Wassa children appeals to Govt to tackle child labour

Tarkwa (W/R), June 17, GNA- School Children in the Wassa District have called on government to immediately tackle the problem of child labour towards the development of children in the country. They made the appeal at a durbar to mark the celebration of this year's World Day against Child Labour at Tarkwa.

The event was organized by Network for Community Planning and Development, (NECPAD), a non-governmental organisation (NGO). It brought together school children, street children, teachers, parents as well as other stakeholders from the district. The NECPAD is currently working in 10 major galamsey communities within the district to eliminate worst forms of child labour in illegal mining.

Mr. Paul Asamoah Kukua, the Executive Director of the NGO, addressing the gathering, observed that the rate at which children in the country were working to earn a living and towards the survival of their families was alarming.

He said the NECPAD was working with the District Assembly and the labour office to develop programmes that would help keep children in school.

Mr. Kukua noted that when children were forced to work and denied their right to education, they faced a lot of problems including unemployment and poverty in their adulthood because they lacked the skills that would make them marketable.

He said over 3,000 children were engaged in galamsey out of which, 2000 needed critical and immediate attention.

Mr. Kukua said the NGO was collaborating with the assembly to seek support from individuals, government, and multi-national mining companies to stop child labour in the district. He said the NGO has so far withdrawn 124 children involved in galamsey adding that some of them were in school and undergoing apprenticeship.

Mr. Kukua said 125 parents were also trained to acquire vocations to enable them to work and earn a living and to take care of their children.

Preceding the durbar, the school children paraded through the principal streets of the town with placards amid singing and drumming. Some of the cards read, "Get minors or children out of mining," "The place of children is school, apprenticeship or vocation not galamsey sites," "Only education guarantees our future." The event was aimed at mobilizing people around the world against child labour, reflecting local cultures and customs, while encouraging the participation of authorities, the media, civil societies and the public at large in child labour issues.

This year the World Day Against Child Labour focuses on the elimination of child labour in Agriculture, which has about 70 percent of children working in the sector.

Over 132 million girls and boys aged five to 14 years old often work from morning till evening on farms and plantations, planting and harvesting crops, spraying pesticides, and tending livestock. Recent figures from International Labour Organisation, (ILO), shows that globally, one out of six children work; 218 million children aged five and 17 are involved in child labour world wide and 126 million children work under hazardous conditions.