A Christian street children’s ministry reaches out to the forgotten children of Ghana.

Ghana (MNN)–In Ghana, ritual slavery (fetish slaver) is supposedly a thing of the past. However, the practice is still alive in many rural areas of the country.

Changing a way of life has proven the most difficult aspect of trokosi liberation. Every Child Ministries’ Lorella Rouster says that when liberations occurred, all the children were liberated. However, some of their mothers had died before liberation, and this information was not made known at the outset. These children were left behind in the shrine. “The liberating papers state very clearly that all slaves and all of their children are freed. But, some of them were left behind and we are now finding them and taking them to ‘Haven of Hope’. So, that’s been very exciting, and they’ve made a wonderful adjustment.”

On their last visit, they brought several of these children to Haven of Hope, a haven from the streets. Rouster says it is there that the children understand the hope of Christ. “There are many things that they have to work through, from spiritual bondages to forgiving those who have done this to them, to feeling that they are really worth while, that they are people of worth in God’s sight.”

The children who come to Haven of Hope are chosen by ECM’s street staff as the neediest and most vulnerable children ages 18 months to 6 years, from amongst the many homeless children living on the streets of Accra.

They are children who have been abandoned totally, or virtually abandoned by street prostitutes who leave them to fend for themselves most of the time, even at night.

ECM is committed to providing a safe haven for them where they can experience personal concern and Christian love and care. They will receive an appropriate education. The children’s care at Haven of Hope is provided through child sponsorships.