Why the name “Sky of Love”?

This name best describes how our organization brings donations and love via the sky directly to orphaned, neglected, and abused children in Ghana.

Why are all of these children orphans?

Chronic poverty is the major reason that children become orphans. Mothers die during childbirth due to poor and insufficient health care and parents die from many diseases, AIDS being just one of them. Mothers are often teenagers with no birth control education nor economic means of providing for a newborn, and no choice other than to abandon her child with the hope that they will receive better care from whoever finds them. Established families with other children are often too poor to provide for another child.

Foreigners have exploited Africa for centuries, using its people as free labor and removing precious resources. This has contributed towards underdevelopment and chronic poverty. Historically and even today, African elites, themselves, exploit their own people, perpetuating abject poverty for the masses.

How many orphanages are there in Ghana and how many children are orphans?

It is hard to know how many orphanages currently exist in Ghana, since most of them are not registered with the Department of Social Welfare. Only ten years ago the official number did not even reach 10 in Ghana. Now there are more than 160 orphanages. In Ghana there are more than 1,100,000 orphaned children. Almost 200 of them live at Osu Children’s Home.

Who are the Children Sky of Love helps?

The children are between the ages of 0 and 20. The children who come to an orphanage as infants may remain in the orphanage until they reach adulthood, finish their studies, and become self-sufficient. There are a higher number of males than females living in the orphanages. Girls are able to help with housework and can be employed to care for other households, so they are less likely to be abandoned and their adoption by locals is more frequent.

Is education free and accessible?

Elementary education is free in theory, but it is not easily accessible since public schools are few and far between. Moreover, parents are responsible for paying tuition fees, books, school uniforms, and supplies. For most families the average income is a few US dollars a day or less. Paying school fees is not an option with this income. Therefore often the children are forced to work to help feed the family. The children in the orphanages rely more than ever on donations to sponsor their studies. When the kids see a foreigner, they often ask for school sponsorships over toys, clothes, or even food. Those who seek school sponsorship recognize the value and the importance of an education to build their future. The monthly expense for an education of a child can be $100 or more, depending on the school attended.

How much is the cost of food?

The cost of living in Ghana, as all Africa, is extremely high relative to the average income of the general population. The majority of Ghanaians work long hours just to make enough to survive. The recent increase of basic food items like rice has worsened the situation. The cost of rice alone has jumped from $30 for a bag of 50 Kilos (about 100 lb.) to more than $70 from the beginning of 2008 to just a year later.

How can we help the orphaned children in Africa from having to starve?

The easiest way to assist Sky of Love with projects aimed at feeding the kids is by donating money. To transport food from the US to Africa is costly. Purchasing the food in Africa is more effective, and it supports the local economy.

What is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

This is the first legally binding international instrument developed to recognize and protect children’s human rights. These include the rights to: survival, development to the fullest potential, protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, and participation in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are: non-discrimination, devotion to the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, and respecting the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children’s rights by setting standards in health care, education, and legal, civil and social services. For the full text, please click here […]

Ghana was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention in 1990. However, 30% of Ghanaian children still do not have access to an education. Additionally, corporal punishment is used on a daily basis in schools, homes, and orphanages.

What are the United Nations Millennium Development Goals?

At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the largest gathering of world leaders in history adopted the UN Millennium Declaration. These leaders committed their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and set out a series of time-bound targets, with a deadline of 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals.

These goals address extreme poverty in its many dimensions related to income, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion, while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. For a full text of the UN MDG please click here […]