Voice of the Innocent Children (VOIC) is a non-profit non-governmental organization duly registered under the laws of Ghana; The Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179). VOIC is based in Accra but at the moment mainly operates in Tumu and it's surrounding communities, in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Our priority areas of focus are on CHILD HEALTH and EDUCATION. VOIC seeks to help children in the deprived and vulnerable communities in the region and beyond. It is the intention of VOIC to eventually extend its programmes and activities to benefit children in the three (3) northern regions of Ghana in the very near future. The organization has been introduced to the Ghana Education Service and the District Assemblies of Lawra and Jirapa in the Upper West Region including Zebilla and Navrongo in the Upper East Region. Some of our activities include identifying little children in the less privileged communities with congenital medical conditions for which their parents do not have the financial capability to treat. We come in to help the family raise the necessary funding to enable the child get the required medical assistance and restore him or her to normalcy. We also source for financial assistance in the form scholarships for brilliant but needy students in the deprived communities to be able to climb up the academic ladder. To date, we have assisted a number of children go through primary education through to the senior high level. We intend to continue to offer assistance to beneficiaries who excel and qualify to enter any tertiary institution. VOIC was founded in October 2010 by Kwesi Ansah and Adams Mohammed as a result of their desire to render humanitarian services to the poor and needy children who otherwise will not be able to make it due to their state of health or their inability to get a good education. Our main goal is to help build stronger, healthier and educated communities in the deprived areas. We believe that by ensuring these children remain in school, we are empowering them to contribute positively to their communities and the country in the long term. Without healthy and strong children, all our noble plans for them will not see the light of day. We also take these children on educational tours to various places of national interest such as the seat of government, the Parliament House, to have a first-hand impression of proceedings in Parliament, and other national monuments like the Akosombo dam, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the National Museum, the Paga crocodile pond, the Mole game park, to mention but a few. We also take them out to visit other communities so that they can learn about other cultures, customs and traditions. This makes them appreciate the essence of national unity and cohesion. Over the past 5 years since we started this organization to engage in humanitarian work, we have helped quite a number of children who have had congenital problems get medical help by raising funds through the founder’s personal funds and also using his network. The time has come to seek more funds from donors all over the world to ensure continuity and the ability to help a lot more children. We are currently inundated with phone calls and emails from all over the country to come and assist but we do not have the financial muscle to help all these children. It hurts us to have to turn some of these children away because we cannot afford to start what we cannot finish. We will get there. We have helped a few children to go to school by securing scholarships for them from institutions like CAMFED and Save Ghana. Currently we are working on securing scholarships from the Women Empowerment Foundation International (WEFI) for about ten (10) children in the Upper West region from the primary to the senior high school level. We also have plans of adopting a day care center in Tumu and turning it into a model school, set up motivation schemes that will encourage the teaching staff to give of their best and make these kids a toast of the community. We are equally working in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service to organize activities such as debates, spelling bee competitions, and essay writing competitions, all of which will help and encourage the children to read more and get a solid foundation in education. Once the foundation is good you can be sure that these children will sail through and climb up the academic ladder with ease. Mathematics has also been identified as a serious challenge for some of these children. We are in the process of setting up mathematics clubs in some designated schools in order to identify how we can help them pick up and understand and enjoy the subject. We have also in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare re-integrated about 300 kaya yee (head porter girls) under 16 years into their communities in the 3 northern regions of the country. This exercise is an on-going activity. Once we identify those who want to go back home, we give them some skills training to equip them with the requisite skills to self-employ themselves in various vocations and other income generating activities. Some we have also put back in the classroom to continue their education. We have been successful in this direction as well and we are hoping to do more in the future. I hope your involvement will help us perform better than we are doing and also give us more ideas for the expansion and growth of the organization of which the ultimate winners will be the less privileged and vulnerable children. These are some of the things we have done and wish to do more in future
