Mijn project

YOUTH ALIVE PROJECT
Tamale Street Children Project (TSCP) was indicated in 1996 by Action Aid Ghana to give street children in especially difficult circumstances a chance at normal growth and development, through the provision of formal education and vocational training.

Background
Tamale the Northern Regional capital is the largest town in the northern part of Ghana. As in common with big towns Tamale has become a centre of attraction with an influx op people mostly youths moving from rural areas into the municipality in search of non-existing jobs. A research commissioned by Action Aid in 1995 showed that many children of school going age, between eight to seventeen years for girls and eleven to eighteen years for boys roam and work on the streets of Tamale either selling iced water or pushing trucks, cars, shoe-shining or engaging in petty trading. Most of these children are on the street living on their own earning an income for an aged person as a result of the conditions in their homes.

Objective of the Tamale Street Children Project
The goal of the project is to build the capacity of disadvantaged children and support their families for them to contribute their quota to the development of their respective communities.

The project supports the children to acquire tools and set up themselves up after the training. Among the activities are:

Support the education of street children young enough to go back to school. It organizes a nine-month informal course for them after they are placed in formal school. The project support those in school by paying for furniture and fees which parents cannot meet
Provides orientation to older children after which they are placed to learn trades of their own choices. Skills which are introduced to them include dress making, hairdressing, carpentry, crafts and arts, electrical and auto mechanics. The project supports the children to acquire tools and set themselves up after the training.
Provides counselling to the children, preparing them for meaningful adult life.
Provides a centre for the recreation for the children most of whom do not have access to any form of recreation.
Addresses the health needs of the children.
Provide credit to parents and guardians.

Youth Alive supports street/vulnerable children by giving them formal education and skill training depending on their age category. Children below age 15 are placed in a formal school. But before then the child is given tuition in our Non-formal complementary class before he/she is recommended to be placed in the formal system according to their academic standing. Youth Alive pays the more expensive fees of children in school, and provide core textbooks as well as exercise books and uniforms in very special cases.

Children above 15 years(Young Adults) are given skill training. They are placed under apprenticeship with artisans to learn trades of their choice. The trades subscribed range from carpentry, masonry, fine art to auto mechanic, fridge mechanic etc. The children also have access to health care and health education and the cost borne by Youth Alive.

Volunteers are warmly welcome to serve in any of the regions so we can together stem the problem of streetism and youth unemployment in Northern Ghana.

The volunteer decides in which area he/ she would like to assist and Youth Alive provides the environment and tools for the volunteers to work.

Requirements
Experience with teaching, social studies or animating children is appropriate.