…Orphaned children physically assaulted; they die from malnutrition while food meant for them is sold on the open market. Our reporter poses as a Rev Minister and a rich business woman to witness cases of child abuse that have claimed the lives of some children in the Home.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas reports from Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; Monrovia, Liberia and Washington DC, USA
It is a poster picture of happy pals of pranksters prancing about in idle play; a party of piquant-faced children gulping down platefuls of palatable dishes often paid for by some corporate or private philanthropists; of cash/items presentation ceremonies all carefully choreographed for the newspapers and television cameras – a public relations masterstroke that has been learnt, lived and loved by the authorities at the Osu Children’s home, Ghana’s flagship home for orphans.
It is a clever subterfuge that has cheated public vigilance and aided the festering of a canker of crumbling infrastructure, inadequate staffing, thievery as well as child neglect and abuse that has claimed the lives of innocent children.
When some well-meaning institutions pick vulnerable children from the streets; rescue some infant wrecks, some otherwise brilliant, pretty and handsome juvenile fallen prey to fearsome and loathsome circumstances like human trafficking, in order to bring them up in more hospitable and wholesome conditions, such organizations surely deserve every praise and plaudit, however fulsome.
But, in the light of this reporter’s discoveries at the Osu Home, this popular view of the good works of some of the humanitarian institutions in the country is no more than a huge illusion.
The discoveries follow a seven-month investigation by The New Crusading GUIDE into the operation of the Osu Children’s Home and capture cases of physical abuse, squalid living conditions, stealing and caregiver negligence that have resulted in the deaths of many children within the home.
The investigation also uncovered some disturbing aspects of life at the Osu Remand Home and the Osu Home School and found out that the two institutions, together with the main Home, subjected children under their care to a daily gauntlet of whipping, and other physical punishments that adversely affect the victims’ physical, emotional and academic development.
Posing as a visiting Pastor under the name Reverend Abednego Akpabli alias ‘Onyameneba’, from the [non-existent] Christ of Jah Church, this reporter obtained secret video footage on the daily ills and injustices suffered by children within the home. The mothers, who are supposed to give tender care, love and a sense of belonging to these children, normally subject them to abuse and maltreatment, leaving deep emotional and physical scars.
This reporter also posed as a rich female philanthropist from Mali, under the name Hajia Balkisu, to unravel the mystery behind a series of deaths that has hit the home in recent times. “She” bought a coffin for the burial of one of the dead kids who was about to receive a pauper’s burial from the home. “She” also provided an ambulance to convey the bodies of three dead babies to the morgue on the day of another child’s burial. Through these efforts, it was possible to get behind the closed scenes of the painted Home to reveal the shadowy side of Ghana’s most celebrated Home of care.
On a daily basis, physically-challenged children in the home are left sprawling helplessly on the floor, usually at the mercy of the elements without being attended to. This situation of neglect is a consistent feature in the home, with the children left to lie, eat and bath on the bare and dirty floor.
A crippled girl in the home caught this reporter’s attention for the consistent manner in which she was left to struggle on her own to fetch her food and have her bath. Suffering from a deep wound in the foot, which has adversely affected her mobility, she was often seen writhing and wincing in pain with no help at hand.
But it is the extremity and not the peculiarity of her situation that catches the eye, as many of the physically-challenged children are made to spend virtually all the day sitting on the floor instead of on wheelchairs or other appropriate chairs. Instead, the available wheelchairs provided by generous donors have been turned into laundry bags, where dirty clothes are hanged. As a result, when these children get tired, they usually lie to sleep on the bare floor till rare help comes.
In one of the scenes captured by this reporter, Annabel, a physically-challenged girl suffering a severe back wounds cries helplessly to draw the attention of caregivers to her pain. When she finally receives help from a caregiver, it is a painful one, as the grudging helper caregiver carelessly lifts her with one hand, like a handbag and dumps her on a mat spread on the floor.
Children in the home are often made to use the floor as their dining table in order to save the mothers the trouble of cleaning the dining hall after every meal. As a result, the kids are normally seen eating in such unhygienic conditions. It is even worse for some of the physically-challenged, who are served foods at the nearest convenient place, sometimes very close to the toilet.
The cases of neglect suffered by most children in the home have translated into their attitude and behavior towards each other. Taking cue from the caregivers in the home, older and stronger children within the home often refuse to attend to the younger and weaker ones who call for their help.
Promoting a Culture of Abuse
Some caregivers in the Osu Children’s Home have built for themselves such a fearsome reputation for the sheer terror they inspire that the kids in the home often jubilate when their check on the duty roster indicates that those tormentors are off duty on a particular day.
The situation in the home is contrary to what caregivers in the home project to the outside world, like this assertion made by Sharon Abbey, the manageress of the Osu Children’s Home, in an interview with The New Crusading GUIDE; “They [children in the home] are like one of us, there is no discrimination, so if you come in, you won’t know the difference between the child of the staff and that of one of our children here”.
Sharon Abbey gives a favorable report on the state of the Osu Children’s Home. This however proves false, as many visual scenes captured by this reporter over the period of investigations, some mothers were seen lavishing special attention on their own children while some children of the home in more urgent need, were neglected. A particular caregiver was captured on video several times giving special attention to her child while some twenty toddlers queued up to be bathed by a single caregiver.
Physical abuse of children in the home is a frequent occurrence carried out by both mothers and some older children against the young ones in the home.
Akuamoah is one of the older boys currently living in the home. Now aged 21, Akuamoah has lived in the home since he was a baby. As a result, many of the younger boys in the home look up to him for the love, protection, and care that is expected from an elder sibling; but their expectations remain steeped in the imagination.
Contrary to the expectations of the younger children, Akuamoah has grown into a very hostile and heartless ‘brother’ of abuse, who leaves them with physical and emotional scars on every encounter. On a regular morning in the home, Akuamoah helps the mothers in serving food to the younger boys and also dresses up some of the younger children for school, but for each of these services rendered, Akuamoah is always out to exact a high price from the children in the form of physical abuse; unleashing stings of abuse by caning these hapless victims each day.
Going by the unofficial title of C.O. (Compound Overseer) in the home, Akuamoah is always out to make the Home a living hell for the children. In an interview with our undercover reporter [posed as Rev. Akpabli], Akuamoah maintained that he does not touch anyone without instructions from the office of the Osu Children’s Home. He told the disguised reporter that “the law [beating children] comes directly from the office to the Home”. He added that, “if someone misbehaves or commits an offence, [he] will march him straight to the office and act according to the instructions given [to him]”.
In several shots of undercover video footage obtained by the reporter, Akuamoah is seen beating the kids at the least opportunity. Sometimes, the holy precincts of the prayer hall do little to shield the children from his mercilessness. In spite of the countless incidents of physical abuse that Akuamoah is captured in, he appears to know the implications of his behavior. He states ironically, “someone might have a peculiar ailment and should anything happen to the person in the course of punishing them; you might be charged and summoned to court”. This probably explains why Akuamoah denies beating the children in spite of the overwhelming video evidence obtained by the reporter.
While Akuamoah may not be pardoned for his many acts of abuse against his younger ones, there is amble evidence in psychological studies to suggest that his behavior has largely been shaped by the environment he grew in.
Having spent over twenty of his twenty-one years in the Osu children’s home, the effect of his environment on his behavior is striking. Among the numerous anti-social behaviors which characterize the lives of abused children, violence is one of the long-term effects, especially in the absence of psychological therapy.
A recent childhood mental health report, released by the web-based childhooddisorders.com, indicates that factors within the social environment – family, peers, and the school and community contexts – have an overriding influence on a child’s anti-social behavior.
“The research on risk for aggressive, anti-social and violent behavior includes multiple aspects and stages of life, beginning with interactions in the family. Such forces as weak bonding, ineffective parenting (poor monitoring, ineffective, excessively harsh, or inconsistent discipline, inadequate supervision), exposure to violence in the home, and a climate that supports aggression and violence puts children at risk for being violent later in life”, the report states.
Clearly, life in the Osu Children’s Home reveals a pattern of abuse from adults which has translated into ripples of violence and a never-ending stream of hostility among most children in the home. From verbal to physical and emotional abuse, the children are being initiated into a culture of abuse on a daily basis.
A Pattern of Stunted Academic Development
Retrogressive academic performance is another insidious effect of child abuse; and this plays out heavily in the lives of most children in the home. Psychological findings have proved that, without the love, teaching and nurturing children need for growth; they get distorted and destroyed in their academic abilities.
Thus, the related stress from the abusive and negligent environment of the Osu Children’s Home has heightened learning difficulties for most children.
The La Yahoushua School is a cluster of Basic schools located a few metres from the Osu Children’s Home. This school is one of the few schools which most children from the Home attend. A follow-up investigation to find out the academic performance of some of these children in their various schools revealed a log of poor grades and various learning disorders exhibited by most children in the Home. Some teachers in the school gave alarming tales of academic decadence that has eaten up the lives of most children from the home.
“If you give them home work, they would never do it”, a teacher worriedly said. According to her, most of these children have been repeated several times till they usually leave the school, since most of them lack the necessary supervision at home.
This reporter was shocked to discover that most of these children had very limited ability in basic literacy. Report cards which we found indicate that most children from the home have over the years attained unimpressive results in class, normally putting them at the bottom of the academic rung.
On careful observation, one can see several indications in the Home which bear these findings out. Apart from the general lack of care, abuse and supervision, the academic welfare of children in the Home appears to be limited to a routine of waking the children up to go to school, without follow-ups on their development in the school. While the Home can boast of a well-equipped library for the children, the minds of the children are seldom tuned to studies within the home, as they are normally engaged with household chores, leaving little or no time for using the library.
In the course of our investigations, most of the children were found doing their home works on pavements and beside gutters on their way to school. The clear lack of supervision in this area has attracted the attention of teachers in the La Yahoushua School, who have consistently called on authorities in the Home to help remedy the situation.
