A day’s sensitization workshop on the effects of child labour has been held at Memponteng in the Kwabre East District of the Ashanti Region with a call for more support to intensify awareness creation.

It was attended by over a hundred participants drawn from first and second cycle educational institutions, heads of child-related organisations like the Department of Social Welfare, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police and the Girls Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Kwabre East District.

The programme was organised by the Girls Education Unit of the GES in collaboration with Resource Link Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Kumasi.

The participants were taken through topics like Child Rights and Social Justice – the role of government, community and protective teams; creating opportunities to promote and empower the girl-child to end child labour among others.

Madam Gladys Serwaa Owusu Ansah, Kwabre East District Girl-Child Co-ordinator of the Ghana Education Service who made the appeal in her welcoming address, said child labour affected the survival of both children and the nation as whole.

She commended the Resource Link Foundation for their intervention and appealed to other stakeholders to lend their support in eliminating the canker once and for all in the society.

Speaking on the theme; “Human rights and Social Justice: Let’s end Child Labour”, Mr. Christopher Dapaah, Co-ordinating Director of the NGO said it was not enough for government to ratify conventions on child issues.

He said more importantly, appropriate state, community and advocacy institutions must be well resourced, to intensify education and awareness creation on child labour and the need to totally eliminate it from society.

Mr. Dapaah said statistics shows that as at June 1, 2012, about 215 million children worldwide were caught in forced labour while the United Nations (UN) has set the year 2016 as deadline for the elimination of child labour from every part of the world.

He said in Ghana, over 100,000 children are still labouring to survive, with more than half of this number exposed to the worst forms of child labour, including slavery and armed conflicts.

The Co-ordinating Director cautioned Ghanaians against complacency and urged all stakeholders to strive collectively to beat the UN set target of ridding the nation of this menace.

Other facilitators at the workshop were Madam Yaa Donkor of CHRAJ, Madam Aisha Sitsofe Agbana of DOVVSU and Madam Agnes Asantewaa of the Department of Social Welfare, all in the Kwabre East District.

Amongst the dignitaries who graced the occasion were Mrs Margaret Ofosuhene Marfo, a Deputy district Co-ordinating director, Kwabre East District, Mr. Adams Iddisah, Mr. Joseph Clement Amoah, the Kwabre East District Director of Education and Nana Gyamaa Pensa, Aboasohemaa.

A 12-year-old Primary 3 pupil of Ahwiaa R/C ‘B’ in the Kwabre East District, a victim of child labour who was knocked down by a vehicle while selling iced water along the road, leading to the amputation her leg was present at the workshop to show the psychological, physical and moral effects of child labour.**