APPLE rescues 30 children from bonded child labour

Accra, May 28, GNA - Thirty children were on Saturday rescued from bonded child labour by the Association of People for Practical Life Education (APPLE), an NGO working to eradicate child slavery and labour in the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions. The children comprising 12 girls and 18 boys between the ages of six and 16 years were rescued mainly from four villages in the Pru district in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Mr. Jack Dawson, Executive Director, APPLE, told GNA on Monday that the children were rescued from 21 fishermen child traffickers who engaged them in hazardous activities such as fishing and farming, among other things, as opposed to light work as enshrined in the Children's Act of 1998.

He noted that majority of the children came from Jerusalem, Amedzrovi, Ddzatakpo, Fadzaxe, J. B. Korpe, Kokope and Yeji in Brong Ahafo Region.

They would be camped at the Madina Social Welfare Centre in Accra to undergo rehabilitation.

Mr Dawson said the rehabilitation process included education, counselling, medical care and personal hygiene as a way of allowing the children to recover from the psychological trauma they encountered during their stay with slave masters. He said during the 50 days of camping of the children, field staff would work on parents' identification and communities of residence to facilitate easy reintegration.

Mr Dawson said micro-credit assistance would be given to the parents to help them cater for the needs of the children. He advised parents and middlemen who engaged in bonded child labour to stop the practice, as it was criminal.