By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, July 25, GNA – Winrock International, a non-profit organisation implementing a child labour intervention project in four districts of the Ashanti Region, has presented 13 tricycles to 11 participating communities.
The project, dubbed: “Making Advances to Eliminate Child Labour in More Areas with Sustainable Integrated Efforts (MATE MASIE),” is funded by the US Department of Labour (USDOL).
It seeks to strengthen the capacities of cocoa cooperatives as well as monitoring and enforcement agencies, to monitor child labour in their supply chain.
It is being implemented in Atwima Mponua, Atwima Nwabiagya, Adansi South, and Offinso Municipality.
The four cooperatives working closely with Winrock International for the project implementation are Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union and Marketing Society (KKFU), Kokoo Pa Farmers Association, Offinso Fine Flavour Cocoa Cooperative, and Hiawu-Bisease Cocoa Cooperative.
In line with the project design, the cocoa cooperatives are supported to implement a tool called the Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), to identify children at risk of child labour as well as those already in it.
The tool also identifies vulnerable households to provide remediation to improve their situations.
Farmers are also supported after assessing their needs as part of efforts to eliminate the temptation of engaging children in their farming activities.
A brief ceremony was therefore held at the office of Winrock International to hand over the tricycles to KKFU for onward distribution to the participating communities.
Mr Fidelis Yapel, the Director of the MATE MASIE Project, said the farmers requested tricycles to aid the transportation of the cocoa beans and other farm produce during the needs assessment for the adult component of the remediation.
He said the tricycles were among the items, including farm inputs and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), procured for the farmers as requested to enhance their businesses.
“The farmers told us that how to transport their farm produce from the farm to the house was a challenge so if they get access to tricycles, it will eliminate the possibility of using children to cart their cocoa beans from the farm to the house,” he said.
Madam Abena Appiah Bentil, Child Labour Officer, Kuapa Kokoo, applauded Winrock International for the intervention which, she said, was one of the pressing needs of the farmers.
She said apart from helping them to cart their farm produce without difficulties, the tricycles also serve as tools for generating revenue for the cooperatives.
GNA