Christian Children’s Fund leads fight against poverty

Story: Salome Donkor
Over the past 45 years, the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), an international charity organisation, has led the fight against poverty, by instituting pragmatic measures to break its cycle.
The CCFC, which is a member of ChildFund Alliance, has reached out to children in need and supported families and communities of all faith, demonstrating Christ’s love.
The CCFC is a child-centred international development organisation, which was established in Canada in 1961 and it has since its establishment used experiences to address not only the symptoms, but the root causes of poverty facing developing countries like Ghana.
A write-up on the activities of the organisation quoted Mr Bruce G. Herzog, Chief Executive Officer of the CCFC, as saying that the organisation currently had 8,192 children enrolled with 56 programmes in Ghana.
He said the CCFC believed that its role was to work with communities and other local partners to help lay the necessary groundwork for the attainment of its goals.
He said their experience and focus on meaningful results had shown that fighting poverty required a systematic approach and sustainable programmes to attain long-lasting solutions.
To make the most effective use of its resources and to maximise the impact of its activities in the communities it operates, the CCFC developed a strategic approach that is structured around five priority programme community development sectors.
These are education, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, micro-enterprise development and strengthening institutional and organisational capacities.
He said the CCFC recognised that improvements in these areas had a ripple effect on the success, sustainability and quality of life for not only a child but for an entire community.
A literature on the activities of the CCFC maintains that investing in health and nutrition programmes in a community means better health for children before birth and throughout their lifetimes. Healthy children and families mean a healthy and productive workforce, and an active and dynamic community.
The health and nutrition programmes run by the CCFC are designed to reduce malnutrition and strengthen children’s bodies and minds. The organisation’s nutrition programmes provide children the necessary nutrients to ensure proper development, teach families about proper nutrition and find solutions to food scarcity within communities.
The organisation’s health programmes include preventive and curative measures, with focus on prenatal care, vaccination and medical treatment for children, as well as HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment.
In the field of education CCFC and its partners are committed to providing children with the education they need to become productive members of a community.
In addition to supporting school-based programmes, the organisation works with community members and families to develop solutions to obstacles that stand in the way of basic education for all children, like gender discrimination and the need to do away with child labour.
It also acknowledges that adult literacy is fundamental and that a child’s education begins at home. It also recognises that parents have a major role to play in their children’s education.
In order to create a long-term self-reliance, families need sustainable ways to generate income. As a result the CCFC has helped to launch 7,000 small businesses and helped parents earn enough money to feed, clothe, educate and provide for the health needs of families.