The call to champion the cause of children in order to have a chance to life is an important one.

In Ghana, the population of children is one that casts a perfect picture of how rich the future will be. The picture will become one to write home about if the needs and rights of children are given the necessary attention and support.

Since the establishment of SOS CV Ghana, the organization has worked to ensure that No Child is left behind in terms of development. The organization through its Family-Like Care and Family Strengthening has reached out to many children across the country.

This year, on the occasion of the 45^th Anniversary celebration of SOS CV Ghana and in commemoration of 30 years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the agenda to champion the advocacy for the rights of children and to raise awareness, call on stakeholders to dialogue and table down strategies to support the welfare of children especially the underprivileged has been a topmost priority.

The Organization this year has paid courtesy calls on traditional leaders in the four communities where we operate, the Gender Ministry and has held awareness programmes in line with the objective of promoting Child’s Rights.

More importantly, the Organization in collaboration with SOS the Netherlands organized the Ghana edition of the Hike.  This event came off from Friday 15^th November 2019 to Sunday, 17^th November 2019.

The Opening ceremony at the Royal Netherlands Embassy was attended by The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, H. E Ron Strikker, the First Lady of Ghana H.E Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, The National Director of SOS the Netherlands Ms Arian Buurman, The National Director of SOS CV Ghana Mr. Alexander Mar Kekula, the Board Chairman Mr. Maxwell Kojo Atta-Krah and some Board members, the media as well as 100 participants from the Netherlands and Ghana including international top model Marjan Jonkman and famous Dutch Chef Ron Blaauw.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo appealed to parents and guardians to be more responsible towards children under their care, as negligence of their parental duties could jeopardize the bright future of the children. “It is a shared responsibility on all of us to ensure that we provide every child with a strong foundation to enable them unleash their full potential and contribute to national development” She added.

Ms. Arian Buurman, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages The Netherlands, commended SOS Ghana for the various projects and programmes implemented to guard children and enable them to realise their potentials.

On her part, members from her office were willing to cooperate with the Ghana office to reach out to more deprived children.

Mr. Alexander Mar Kekula, The National Director of SOS CV Ghana thanked the First Lady of Ghana for being the Patron and inspiring  the work of the organization.

The Hike was a 24 hours walk over 50 kilometers – from Asutuare in the Eastern Region to Akuse, then Bator and Atsiekpoe in the Volta Region then finally to and through Shai Hills in the Greater Accra Region in Ghana to raise funds to support the programmes being run by SOS CV Ghana.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the climax of the event, the Dutch Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Ron Strikker was full of praise for the participants. He expressed delight at the hospitable nature of the Ghanaian people and was optimistic that subsequent fundraising hikes will receive similar attention from the public. The walk was an exciting, adventurous and a memorable experience for participants.

Participants on the Hike 2019 raised a total of €106.429 to support the operations of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana.