Korte beschrijving van het project
CAS betekent: Catholic Action for Street Children.

Doel van het project
In contact komen met straatkinderen, zodat ze begrepen en begeleid worden. Trachten de kinderen bewust te maken van de slechte leefomstandigheden die inherent zijn aan het leven op straat.
Verder zorgen voor opvang van kinderen die het straatleven willen ontvluchten.

Huidige stand van zaken
Het CAS project bestaat sinds april 1993.
Er wordt samengewerkt met verschillende Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) en diverse andere organisaties, met uiteindelijk als gezamenlijk einddoel de straatkinderen op een goede en effectieve wijze te helpen.

Behoeften van het project
Het straatkinderenproject is een project waaraan een zeer lange termijn verbonden is: Dit is inherent aan de problematiek.

Contactpersonen van het project
Catholic Action for Street children (C.A.S.)
Brother Jos van Dinther
Peter Paul van Keijsteren (SMA)
P.O. Box 709
Madina, Accra
Res: Dr. Nanka Bruce Rd., Lartebiokorshie
Telephone office : (00233)(0)21 313266
Mobile : (00233)(0)27552739
E-mail: ficcas@ighmail.com
Website: www.cas-ghana.com

CAS Catholic Action For Streetchildren Madina, Accra, Ghana.
'Producing and marketing handicrafts at a Refuge for Street Children, to help these children have a better future'.

CAS Mission
- To interact with street children so that they can be understood and supported;
- To assist those children who choose to get off the streets to maintain a stable livelihood;
- To create general awareness about the plight of street children (0-18 year old), who sleep rough and work in the streets of Accra, Tema and other towns in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

CAS
Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS), is a Ghanaian Non-Governmental Organisation that helps street children who live in the streets of Accra, the capital city of Ghana and in other towns in the Greater Accra Region. CAS' construction was officially approved in 1993. CAS estimates that approximately 20.000 children are living in the streets of Accra. Many of these children are in great need of help.

CAS Goals
To protect and improve the rights and lives of street children. The short-term goal is to help the street children by returning their dignity to develop into respectful and respected citizens of society. The long-term goal is to educate the children in such a manner that they can find suitable jobs and build up their future lives.

Activities and work of CAS
Street children follow several stages at CAS before leaving the streets:
- Street children meet field workers in the street and they visit mini refuges (meeting points in town);
- The children visit the House of Refuge. They take part in literacy and demonstration-classes;
- They are accommodated at Hopeland Training Center and take part in all activities at the centre such as education, farming and various trades;
- The children go back to school or learn trades at workshops. CAS sponsors them for three years;
- The children are assisted in finding a job or setting up their own business (settlement).

During these stages the children pass through different departments:
- Fieldwork department;
- House of Refuge department;
- Education department;
- Demonstration department;
- Hopeland Training Center department;
- Sponsorship department

Demonstration department
At the House of Refuge many trades are shown (demonstrated): weaving, sewing, tie and dye, ceramics, woodcarving and catering. The children have also opportunities to draw, colour and paint. At Hopeland Training Center there are workshops for candle making and ceramics where children participate.

Aims:
- To give the children the chance to see and begin to try out several trades.
- It introduces the children to various trades, which could be beneficial for their future and eventually encourages those children to go to schools or workshops to be trained.

CAS' marketing activities
The products which the street children make with their instructors are sold at a handicraft shop at the House of Refuge. Products are also sold at bazaars where CAS participates. The profits are used to maintain and improve the demonstration workshops.
CAS also exhibits the products to show what street children are able to make and to create awareness about the plight these children have to go through.
Furthermore CAS tries to find a market both locally and internationally. In this way CAS has been able to establish some good contacts with Fair Trade organizations in Europe.

Future Plan
To generate more income for the department and to create more jobs for some of the former street children, it is necessary to work more efficiently and to produce more products for the market. It is very important though, that the department keeps a strict eye on the quality of the products and not only on the quantity.
This also means that in future more sales points and customers need to be found and more marketing will be done. In case you are interested in visiting or supporting the project or in placing an order for some of the handicrafts, do not hesitate to contact CAS for information. Any help or support is very much welcome.

For Financial support, our bankers are:

- Ghana
Barclays Bank, High Street, Accra
Dollar: A/C No. CAS 1280941
Cedi: A/C No. CAS 1914639

- Holland
ING Bank Maastricht, Holland
No. 679411402
For CAS Ghana
t.a.v. Stichting Congregatie Brothers (FIC)
Brusselsestraat 38
6211 PE Maastricht

- United Kingdom
Barclays Bank
P.O. Box 887
19, Fleet Street
London EC4P 4DR
For CAS, Street Child Africa
Sterling A/C No. 80863408