and sleeping beds.

We can’t be everywhere every time. Certainly, we can’t solve streetism in a day, neither can we meet all the needs of orphans at once.
But we can still make a difference, even one child at a time. Our little contribution can put a big smile on the face of an orphan, a needy, or a street child. That big smile can be our best gift any day. Happy Easter!