From Vincent Amenuveve, Tamale.
A victim of a broken home in Burkina Faso has made a passionate appeal to non-governmental organisations and public-spirited individuals to support him to achieve his dream of becoming a footballer.
The 21-year-old boy, Kwame Opew, who is currently an inmate of the Tamale Children’s Home, got missing in Burkina Faso at the age of nine when his parents got divorced over a decade ago. Opew could no longer trace the whereabouts of his parents and sister since the incident occurred.
Narrating his experiences to The Mirror in Tamale, the boy claimed that even if he met his only sister and parents, he might not be able to make them out.
“Because of my predicament, I have developed a serious inferiority complex such that all I see in me is a good-for-nothing boy living in the dark,” he stated regretfully.
According to him, he got missing when his mother left for an unknown destination after the divorce.
Opew stated that when he failed to find his mother, he boarded a bus from Burkina Faso to Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, where a “good Samaritan” took him to the police station.
According to the boy, he was detained at the police station, during which time several announcements were made in the media, but his parents failed to show up.
Opew further intimated that a female politician, whose name he gave only as Madam Boliko, came to the police station and decided to adopt him.
He claimed that the woman accommodated him in her house and provided his needs for about a year, but later brought him to the Tamale Children’s Home as she claimed she was too busy and had to focus on her political career.
According to the boy, he was brought to the Home at the age of 11, but stressed that he no longer wanted to be at the orphanage.
“In fact, I know I have great talent in football and my vision is to join any club and be nurtured to become a star like the Michael Essiens, the Sulley Muntaris and the Stephen Appiahs,” he stated.
When asked about his educational background, the boy explained that he was a first year student of the Pong-Tamale Secondary School, but stopped along the line because he lacked some basic learning materials to make his studies smooth.
He said although the government had granted him scholarship, he wished to be a footballer and, therefore, appealed for support to enable him realise his dream.
On how he came by his name, he told The Mirror that he was found on Wednesday after he got missing and was given the name Kwaku. He, however, added that he did not know how he came by his surname, Opew. He further claimed he neither knew his home town nor his tribe.
The Supervisor of the Home, Madam Augustina Quainoo, for her part, stressed that the boy must be supported to do something meaningful to earn a living, since his continuous stay in the Home was not the best, considering his age.
She suggested that he should be trained to acquire requisite employable skills.
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