Contrary to accounts by the Sharon Abbey [Manageress of the Osu Children’s Home], that the academic welfare of children is of a great priority to the caregivers, a headmistress at the La Yahoushua Primary school maintains that the caregivers at the Osu Children’s Home do not even come for Parent Teachers’ Association meetings when they are called upon. “They do not come for meetings”, she said.
Stealing of Donations; leaving the Children with Crumbs
Over the years, the Osu Children’s Home has benefited from the generosity of corporate and non-governmental institutions as well as philanthropists, who have poured tons of donations in cash and kind to ensure a successful running of the Home.
As a result, the Home hardly suffers the general lack of basic necessities which characterize small and less supported Homes. Each week, items are re-stocked for the Home, thanks to the benevolence of these institutions and individuals. The children are normally made to pose for the cameras during these ceremonies, and they look forward with warm hearts to the coming days for better foods at the Home. But these hopes are consistently dashed, as caregivers take turns to pack and send some of these items to their individual homes.
While this continuous support to the Home is supposed to benefit the children, the children are rather left on the fringes, as caregivers reward themselves with some of the donated food items. Each time, the children are made to carry several bags of donated items into waiting taxis for the caregivers, as they take them to their individual homes. In several video footages captured by this reporter, caregivers in the home can be seen sharing the best parts of donations while some children are made to eat foods that have left many of them with symptoms of malnourishment. Although, the manageress of the Home maintains that the children are given “five cartons of chicken thighs” every week, some children who were interviewed by this reporter presented a different side.
“I don’t like it, but what can you do; you just have to manage it. Here if you don’t eat, where would you go and get your food”, said one boy who was eating a plate of gari and ground pepper for lunch.
As is this is not enough, some caregivers go to lengths to pick some of these donated items from the home and sell them to the public. During the investigations, our reporter received some packs of donated children clothing at cheap prices from some caregivers who work within the home. These caregivers normally have emissaries through whom they push these deals.
On one of the purchasing encounters with a middleman sent by a caregiver from the Home, the following conversation was recorded:
Reporter: How should we do it?
Salesman: The thing is ...before you get these goods, you would have gone through a lot of trouble....so she wants 50 Ghana Cedis for these items....and for the others you will get them later.
Reporter: The last time how much did we give you?
Salesman: 500 thousand Cedis (50 Ghana Cedis)
Reporter: You didn’t give us many goods then. So how much do we have to add now? We didn’t hear anything from you again. So how much do we have to add? Let me take a look at the things. Which ones are these?
Salesman: I don’t even know...haven't gone through yet
Reporter: Okay....is it clothes, shoes or.....?
Salesman: Clothes
Reporter: That means we have to add to what we have already given you
Salesman: Eeh
Reporter: Do we still have to add to what you gave us the last time? She wants 40ghana Cedis for these?
Salesman: 40 Ghana Cedis for .........unless Christmas......for the storekeeper and the storekeeper is not easy to deal with. If you go directly to the storekeeper, he won’t give you.
Reporter: He won’t give you.....
Salesman: It is not that easy, you can’t ask for these items from the storekeeper. Even with the workers. Asking for things from the storekeeper is very difficult. He won’t give you even when you are in need.
Reporter: The last time you gave us only two. What about the storekeeper?
Salesman: The storekeepers keep the things for their personal use. When they pick these things they take it to their various homes.
A Row of Deaths wrapped in a Mystery.
The negligence, lack of care and abuse in the Osu Children’s Home has always had the ultimate result of death among children in the Home. While older children are made to die preventable deaths, babies are equally cramped into small spaces which results in multiple deaths on a regular basis. For these deaths, a retired staff of the Home provides some insight: “Unfortunately the rooms are not enough and the children out-number the rooms and beds available, so we assign two or more children. That one causes death as well”.
When these children die, they are normally kept in the morgue till the bodies accumulate; in order to give mass burials. These deaths are usually shrouded in secrecy. This case necessitated the entry of our reporter as a rich Malian female philanthropist by the name Hajia Balkisu.
Having experienced the cases of abuse, neglect and death in the Home, Anas decided to visit other orphanages in Senegal and Liberia to assess their situation and see whether they were manifestations of the general poverty in Africa or an isolated case of negligence. He also visited the United States to find out what lessons can be learnt in the area of child care and development.
Employing diverse investigative techniques, our reporter was able to unravel the mysteries that surround the death of children in the Osu Children’s Home. He unraveled the entire mystery in the latest victim of death, Yaw Moses, whose case provides a thread that runs through most of the deaths in the Osu Children’s Home.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Osu Children's Home (II)
See all that goes on in Ghana's premier orphanage, the Osu Children's Home. This is an investigative piece by Anas Aremeyaw Anas of the New Crusading Guide. There are six more episodes to this documentary.
The Woes Of Disabled Children At The Osu Children’s Home
Orphans in Pain and Misery…
Anas Aremeyaw Anas reports from Girls’ House 2, Osu Children’s Home and the Police Hospital Morgue, Cantonments, Accra.
