How 13- year-old twin brothers who never saw their father dropped out of school to sell yam

They were born twin, never saw their father, never had mothers growing up, and never discuss Eid celebration with their parents. They leave with their step-grandmother who is an ailing woman and the landlady of the family of four. The twins, their grandfather, and Step grandmother.

Their sad stories had necessitated sacrifices to be made and so Alhassan and Fuseine had to drop out of school. They were in Primary Four – Methodist Primary School and are now supporting in the family business of yam selling to feed their grandparents and for their survival.

Their story was first reported to the regional department of Community Development by a concerned citizen who has known and assessed their children’s prospects and had wished their right to education as enshrined in the 1992 constitution is not continuously trampled upon. The twins like in Kapguri, a suburb of the Wa Municipal. The department has since been liaising with the municipal social welfare officer to get philanthropists and NGO support to facilitate the children from going back to school.

The reports from the department of community development and social welfare suggest that both children and not subjected to abuse by their grandparents, rather victims of circumstances where their parents never married and just had a stand that resulted in their birth. Their mother according to sources never asked about the children since she left them 11 years ago. The whereabouts of their mother are yet another untold story.

Sadly, their father who is believed to be alive and living around Techiman is still a misery that cannot be unrivaled. He has never come back home for over 10 years, nor to support the welfare of the children. The faith of Alhassan and Fuseini is a matter that society must take responsibility for when the individual and the family failed, society must not also fail to act because that is the last resort to getting hope restored.

The team from the social welfare department and community development interacted with both grandparents and had assessed their situation which indeed indicates the family is on a lifeline and urgent support is needed. The grandfather is not strong enough to provide food on the table and the boy’s father has not given the family a priority.

Interestingly, the twins have a bigger dream of becoming medical doctors. A dream that is conditionally realistic if the children attend school. This noble dream cannot be achieved in the ‘School of Hawking’- sales yams may make them become petty traders or businesses men. An entrepreneurial ability is reserved for adult groups and not innocent children who should be in school.

The family as well as the children are ready to get back to school. Their grandparents who now feed only from hand to mouth are appealing to philanthropist and Non- Governmental Organisation (NGOs) to support the course of the children’s education to realizing their dreams. To them, this gesture is more fulfilling because, the children only drop- out of school in 2019 to support the family business of yam hawking.

The social worker’s assessment of need prioritized three critical issues; feeding during school hours, learning materials, and payment of fees where applicable. They have equally raised concerns regarding issues of sustainability and are now appealing to stakeholders as a matter of urgency to reach out to them to get the twin brothers back to the classroom.