Founder of orphanage in Ghana denies wrongdoing

Founder of orphanage in Ghana denies wrongdoing Updated Mon. Jul. 20 2009 10:56 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff The founder of a Ghanaian orphanage that had ties to a Canadian adoption agency that went bankrupt last week, is denying allegations of child trafficking. Reports have emerged that the orphanage was recently shut down by Ghanaian authorities. The orphanage is run by Hands of Mercy Christian Outreach International, a non-profit group based in Fort Erie, Ont. Stephen Adongo, Ghana's acting director of social work said there were concerns that children who weren't orphans were being taken away from their parents and placed in the orphanage so they could be adopted internationally. Deborah MacQuarrie, an evangelical Christian minister who runs Hands of Mercy with her husband, Max, says the allegations were false and the orphanage was never shut down. "We have been totally cleared of allegations of child trafficking," MacQuarrie told Canada AM's Seamus O'Regan Monday. "We were investigated as part of a child care reform program going on in Ghana. We were just one of the [orphanages] being investigated. We've been totally cleared of that and we'll be getting that documentation." MacQuarrie insisted that no children were taken away from their parents. She said some children were handed over to the orphanage by their parents or guardians after they signed documents of child relinquishment. She says all the guardians were fully informed in their native language of what their signatures meant. "So all those accusations are not accurate at all," MacQuarrie said. She said while Kids Link, which operated under the name "Imagine," declared bankruptcy on July 13, the children in her orphanages are still being cared for and can still be adopted. "The lawyer we have is willing to speak with all of the parents who are adopting and they can work with him," she said. Dozens of families who had been clients of Imagine had reached the point where they were matched with a child while they awaited the adoptions to be cleared, including some at MacQuarrie's orphanage. Those adoptions are now in limbo while bankruptcy trustees and government officials try to sort out the situation. MacQuarrie offered this advice to parents waiting to bring the children home to Canada. "They need to be told to just hang on. Contact the lawyer, work hard, stick together, pray for your child, talk to your child on the phone, and know that they are okay. We are doing everything we can to protect those children," she said. "We want to see those kids here. My daughter is adopting one of them too. I have a granddaughter waiting over there to come home." Here in Canada, dozens of hopeful adoptive parents held meetings across Ontario Sunday to discuss their next step after being left financially stranded and childless. Ingrid Phaneuf, a 42-year-old Toronto resident, who organized one of the meetings held at a Toronto condo, told Canada AM that they were pleased that Pat Convery, the executive director of the Adoption Council of Ontario, attended their meeting. "It was very helpful. There was much discussion about how we can solve this problem moving forward," Phaneuf said. She wants government officials to help their adoption applications through the system and said ministry officials told them "all the options are on the table." "What we're hoping that means is that the ministry will allow the agency to continue to operate under supervision until all the files are processed." Ellen and Robert Brenneman, a Toronto couple who attended the meeting, said they decided to adopt after trying unsuccessfully for years to have kids. They have already paid Kids Link $15,000. "That's the least of our worries," Ellen Brenneman said about the money. "As long as we have that baby in our arms, that's all we care about."

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