It is 9.23am at the morgue of the Police Hospital in Accra. The cold and icy body of a nine year-old male child is lifted onto a slab for pre-burial washing. As one gets glued to that gruesome curiosity, three dead children of similar age is heaved in and put astride each other on a piece of yellow cloth. That was the beginning biographies blotted out at their very preface. Yet, even for a preface, they have enough ingredients to fully tell a chilling story of many deaths of babies.
For months, this undercover reporter had the opportunity to witness first-hand, the living conditions of children in the Osu Children’s Home. In the disguise of Rev. Abednego Akpabli from the Christ of Jah Church, most of the children found the trust and confidence to piece together chilling tales that have remained untold for years; tales that recount the many traces of neglect, abuse and maltreatment which have led many of their brothers and sisters down the grave. To these children, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Koby Stephens, Victor Atta, Cynthia and other forgotten souls of the Osu Children’s Home needed the attention that only a trusted Servant of God like Rev. Akpabli could put forth.
The plight of disabled children in the Home is even more disturbing. They are kept in stationery posture, made to eat and respond to nature’s call at the same spot. Considering that these children are extremely vulnerable to abuse of all kinds than the average non-disabled child, there is the need to give high priority to protecting them and ensure that safeguards are rigorously applied. But the special needs of these children are put in the back burner in the Home.
This called for the needed intervention by this reporter, who posed to play a second role as a rich female philanthropist from Mali called Hajia Balkisu, to unravel the mystery surrounding the deaths of the children in the leading Child care Home in Ghana. The investigations gave special attention to the disabled children in the Home, who have over the years registered the most preventable deaths in the Home. Hajia Balkisu witnessed the life and death of Yaw Moses.
Yaw Moses, a nine-year old physically-challenged boy spent each day straddled in a wheelchair in the Home till his eventual death. From his wheelchair, he lived, ate and exchanged smiles with those who came his way each day when he was not left for hours facing a wall or kept for an entire day in a dark room. In spite of his physical condition, Yaw remained cheerful and tried to share in child’s play with other babies as often as he could. But this cheerful and playful life gave way to one of pain and misery when he one day fell from his wheelchair. For days, Yaw sat in pain as his fall resulted in a torn lip; but with his visible plight, caregivers in the home were not bothered. He was neglected and left to wallow in pain, even though he went into an emotional recluse and refused to eat. A few days after his fall, Yaw Moses passed away in his sleep; without any medical care.
When he died, the body of Yaw Moses was kept in the morgue for six weeks to be added to three other babies who had died; accumulating enough dead bodies for a mass burial. It was at this point that Hajia Balkisu came in to provide a coffin for Yaw’s burial as well as an ambulance to convey three other dead babies.
Sudden as it appears, Yaw’s death did not come as a surprise to the children and caregivers, who have seen countless similar occurrences that have played out in the Home over the years. “When he came into the Home, he was sickly, so we thank God that all his struggles are over”, Auntie Florence, a caregiver stated at his graveside.
Yaw’s death and the attitude of caregivers however came as a shock to this reporter, and other volunteers who came to work in the home. “This is a child that had too much difficulty and tied down to a wheel chair. And we tried every day to find out that he was taking all his medication. But all that [death] happened when we were gone for just one week. He had fallen off his wheel chair and I think that he had broken his vertebrae”, explained one of the volunteers who helped the children in the home for a few weeks.
Meanwhile, a daily logbook that kept details on the physical condition of children in the Home was being filled with such remarks as “Yaw is well”, “Yaw is in a good condition”, as he suffered through his ailment till his sudden death. On the day of his death, the record books still showed: “Yaw had a peaceful night”.
A Grim Picture on Blogosphere
While the actual state of the Osu Children’s Home is kept from the eyes of the general public, the ghostly details that lie behind the walls of the Home become apparent as one spends some time with children in the Home. Over the years, many volunteers from across the world have served in various capacities to offer humanitarian services in the Home. While working, they are greeted with the ever-ironic situation in the Home that has been touted as the leading Home of child care in Ghana.
Through web-based communication means, they send signals to their family and friends abroad of the ghastly details of neglect and abuse they witness in the Home.
In a recent blogpost by a volunteer who worked within the Osu Children’s Home this year, we found telling details of the situation that has over the years been kept from the Ghanaian public. From tales of abduction and multiple deaths of babies, this blogger gives an account of her six month stay in the Home. In one post, this volunteer writes about Yaw Moses’ life and death: “Yaw’s Funeral. We did end up having a proper funeral for little Yaw last weekend (about 6 weeks after his death). Antonio, another flight attendant who comes to the home often, organized the event. I was both happy that there was going to be a proper burial but shocked to learn that his body had been sitting in the morgue all this time. They didn’t let the children attend the funeral because they said they were too young. It’s amazing at how they just don’t deal with death there at all, and most of those children already experienced it. The Home provides them with no outlet or opportunity to grieve, or to understand death and what it really means”.
