YLF and Agona District. What are your plans for children in Agona District?
We are soliciting funds from philanthropists and donor agencies in the world to create awareness of the plight of these children as well as grant educational scholarships. Child illiteracy is the fastest rising pandemic among children in Agona District. It is our overwhelming dream that one day we educate and institutionalize all homeless and less privileged children in Agona District.
Our vision for the year 2006 and beyond is to eradicate child illiteracy crises in Agona Swedru and our immediate neighbourhood.

What are your plans for pupils who graduate from your school?
Children who graduate from our school do not graduate from our foundation. Since our school only operates a nursery, primary, junior and senior high school programs, our foundation is working around the clock to solicit funds to expand the senior high school programs to tertiary institution.
The project would expand the programs and infrastructures to make it possible to sponsor and institutionalize these needy children.
Our volunteers have promised to support us with fund raised in their countries. We also plead with all donor agencies and individuals to extend their alms.

How do you support graduates from your school?
Our foundation in partnership with other Child Support Agencies is working to create Scholarship Schemes for children who graduate from our school.

What do you do with the children after giving them Basic Education?
Children who graduate from our school are sponsored to attend secondary, vocational or technical schools, or learn trade. They are governed and counseled by experts in the foundation, toward their dream professions.

What are your plans for other less privileged children in Ghana?
Child Illiteracy Crisis is a global pandemic. In Ghana 75% of children are illiterates. Children in the rural sectors of Ghana are deprived of formal and basic education. They are used as labour forces to meet the needs of their families. In Agona Swedru for example, these unfortunate children are deprived of their basic needs.
They become breadwinners at a tender age. Our foundation has developed this “1500 off the street project” basically to support homeless and less privileged children in Agona Swedru and its immediate communities with their basic necessities like food, water, medicine, clothing and shelter. The second phase of the project is an educational fund to support poor homes in Agona Swedru.

What is the number one causative agent for Child Illiteracy and Homelessness you think?
Poverty and ignorance!
In a society where people believe in tradition, they keep on transmitting their deformities to their posterity. One would still want his children and grand children to be employed under peasant farming due to sheer ignorance.

What is the total population of children you have supported so far?
So far, so good. The foundation since its establishment in august, 1999 has supported more than 1700 less privileged, Orphans and homeless children.

What do you think the depravity would cause to the society and the nation of Ghana?
Child illiteracy crisis is a pandemic. This crisis creates negative influence on the society. Our foundation has developed a nationwide awareness program to throw light on this pandemic.

What are some of the challenges you experience raising these children (pertaining to health, education)?
Funds to sustain the shelter, food and health needs of our children as well as educating them has been one of our overwhelming burdens. We believe that when the foundation gains financial support from agencies in Ghana and abroad, it can eradicate illiteracy and homeless crises in Agona Swedru.
Our foundation’s medicines that we use to support our sick and malfunctioning children are finished. We have bided for emergency aid from pharmaceutical companies in America and Europe, since the year 2004 but results prove futile.
Our foundation needs an urgent medical supply to help recoup our dying children.
Is malnutrition a problem among your children ?
We detected a colossal amount of malnourished children amongst the children we recovered and supported in the year 2005. 89% of these children sustained chronic malnourishment. The foundation granted scholarships to 157 less privileged, Orphans and homeless children under the Young and Lonely Children Education Fund last year 2005.

How do you expect the Donor Agencies to support your current programmes?
Since the foundation is education based, grant scholarships, educational material donations, and other child related needs are highly appreciable. With a well-dedicated administrative structure, sincere and disciplined staff our mission of eradicating child illiteracy crisis would become a reality.

You being under the Agona District Assembly implies the department of social welfare should know of your existence. What about that?
Ever since the establishment of the foundation, the Agona District Assembly has, after having assessed our certificate of recognition from the registrar generals department, given us recognition and further advised we registered at the department of social welfare, which we did.