Dambai: The prevalence of child labour and trafficking in the Volta and Oti Regions continues to rise, as some parents still allow their children to engage in hazardous and inhumane work in fishing and cocoa farming communities. Many of these children, most of them under 18 years, are deprived of education and denied their basic rights.
According to Ghana News Agency, a coalition of non-governmental organisations-My Right, My Future, Partners in Community Development Programme (PACODEP), and the Alliance for Community Resilience and Development (ACRAD), with support from the European Union (EU)-has called on the media to intensify efforts in exposing and combating child labour in the two regions. The call was made during a media engagement workshop for journalists from the regions in Dambai, the Oti Regional capital.
In a remark, Mr. Isaac Selasi Ahadzi, a Communication Specialist with Right To Play Ghana, explained the purpose of the training, saying it was to help address the critical issues of child labour that were having a toll on the future of young children. 'The main idea of this media training is to address issues of child labour in fishing and cocoa-growing communities in Oti and Volta. We want to build connections with the media to see how they can contribute to the fight against child labour,' he said. He also encouraged the media to do more in raising public awareness, adding, 'Many people still don't believe child labour exists in this country. That is why the media must voice out loudly and contribute more through their publications and broadcasts.'
On his part, Mr. Bagonluri Kibuka, Project Manager of My Right, My Future, identified poverty as the major driver of child labour in the regions. 'Most parents allow their children to work on the lake or in cocoa farms because of poverty. Those we rescue are sent back to school. For those beyond school age, we collaborate with government institutions like NBSSI to provide vocational training,' he explained. Mr. Kibuka also stressed the importance of the media in addressing the issue. 'These media engagements are very important because we want the issues of child labour to be made known, so that the communities would know that it is an illegality using these children on the lake. We are therefore calling on the media to help us publish more issues of child labour in their publications,' he said.
Mr. George Achibra, PACODEP Director, also reiterated the coalition's focus on minimising cases of child labour and trafficking in the two regions. 'We focus our work in cocoa and lake communities, particularly in Kpando, Kadjebi, Kete-Krachi, and Krachi East. We appeal to the media to amplify our voices in this fight,' he urged. The workshop brought together several media professionals from across the two regions, who pledged their commitment to supporting the campaign against child labour and trafficking.