OTHER ‘UNTOLD’STORIES
These volunteers have chronicled the sad aspects of life which they could not confront without offending authorities in the Home. To them, posting these observations on the internet was a better way to share these untold stories with the rest of the world. We bring you excerpts from some of these blog posts which have been posted:
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Little Yaw
I’ve been meaning to write this post for the past week in honor of Yaw, but it seemed fitting to wait 1 week, since that is when the Ghanaian culture celebrates one’s life after death.
Little Yaw passed away in his sleep last week. I believe he was 11 years old, and also believe he had cerebral palsy, although I’m not sure if this was an official diagnosis or not.
Last week we were traveling up North with our families and came home late Thursday evening. On our way home, Laurie called to tell us that Yaw Bob was very sick. Since we returned so late on Thursday, we got up at 5 AM (when the children get up for chores) on Friday to run over to the orphanage to check on him. Yaw Bob was very sick but apparently doing better than he had been. As I sat with him, they discovered little Yaw had passed away in his sleep.
I never wanted the children to see me cry, because being consoled by orphans wasn’t what I came here to do. I got up and walked over the curb across the way and watched them carry his body away. I was told he would first be taken to the police station, then the hospital. I asked if there would ever be a service, or some recognition of his life and his death. I know now that there would not have been anything if Laurie hadn’t held a small service in the dining hall with the children later that night.
While that morning will be one of the hardest experiences I’ve had here yet, I learned more about some of the kids. Big Joseph (17 yrs) sat silently with me on the curb and when I cried he told me Yaw was just really tired. Christianna came and rubbed my back and didn’t say a word. And little Samuel, who spends most of his time angry and violent, sat next to me and cried. I was embarrassed to have them see me cry, but appreciated they understood my sorrow, and hoped they understood that his life mattered
Of course, my next thoughts were how did this happen? Since I had been traveling I hadn’t seen Yaw since we left the previous Sunday afternoon. I was told that on Tuesday or Wednesday he had fallen and split his lip. He stopped eating and noticeably lost weight (he was already very tiny). I think he may have contracted an infection through his open wound.
To further understand my frustration with the orphanage... I don’t believe during the two days he was ill he was ever taken to a doctor. I can’t stop thinking that his death may have been prevented. My concern for Yaw Bob grew since I couldn’t be sure he was properly being looked out for. Because his sickle cell, he is more vulnerable to bacterial infections among other things. We found out later he was being treated for Malaria. People with sickle cell are immune to Malaria. While I can’t report good news hat his diagnosis had changed to a more plausible one, I can say that he is almost back to his normal self.
As for Yaw, I think about him a lot and the huge smile on his face when we would walk into the courtyard. Later that same day Dan and I both saw his wheel chair that Kary had brought for him sitting there all alone with a ray of sunlight on it. It was sad and peaceful at the same time. I know he’s in a special place in heaven. Now that I’ve shared his memory I am glad he is in more people thoughts. I hope this blog serves as a remembrance of Little Yaw’s life. May he rest in peace. At 5:47 AM0 comments
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Best Things & The Worst Things...
I’ve been dreading this post for a long time. To sum up my experience into these two categories seems like the best option. I’d rather share it here for everyone than to come home and repeat myself a million times when asked... mostly because some of these things are difficult to talk about.
I’ll start with the worst things about the experience, starting with the one that is eating me up right now:
Prince is missing. He was abducted on Wednesday at some time. When he never came home from school, the Home alerted police and started a search. They found “the abductor,” a woman who claims Prince lived with her prior to OSU Children’s Home. That’s a lie. He was living on the street after his mother left him with 4 cedis and left for Togo and never came back. She said she sent him to the Eastern Region and police were supposed to find him and bring him back. It’s now Monday and I’m still waiting for him to come back. The Home told me that they will “discharge him immediately” because they “don’t want any trouble.” I guess my facial expression was a look of horror and they responded to it with “that’s how we do it in Africa. Extended family takes in children.” I wanted to respond with “that’s how we do it everywhere when possible. It’s not an Africa thing, it’s a family thing. And if that’s ‘how it works’ and he has family that will take him, why has he been living here for the past 6 months??? ” I’m terrified of never seeing him again, of him being sent into a situation that is not in his best interest, of him never being found to begin with..and where/what he is doing right now. I keep a note in my pocket at all times to give to him in case when I do see him I only have a minute to say goodbye. I think about him and worry all the time.
Yaw’s Funeral
We did end up having a proper funeral for little Yaw last weekend (about 6 weeks after his death). Antonio, another flight attendant who comes to the home often, organized the event. I was both happy that there was going to be a proper burial but shocked to learn that his body had been sitting in the morgue all this time. They didn’t let the children attend the funeral because they said they were too young. It’s amazing at how they just don’t deal with death there at all, and most of those children already experienced it. The Home provides them with no outlet or opportunity to grieve, or to understand death and what it really means. It was attended by Antonio, myself, another volunteer Maria, the current and past House Mother of the boys house, the nurse, and a couple of Auntie’s from Administration. Traditionally in Ghana, you were the traditional dresses and the colors black and red. I did have any black or red cloths, and I didn’t exactly bring any “nice” cloths to substitute. I had to wear my nicest white tank top with a skirt I had made. I was embarrassed. Maria, who is German, did her best to wear black but also came up with an interesting outfit. Only two Aunties wore dresses, though they weren’t the proper kind for a funeral, their effort was still far greater than the others. Other Aunties wore jeans. This upset me a great deal for some reason. I know their presence should mean more than their outfit, but Yaw did not receive the same respect as any other Ghanaian would have, and that bothered me.
