Senya Beraku (CR), Sept. 8, GNA - A five day capacity building workshop for eight communities peer educators working against child trafficking at Awutu Senya District have been held at Senya Beraku. It was organised by Rescue Foundation Ghana, a Non Governmental Organisation, whose vision is ensuring a safe environment for healthy growth and development of all vulnerable children and women in the country, to enable them live comfortable and productive lifestyle. The programme, which was aimed at working with the communities and other partners to eliminate worse forms of child labour, child trafficking and forced labour, was held at two cluster centers, and each centre included four schools with participants from each school. Mr Philip Kojo Mensah, Project officer of the NGO, and Mr Mawuena Kofi Diaba, a Resource Person on Peer Education, took participants through topics such as the overview of child development, overview of child rights and protection, and basic concepts on worst forms of child labour. Others were the meaning of child trafficking, definition of child trafficking, who is a peer educator and the role of a peer educator. Addressing the participants at the close of the programme, Madam Sylvia Hinson Ekong, Executive Director of the NGO said child trafficking over the years had been a silent threat to development, and had affected many children.

She said there have been a lot of international and national legislative provisions to combat the practice, but child trafficking continued to flourish, adding that, the NGO has designed a lot capacity building workshop to help peer educators to effectively reach out to their peers and selected communities on the hazards of child trafficking. Madam Ekong advised the participants to use the knowledge and skills acquired during the period to reach out to other peers, share with them to help combat and roll back child labour and trafficking in the society. Similar workshop was held for peer educators in Gyahaadze, Warababa, Essuekyir, Ghyenganadeze, Sankor, Atietu, Attekyeedo and Osubonpanyin all in the Effutu Municipality.