Prevention of child labour requires collective efforts - Director

Mrs. Magdalene Awusie Rockson, Sekyere East District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, has called for active involvement of community members in the fight against all forms of abuses against children.

She said all forms of abuses, including early marriages and engagement of children in hazardous work required collective efforts of all to curb them.

Addressing a durbar to mark this year’s world child labour day’s celebrations at Nkwankwanua, she said community members have responsibility to protect the rights and health of their children.

The durbar was organized by the Sekyere East cluster of the World Vision Ghana (WVG) in collaboration with local partners to sensitize the people on the need to refrain from acts that affected the health and impeded the smooth growth and development as well as the education of children in their areas.

Mrs Rockson praised WVG for establishing community child protection committees in the district and urged parents and community leaders to support the initiative by working to ensure that the committee members discharged their duties well.

She identified poverty, illiteracy and unwanted pregnancies as the underlying causes of child labour in rural communities and appealed to parents to endeavour to send their children to school to enable them become very useful to society.

Mrs. Georgina Harriet Nyamekeh, a project officer of the Sekyere East Cluster of WVG said the durbar was to increase community members’ awareness and knowledge level on issues affecting children and the need to protect them at all times.

She said the WVG was focused on working toward total elimination of all forms of child labour in the district and establishes positive behavioural change that will promote and enhance child development through education, health and livelihood improvements.

Mr. Joseph Appiah, Assembly Member for Nkwankwanua commended WVG and the Sekyere East District Assembly for the collaborative efforts to sensitize the people to help curb the menace in the area.