NGOs using children to raise funds from foreign donors - MP

The Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North Constituency Mensah Bettey Nana Efuah Krosbi has emphasised the need for children to be allowed to have access to basic education.

According to her, the provision of free, compulsory universal basic education is a right that must be enjoyed by all children.

However, in many remote areas like her [MP’s] constituency, ‘’this is a mere wish,’’ she noted.

Children in deprived communities she lamented are left with no option but to pick up their parents occupation which are mostly farming and fishing.

She also decried the invasion of homes by Fulani herdsmen describing it as a menace affecting the residents.

She said the parents are forced to take their children to work for fear that their children maybe attacked by the herdsmen when they are left home alone.

Meanwhile, the MP has called for a broader stakeholder consultation on what constitute child labour.

Children who dedicate few hours of their time to assist parents to complete everyday family chores which do not hinder their wellbeing but provide skills and experience, should not be seen as an exploitation of child labour.

The legislator gave a scenario where a group of NGO in the company of armed police men stormed the Dwarf Islands and took away families who were on the lake for reasons of travelling, accompanying their parents or brothers to fish and for other economic reasons.

According to the MP, places like the only means of transportation for residents around Dwarf Islands and Digya in her constituency which is located on the Volta Lake, is by the lake and so, "children at very young ages are trained how to swim and survive.’’

However, the NGO called International Justice Mission raided the waters in the company of armed police officers and took away families.

She indicated that for the past one month, the children many of whom are in school have been arrested and detained at places unknown to parents and stakeholders.

She quizzed why the raid was carried out when school was on vacation and is wondering the children have not been released after school re-opened.

She added, "The contribution by NGOs cannot be disputed however, we cannot even dispute their deliberate approach of indirectly ‘’deculturalizing’’ our societies by systematically stripping off our ancestral values, beliefs, lifestyles and heritage whilst replacing them with Western cultures and beliefs of which many are seen as immoral and decayed.’’

A petition she noted was before the Gender Ministry and copied to Parliament by some residents who have complained that some NGOs hide behind the Child Labour Laws of ILO to wrongfully take away children from their biological parents in order to secure funds from International Organizations.

‘’Statistics by Care Reform Initiative Unit of the Department of Social Welfare shows that 90 percent of children in these Children’s Homes have surviving parents who are capable of taking good care of them.”

However, for reasons of using these children to raise funds, many children have been denied family attachment whilst they are subjected to abuse and denial of love, care and attention.

She concluded by urging NGOs to work with stakeholders including Parliament, traditional authorities to find lasting solutions to these problems.