The Republic of Ghana is named from the word Ghana itself, meaning Warrior King, although at the time of independence from Britain in 1957 the area was known as the Gold Coast. The name Ghana was chosen as it reflected the ancient Ghana empire that thrived there in ancient times.

Life for children in Ghana should be good. Its a stable democracy with a healthy economy.

Yet for many children, just like this little lad who spontaneously burst into dance on sight of a video camera, life is anything but good as much of the country's wealth goes on foreign debt, leaving little behind for health and education programs.

Life is particularly harsh in the north of the country where most of the population is dependent on subsistence farming and poor rainfalls have led to not only poor harvests but poor health outcomes for children.

There are many charities you can contact to help children in Ghana, below are listed a few of them. For more information about Ghana, check out our country profile page below.

www.worldvision.org.uk
www.actionaid.org.uk
www.plan-uk.org
www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk