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Ghana: Afrikids Rescues 150 Children From Illegal Mining
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Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
23 June 2008
Posted to the web 23 June 2008
William N. Jalulah
AFRIKIDS GHANA, a Child Rights Charity Non-Governmental Organization, working in the rural communities, to make life meaningful and bearable to children, has rescued 150 children from the Talensi-Nabdam District (TND).
With 21 projects spread across the Upper East and Northern regions, the organization collaborated with the International Labour Organization (ILO), and launched Operation Sunlight, a project to tackle the issue of child labour in the TND.
It was this operation, which gave birth to the withdrawal of the 150 children, who had been trapped in the illegal mining (galamsey) centres in the district.
Out of this number, 119 have been enrolled in school, with their fees paid. They have also been provided with educational materials, in the form of books, pens, pencils, sandals and school uniforms.
The remaining 31 were undertaking various vocational training courses. They have had their entire fees, charged by their master craftsmen and women, paid for them.
Afrikids has also registered all the 150 children, with the National Health Insurance Scheme, and were accessing free medical care. Bicycles have been given to them, to enable them commute to school and their training centres.
Mr. Cletus Anaaya, Head of Core Projects, Afrikids Ghana, made these disclosures at Tongo, where this year's World Day against Labour was marked. It was themed: Education-the right response to child labour.
The organization has been organizing awareness creation programmes, in the form of meetings, film shows and drama, with the core aim of sensitizing children about worse forms of child labour, and their communities on the negative effects of child labour.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Talensi-Nabdam, Mr. Anaba Nabila Kusoyaani, revealed that 70% of children of school-going age were engaged in all forms of hazardous work, at the expense of their education.
He noted that the education of the child was a right, and nothing should be done to deny them getting education.
Mr. Nabila reminded parents/guardians that it was crime, punishable by law, for them to engage their children in jobs, which were detrimental to their health and growth.
He said the assembly, through the support of the ILO, had undertaken a census in 10 target communities of the district, to identify and register children in the worse forms of child labour.
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The DCE challenged the District Director of Education and teachers, to form similar child rights clubs, at the school levels, to champion the rights of children.
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