2009 Easter School for children launched

Accra, March 17, GNA - The 2009 Easter School for Children was launched in Accra on Tuesday in Accra with a call to the public to help children develop their potentials to the fullest.

Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, in a speech read for her said the basic challenge for children to develop their potential to the fullest was how to bring them up to have unfettered rights to opinion and participation within the socio-cultural setup where the child was expected to be seen and not heard.

"Society seems largely to be promoting timidity among our children but expect these same children to grow to be confident and responsible adults. It is an attitude we must change for the better," she said. The 2009 Easter School for Children is organized by the Child's Right International (CRI), an NGO, in collaboration with the Ministry for Women and Children's Affairs and supported by UNICEF, UNHCR, Plan Ghana and the Stanbic Bank in Accra.

The initiative, which started in 2001 is to promote children's involvement in issues that affect them and to nurture the sense of responsibility in every child.

This year's School scheduled to place in Kumasi from April 18-23 is under the theme, "Growing Child Participation through Service Learning" and would host nine African countries including Ghana. Ms Dansua said children who were able to express their opinions and views were said to be "disrespectful" and stressed the need for children to be encouraged to develop their full potentials.

She said children's issues were a pivotal part of the development agenda of the government and it would work to ensure that children developed their potentials to the fullest.

The Minister said government would enhance the various existing child welfare policies such as the capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, provision of free school uniforms at basic level and free supply of exercise books to children in deprived communities. She announced that a lot of sensitization programmes and community durbars were on-going to create the awareness on the rights and responsibilities of children.

Mr Bright Appiah, Executive Director, CRI, said their philosophy was that "an adult is a child who has survived" and therefore recognized the need to promote child participation in the growing process of children into adults.

He said the Easter School had provided the platform for children to discuss and share issues at the national level and to issue a communiqu=E9 that reflect their own understanding, thinking and suggestion.

Some of the issues to be discussed include, Championing the rights of children with disability for community development,; The right of children to education; Investing in children to promote investment; The state of gender- based violence against children in schools; Right to maintenance and rehabilitation; The rule of law; Children as an instrument for community service and the right of children in country of asylum.

He said it was expected that at the end of the School children would have understanding on the issues, participate in the process and issue a communiqu=E9 that would represent their views and concerns. In a speech read for her, Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, the

Acting Inspector-General of Police, called on all children suffering from any form of abuse to muster the courage and report to the nearest police station or an elderly person who could assist them.

"Our children are our assets. With the right upbringing and care, they are in line to becoming presidents and worthy ambassadors of their time. We as parents and society owe them the responsibility to assist them achieve the goals, and we cannot fail," she added.

She assured the public that the police would ensure that people who violated the rights of children were dealt with accordingly. Ms Taaka Awori Akuffo-Gyimah, Social Development Consultant, who chaired the function, commended the organizers for the initiative and urged the children to always have time to know what they think of themselves.