Mr Gabriel Boadi, Atiwa East District Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development (SWCD), has urged parents to refrain from using their children for menial labour since it is against the law.
He made the appeal at a Durbar organised by the Department in Ankaase, as part of the “World Day Against Child Labour” celebration in the Atiwa East District.
The initiative was organised in partnership with the Edmark Rescue Foundation and Rainforest Alliance, both non-governmental organisations, with funding from the Norwegian government to raise awareness about the effects of utilising underage children for manual labour.
The event started with a float during which students and teachers from Ankaase D/A Basic School carried posters depicting the repercussions of child abuse on children and society.
Among the messages on the placards were “We Deserve Education, Not Exploitation,” “Child Abuse is Child Labour,” and “Say No to Child Labour.”
In his remarks, Mr Boadi said that the government’s role in the elimination of child labour was critical to the lives of children throughout the country.
He also said that parents must carefully consider the education of all school-age children and refrain from abusing their children for survival.
He highlighted death, school dropout, adolescent pregnancy, armed robbery, and other consequences of child maltreatment.
As a result, he encouraged the students not to choose menial work that might jeopardise their future.
The Rainforest Alliance, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), contributed a variety of items, including notebooks, exercise books, Pens,
Erasers, Mathematical Sets, Crayons, Rulers, Markers, and Sanitary Pads, to aid in the improvement of teaching and learning in the schools.
Mr Bernard Appiah, Headteacher of Ankaase Presbyterian School, received the products and thanked the NGO for the contribution, promising to put them to good use.
Ashantibiz