The infant mortality rate of the nursery. While they will never give you an accurate number, I know it is high. After Yaw’s funeral, the ambulance (who transported the body to the cemetery) said they had to go back and collect 3 babies that had died in the nursery. I thought of Yaw Bob, and how he has been there since he was an infant..and how grateful I was that somehow- he survived it.
By Kirsten Sands
Checks by The New Crusading GUIDE at the Home revealed that since the abduction of Prince occurred in May, not much progress has been made to trace the whereabouts of this child; and each day, many more are tempted to escape the harsh realities of the Home into the unknown.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas reports from Girls’ House 2, Osu Children’s Home and the Police Hospital Morgue, Cantonments, Accra.
It is 9.23am at the morgue of the Police Hospital in Accra. The cold and icy body of a nine year-old male child is lifted onto a slab for pre-burial washing. As one gets glued to that gruesome curiosity, three dead children of similar age is heaved in and put astride each other on a piece of yellow cloth. That was the beginning biographies blotted out at their very preface. Yet, even for a preface, they have enough ingredients to fully tell a chilling story of many deaths of babies.
For months, this undercover reporter had the opportunity to witness first-hand, the living conditions of children in the Osu Children’s Home. In the disguise of Rev. Abednego Akpabli from the Christ of Jah Church, most of the children found the trust and confidence to piece together chilling tales that have remained untold for years; tales that recount the many traces of neglect, abuse and maltreatment which have led many of their brothers and sisters down the grave. To these children, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Koby Stephens, Victor Atta, Cynthia and other forgotten souls of the Osu Children’s Home needed the attention that only a trusted Servant of God like Rev. Akpabli could put forth.
The plight of disabled children in the Home is even more disturbing. They are kept in stationery posture, made to eat and respond to nature’s call at the same spot. Considering that these children are extremely vulnerable to abuse of all kinds than the average non-disabled child, there is the need to give high priority to protecting them and ensure that safeguards are rigorously applied. But the special needs of these children are put in the back burner in the Home.
This called for the needed intervention by this reporter, who posed to play a second role as a rich female philanthropist from Mali called Hajia Balkisu, to unravel the mystery surrounding the deaths of the children in the leading Child care Home in Ghana. The investigations gave special attention to the disabled children in the Home, who have over the years registered the most preventable deaths in the Home. Hajia Balkisu witnessed the life and death of Yaw Moses.
Yaw Moses, a nine-year old physically-challenged boy spent each day straddled in a wheelchair in the Home till his eventual death. From his wheelchair, he lived, ate and exchanged smiles with those who came his way each day when he was not left for hours facing a wall or kept for an entire day in a dark room. In spite of his physical condition, Yaw remained cheerful and tried to share in child’s play with other babies as often as he could. But this cheerful and playful life gave way to one of pain and misery when he one day fell from his wheelchair. For days, Yaw sat in pain as his fall resulted in a torn lip; but with his visible plight, caregivers in the home were not bothered. He was neglected and left to wallow in pain, even though he went into an emotional recluse and refused to eat. A few days after his fall, Yaw Moses passed away in his sleep; without any medical care.
When he died, the body of Yaw Moses was kept in the morgue for six weeks to be added to three other babies who had died; accumulating enough dead bodies for a mass burial. It was at this point that Hajia Balkisu came in to provide a coffin for Yaw’s burial as well as an ambulance to convey three other dead babies.
Sudden as it appears, Yaw’s death did not come as a surprise to the children and caregivers, who have seen countless similar occurrences that have played out in the Home over the years. “When he came into the Home, he was sickly, so we thank God that all his struggles are over”, Auntie Florence, a caregiver stated at his graveside.
Yaw’s death and the attitude of caregivers however came as a shock to this reporter, and other volunteers who came to work in the home. “This is a child that had too much difficulty and tied down to a wheel chair. And we tried every day to find out that he was taking all his medication. But all that [death] happened when we were gone for just one week. He had fallen off his wheel chair and I think that he had broken his vertebrae”, explained one of the volunteers who helped the children in the home for a few weeks.
Meanwhile, a daily logbook that kept details on the physical condition of children in the Home was being filled with such remarks as “Yaw is well”, “Yaw is in a good condition”, as he suffered through his ailment till his sudden death. On the day of his death, the record books still showed: “Yaw had a peaceful night”.
