By Erica Apeatua Addo
Asankragwa (W/R), Sept 12, GNA – Stakeholders in Wassa Amenfi West Municipality supporting to eradicate all forms of forced and child labour in cocoa and gold mining areas have been reminded not to relent in their efforts in fulfilling their commitments.
Rainforest Alliance, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has empowered 40 communities in four regions, including 10 communities in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality of the Western Region.
Under the NORAD funded project led by Rainforest Alliance, the capacities of the communities have been built in advocacy strategies, the use of mobile app in collecting data of implementation of commitments towards tackling forced and child labour as manifested in their communities and the promotion of a quarterly district dialogue which brings cocoa companies, gold mining associations and government representatives together.
A total of 80 community monitors with support from community-based organizations have been trained and equipped to hold government agencies, cocoa companies, and gold mining associations accountable for their commitments towards preventing, identifying and addressing forced and child labour at the local communities.
Mr Anthony Kwame Darko, from New Generation Concern, a Community Based Organization, working directly as a conduit between Rainforest Alliance and the local communities in the district under the project, lauded representatives of government through the district assembly, cocoa cooperatives and the mining associations who were present at the third quarterly district dialogue for their time and progress being made.
He said the efforts they were making towards eradication of forced and child labour which was partly due to the frequent engagement with the trained community volunteers as they demand accountability from the top, was yielding results.
According to Mr Darko, the 10 communities he was working directly with-Asankrangwa, Low Cost, Asankra-Saa, Kwabeng, Aboi-Nkwanta, Wassa Dunkwa, Moseaso, Oda, Odumase and Affiena have benefitted through knowledge acquisition, fostering of dialogue, the confidence with which to articulate their views and how to make their demands known to stakeholders appropriately.
The community volunteers took turns to present achievements made so far from the time they began engaging the stakeholders directly under the ‘’Ýen Ne Mmofra No Nti’’ NORAD project, ranging from the construction of classroom blocks, market structures, extension of health facilities, provision of portable water and distribution of insecticides treated nets to pupils, among others.
At Asankran-Oda and Odumasi, it was mentioned that the Municipal Assembly and a cocoa buying company (ECOM), had constructed a three-unit classroom block with an office and storerooms to replace the dilapidated structure.
Other interventions are training received in soap making, fish farming, bee keeping, and snail rearing led by Solidaridad to reduce poverty in the area.
He said at Asankra-Saa, the Member of Parliament for Wassa Amenfi West had constructed market structures and provided water for the community to stabilize the wellbeing of the people, extension of health facility by residents of Oda-Kotoamso with support from a Midwife at their CHIPs and the husband, he mentioned.
There is also an on-going borehole water project by NGO (EXCER), at Asankran-Oda to ensure the citizens have clean drinking water.
According to him, residents of Asankra-Saa were moulding blocks to put up a three-unit classroom block while the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has been holding regular community engagement on forced and child labour in most of the communities they operated.
Mr Darko praised Rainforest Alliance and its implementing partners (ICI and Solidaridad) for extending the programme to the Western Region.
He added that the training of the volunteers would promote sustainability and lifelong learning adaptation of evolving trends in digitalization, universal education, lobbying and advocacy.
Mr. Darko and the community volunteers were also grateful to the Rainforest Alliance, led by the Senior Project Manager, Mrs. Joyce Poku-Marboah, for leading the intervention and making the dialogue and resultant achievements become exposed under the Ýen Ne Mmofra No Nti’ “Tackling forced and child labour in Ghanaian cocoa and gold mining” project.
Madam Gloria Addisu, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) officer in Wassa Amenfi West Municipality, urged the communities to maintain the projects they have received to encourage the organizers to introduce more of such programmes.
Nana Ntori II, Tufuhene of Oda-Kotoamso, thanked Rainforest Alliance for introducing the programme, adding, “we have been given enough education, so as custodians of the land we would help reduce forced and child labour”.
A representative from the volunteers appealed to the organizers that due to the rains they should provide them raincoats or umbrella, identification cards to make their work easy, increase their allowance and continuous training for them to deliver as expected.
GNA