By P.K.Yankey
Shama(W/R), June 14, GNA- Compassion Ghana, a non-government organisation (NGO), has organised a-two-day capacity building workshop on children’s rights protection, for its members in the Sekondi-Takoradi cluster.
The workshop comes amidst growing incidence of child abuse and the need for participants from Compassion Ghana and government agencies as well as some churches to sensitise caregivers and communities to ensure that children were protected to feel safe.
The workshop sought to empower participants with toolkits training to be well-equipped to help their communities fight issues of child abuse.
It also aimed at sensitizing the community to accept child protection issues so that there would be behavioural change for community members to protect their children.
Speaking to Ghana News Agency on the side-lines, Mr Stephen Larbi Appiah, Partnership Facilitator in charge of the Sekondi-Takoradi cluster of Compassion Ghana said as part of their holistic child and youth development, child protection was key on their agenda.
He said Compassion Ghana was working with participants and caregivers as well as government agencies to ensure a resilient and thriving family, resourceful child partners by empowering them through the toolkits training to identify, report and prevent abuse.
Mr Larbi Appiah said we’re now able to report cases of abuse to the appropriate quarters for action to be taken against offenders.
He said having intensified their sensitisation, empowerment and education in the last eight years, caregivers, participants and child development workers, churches and communities are aware of issues which could be described as child abuse.
Thus, they would be able to able to caution or report them to the appropriate quarters such as the Department of Children, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) and the Social Welfare Department.
Mr Larbi Appiah said so far, over 3,500 children and youth from 14 church partners in seven administrative Districts such as Shama, STMA,EKMA,Mpohor, Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Ahanta-West and Ellembelle were under the Sekondi-Takoradi cluster.
He said majority of the children under Compassion Ghana’s care, were in Basic Schools while, few of them had completed tertiary education with others still in Vocational and other tertiary institutions.
The Partnership Facilitator said it was also the mandate of Compassion Ghana to ensure the total well-being of children under their care by making their healthcare needs a major concern and link them up with institutions during internship programmes so that their children have competitive advantage in the world of work.
Madam Abigail Erzoah,a representative from the Department of Children, said every child is an asset of the government, hence the responsibility of society to help develop the child holistically
She said the Department would therefore partner Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), non-government organisations (NGOs) to protect the interest and welfare of children.
Madam Erzoah reminded society that discrimination against children in all forms was not healthy and called on Assembly Members to cater for the welfare of children in their areas.
She said the Department would continue to give hope to children through counselling services in their various outreach programmes in schools on the positive sides on the use of the internet.
Madam Joyce Obiri-Yeboah, a representative from the Department of Community Development in the Western Region, told the GNA that the Workshop would equip participants with skills, tools and exercises designed with support from UNICEF and the government of Ghana in engaging the caregivers and the participants on all child protection and adolescent issues within the cluster.
She said participants would be sensitized on how gender norms, roles and stereotyping affected decision-making by the adolescent.
Madam Obiri-Yeboah said Compassion Ghana through the Church would create a conducive and an enabling environment for children to thrive.
Mr Henry Nyanzu Kwoffie, Project Director also told the GNA that as child protection activists, they adopt strategies to prevent abuses of children and protect them very well.
His outfit also respond to child abuse cases through collaboration with security agencies and family systems.
Touching on how impactful the project has been, Mr Nyanzu Kwoffie said in the last seven to eight years, it has benefitted children immensely in the field of education and health as well as the caregiving.
He said Compassion Ghana would continue to collaborate with all other agencies to release children from poverty and misery by taking children on the streets out of hooliganism and all forms of social vices.
Averagely, the cluster has 230 children in each of the 14 projects tracking children from 3 to 22 years and exit them with a special plan to set them up for life.
GNA
Edited by Justina Paaga /Benjamin Mensah