A Grim Picture on Blogosphere
While the actual state of the Osu Children’s Home is kept from the eyes of the general public, the ghostly details that lie behind the walls of the Home become apparent as one spends some time with children in the Home. Over the years, many volunteers from across the world have served in various capacities to offer humanitarian services in the Home. While working, they are greeted with the ever-ironic situation in the Home that has been touted as the leading Home of child care in Ghana.
Through web-based communication means, they send signals to their family and friends abroad of the ghastly details of neglect and abuse they witness in the Home.
In a recent blogpost by a volunteer who worked within the Osu Children’s Home this year, we found telling details of the situation that has over the years been kept from the Ghanaian public. From tales of abduction and multiple deaths of babies, this blogger gives an account of her six month stay in the Home. In one post, this volunteer writes about Yaw Moses’ life and death: “Yaw’s Funeral. We did end up having a proper funeral for little Yaw last weekend (about 6 weeks after his death). Antonio, another flight attendant who comes to the home often, organized the event. I was both happy that there was going to be a proper burial but shocked to learn that his body had been sitting in the morgue all this time. They didn’t let the children attend the funeral because they said they were too young. It’s amazing at how they just don’t deal with death there at all, and most of those children already experienced it. The Home provides them with no outlet or opportunity to grieve, or to understand death and what it really means”.
OTHER ‘UNTOLD’STORIES
These volunteers have chronicled the sad aspects of life which they could not confront without offending authorities in the Home. To them, posting these observations on the internet was a better way to share these untold stories with the rest of the world. We bring you excerpts from some of these blog posts which have been posted:
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Little Yaw
I’ve been meaning to write this post for the past week in honor of Yaw, but it seemed fitting to wait 1 week, since that is when the Ghanaian culture celebrates one’s life after death.
Little Yaw passed away in his sleep last week. I believe he was 11 years old, and also believe he had cerebral palsy, although I’m not sure if this was an official diagnosis or not.
Last week we were traveling up North with our families and came home late Thursday evening. On our way home, Laurie called to tell us that Yaw Bob was very sick. Since we returned so late on Thursday, we got up at 5 AM (when the children get up for chores) on Friday to run over to the orphanage to check on him. Yaw Bob was very sick but apparently doing better than he had been. As I sat with him, they discovered little Yaw had passed away in his sleep.
I never wanted the children to see me cry, because being consoled by orphans wasn’t what I came here to do. I got up and walked over the curb across the way and watched them carry his body away. I was told he would first be taken to the police station, then the hospital. I asked if there would ever be a service, or some recognition of his life and his death. I know now that there would not have been anything if Laurie hadn’t held a small service in the dining hall with the children later that night.
While that morning will be one of the hardest experiences I’ve had here yet, I learned more about some of the kids. Big Joseph (17 yrs) sat silently with me on the curb and when I cried he told me Yaw was just really tired. Christianna came and rubbed my back and didn’t say a word. And little Samuel, who spends most of his time angry and violent, sat next to me and cried. I was embarrassed to have them see me cry, but appreciated they understood my sorrow, and hoped they understood that his life mattered
Of course, my next thoughts were how did this happen? Since I had been traveling I hadn’t seen Yaw since we left the previous Sunday afternoon. I was told that on Tuesday or Wednesday he had fallen and split his lip. He stopped eating and noticeably lost weight (he was already very tiny). I think he may have contracted an infection through his open wound.
To further understand my frustration with the orphanage... I don’t believe during the two days he was ill he was ever taken to a doctor. I can’t stop thinking that his death may have been prevented. My concern for Yaw Bob grew since I couldn’t be sure he was properly being looked out for. Because his sickle cell, he is more vulnerable to bacterial infections among other things. We found out later he was being treated for Malaria. People with sickle cell are immune to Malaria. While I can’t report good news hat his diagnosis had changed to a more plausible one, I can say that he is almost back to his normal self.
As for Yaw, I think about him a lot and the huge smile on his face when we would walk into the courtyard. Later that same day Dan and I both saw his wheel chair that Kary had brought for him sitting there all alone with a ray of sunlight on it. It was sad and peaceful at the same time. I know he’s in a special place in heaven. Now that I’ve shared his memory I am glad he is in more people thoughts. I hope this blog serves as a remembrance of Little Yaw’s life. May he rest in peace. At 5:47 AM0 comments
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Best Things & The Worst Things...
I’ve been dreading this post for a long time. To sum up my experience into these two categories seems like the best option. I’d rather share it here for everyone than to come home and repeat myself a million times when asked... mostly because some of these things are difficult to talk about.
I’ll start with the worst things about the experience, starting with the one that is eating me up right now:
Prince is missing. He was abducted on Wednesday at some time. When he never came home from school, the Home alerted police and started a search. They found “the abductor,” a woman who claims Prince lived with her prior to OSU Children’s Home. That’s a lie. He was living on the street after his mother left him with 4 cedis and left for Togo and never came back. She said she sent him to the Eastern Region and police were supposed to find him and bring him back. It’s now Monday and I’m still waiting for him to come back. The Home told me that they will “discharge him immediately” because they “don’t want any trouble.” I guess my facial expression was a look of horror and they responded to it with “that’s how we do it in Africa. Extended family takes in children.” I wanted to respond with “that’s how we do it everywhere when possible. It’s not an Africa thing, it’s a family thing. And if that’s ‘how it works’ and he has family that will take him, why has he been living here for the past 6 months??? ” I’m terrified of never seeing him again, of him being sent into a situation that is not in his best interest, of him never being found to begin with..and where/what he is doing right now. I keep a note in my pocket at all times to give to him in case when I do see him I only have a minute to say goodbye. I think about him and worry all the time.
