More than 200 vulnerable people in the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region have received hot meals and soft drinks as part of the Christmas celebration.
The effort is by the Children and Women Ministries of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, in collaboration with the Centre for Child Development, Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese.
The event aims to put smiles on the faces of the less privileged, including street children, the aged, and persons with disabilities, and to enable them to share in the joy of the season while the word of God is preached.
Mr Stephen Adongo, an Animator of the Children’s Ministry, CCR, Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, noted, it was an annual activity, which began three years ago by the Children’s Ministry in collaboration with the Centre for Child Development, to celebrate Christmas with the less privileged.
He said as part the activities over the years, the vulnerable were given food, drinks, and free health screening while medication and treatment were given to people who required them.
He said although the health screening could not materialise this year, it was important to make the vulnerable feel part of the season and share in the love of Christ.
“We are doing this not because they cannot find something to eat but because we know that reaching out is one of the callings of a Christian, so we are reaching out to let the people know that God loves them even in their situation,” he said.
He appealed to individuals and organisations to extend the love of Christ to the vulnerable through sharing and helping to take some of them out of the streets and market places.
Ms Mildred Paaga, Coordinator, Women’s Ministry of CCR, Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, hoped that the message of Christ would be felt through feeding for the vulnerable and engagement with them.
“Christmas is about sharing and Christ has told us that it is when we share with those who cannot give back to us that there is a greater blessing and we think that these are the people who need it, not our family members or friends whom you will serve food to all the time,” she said.
Mrs Juliana Amoh, Vice Coordinator, CCR, Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, noted that poverty, rejection and dejection were some of the factors that pushed some of the vulnerable onto the streets and called for collective efforts to address the challenge.
Mr Felix Frederick Amenga-Etego, Project Manager, Centre for Child Development, said that through the collaboration, some vulnerable people, especially children, had been reunited with their families, and according to him some of the children were identified and supported at the Centre to pursue their education.
“Last year, we identified 10 children but we have been able to reunite eight with their families while two (twins) were being taken care of.
“After the health screening five women were also identified to have chronic diseases conditions and were being supported with their medications and treatment while three have left the streets with two of them yet to do so,” he added.
