The high cost of electricity at the Good Shepherd Child Care, an orphanage at Odupong Ofaakor in the Awutu Senya East Municipality of the Central Region, is forcing the home to shirk its responsibilities.
The orphanage has started losing some of its inmates because it lacks the financial muscle to take care of them.
Director of Good Shepherd Child Care, Apostle Paul K. Addei Jnr revealed this to Adomonline reporter, Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy during a visit to the facility.
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According to him, the home has been disconnected from the national grid following managers’ inability to raise GH₡3,000 fund to service a debt they owe the Electricity Company of Ghana.
He said the situation has affected the home because it runs on electricity for its activities.
“The number of children we used to have has reduced tremendously because the children do not show as they used to. I think the electricity supply is a factor because we do everything on our own and so every little error affects all the kids”.
“I think the cause of the massive electricity debt owed is as a result of a mechanised borehole donated to the facility by foreign philanthropist which consumes a lot of electricity and that is why our facility was disconnected,” he said.
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Apostle Addei Jnr also lamented about the breakdown of the school’s only bus as one other factor that has led to the reduction in the school’s functionality.
“Aside the electricity issue, the home, and even the school have a bus but because our bus broke down for so many years, children in the community no longer prefer to school here,” he cried.
Source of income
The home has, over the years, relied on the benevolence of philanthropists who donate clothing, food, money, among others.
These donations, according to him, mostly come during Christmas and Easter festivities.
As a result, managers have no option than to reduce intake and even cut down on the existing numbers.
“We have 25 children who have been sent back to their families. We now support them every month from our meagre resources.”
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Founded in 2002 by Apostle Addei’s late father with 10 ten children, the number increased to 65 inmates in 2004 after it received approval from the Department of Social Welfare.
Apostle Paul Addei is appealing to philanthropist and religious bodies to support underprivileged children in the society such as the ones at his facility.