Yaw’s Funeral
We did end up having a proper funeral for little Yaw last weekend (about 6 weeks after his death). Antonio, another flight attendant who comes to the home often, organized the event. I was both happy that there was going to be a proper burial but shocked to learn that his body had been sitting in the morgue all this time. They didn’t let the children attend the funeral because they said they were too young. It’s amazing at how they just don’t deal with death there at all, and most of those children already experienced it. The Home provides them with no outlet or opportunity to grieve, or to understand death and what it really means. It was attended by Antonio, myself, another volunteer Maria, the current and past House Mother of the boys house, the nurse, and a couple of Auntie’s from Administration. Traditionally in Ghana, you were the traditional dresses and the colors black and red. I did have any black or red cloths, and I didn’t exactly bring any “nice” cloths to substitute. I had to wear my nicest white tank top with a skirt I had made. I was embarrassed. Maria, who is German, did her best to wear black but also came up with an interesting outfit. Only two Aunties wore dresses, though they weren’t the proper kind for a funeral, their effort was still far greater than the others. Other Aunties wore jeans. This upset me a great deal for some reason. I know their presence should mean more than their outfit, but Yaw did not receive the same respect as any other Ghanaian would have, and that bothered me.
The infant mortality rate of the nursery. While they will never give you an accurate number, I know it is high. After Yaw’s funeral, the ambulance (who transported the body to the cemetery) said they had to go back and collect 3 babies that had died in the nursery. I thought of Yaw Bob, and how he has been there since he was an infant..and how grateful I was that somehow- he survived it.
By Kirsten Sands
Checks by The New Crusading GUIDE at the Home revealed that since the abduction of Prince occurred in May, not much progress has been made to trace the whereabouts of this child; and each day, many more are tempted to escape the harsh realities of the Home into the unknown.
CHRAJ commends Anas, condemns abuses at Osu Children's Home
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice has commended investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, for exposing the inhumane treatment of inmates of the Osu Children’s Home by caregivers.
His latest undercover footages reveal horrible scenes at the home, including situations where caregivers are seen maltreating the children.
CHRAJ Commissioner, Emile Short condemned the manner in which the orphanage is managed and wants the Attorney General to investigate the issue and ensure those found culpable are punished.
He said should what the video captures be real, “It demonstrates gross neglect, insensitivity towards the plight of these vulnerable children and I don’t think it's an exaggeration at all in any way.
“Unless of course there is a fabrication but if indeed it is a genuine reproduction of the situation at the Osu Home then it is shocking and has to be condemned in no uncertain terms," Emile Short told Joy News.
Meanwhile Employment Minister E.T. Mensah has explained he never sought to discredit the revelations when he questioned the motive behind the publication.
He praised Anas for his work and warned those found culpable will be punished.
“Nobody is going to be shielded, the investigation is going to be in public. The media will be free to follow through sittings. I have not discredited the report.
“Whistle blowers are very important for us to know what is happening around us.
“There is no way anybody sitting in my office will know everything going on out there until somebody from inside makes the information available,” he clarified.
The minister had on Thursday claimed that Anas failed to get in touch with officials concerned about the subject for investigation and wondered what Anas motive was in causing the publication of material that impugn on Ghana's integrity and image.
His latest undercover footages reveal horrible scenes at the home, including situations where caregivers are seen maltreating the children.
CHRAJ Commissioner, Emile Short condemned the manner in which the orphanage is managed and wants the Attorney General to investigate the issue and ensure those found culpable are punished.
He said should what the video captures be real, “It demonstrates gross neglect, insensitivity towards the plight of these vulnerable children and I don’t think it's an exaggeration at all in any way.
“Unless of course there is a fabrication but if indeed it is a genuine reproduction of the situation at the Osu Home then it is shocking and has to be condemned in no uncertain terms," Emile Short told Joy News.
Meanwhile Employment Minister E.T. Mensah has explained he never sought to discredit the revelations when he questioned the motive behind the publication.
He praised Anas for his work and warned those found culpable will be punished.
“Nobody is going to be shielded, the investigation is going to be in public. The media will be free to follow through sittings. I have not discredited the report.
“Whistle blowers are very important for us to know what is happening around us.
“There is no way anybody sitting in my office will know everything going on out there until somebody from inside makes the information available,” he clarified.
The minister had on Thursday claimed that Anas failed to get in touch with officials concerned about the subject for investigation and wondered what Anas motive was in causing the publication of material that impugn on Ghana's integrity and image.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)