By Erica Apeatua Addo
Asankragwa (W/R), April 27, GNA – Community volunteers trained to follow up on commitments by government, cocoa and mining companies to address forced/child labour issues in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality have called for an extension of such projects to other communities.
The project dubbed: “Tackling forced and child labour in Ghanaian cocoa and gold-mining sectors,”
Seeks to reduce the menace in those areas.
Rainforest Alliance, a non-governmental organisation, is implementing the project together with International Cocoa Initiative and Solidaridad West Africa.
It is funded from the Norwegian Government through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
Four districts: Atwima Mponua, Atewa East, Wassa Amenfi West and Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai in the Ashanti, Eastern, Western and Western North Regions, respectively, are benefiting from the project.
At a joint quarterly district dialogue with the stakeholders at Asankragwa in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality, the volunteers were appreciative of the positive impact of the intervention on the lives of community members, especially children and vulnerable groups.
They discussed challenges and sustainability of the project while appreciating the donor and Rainforest Alliance.
They noted that school enrollment had increased, and they had been empowered to demand their due from companies and duty bearers and appealed to the donors to include more communities in the Wassa Amenfi West into the project.
Mr Manasseh Ameworlor, stakeholder from a cocoa buying company, said to sustain the project his outfit would continue to do its remediation services where they targeted children at risk or those already engaged in child labour.
“We give them support to ensure they come out of the problem,” he added.
He said last year his outfit enrolled 18 children into primary and junior high school, and three people into apprenticeship programme, and that it would continue to do same this year to safeguard the future of children in their operational areas.
Responding to the concerns raised by the volunteers on the lack of classroom block at Aboi Nkwanta and Pantose, Mr Ameworlor said “we will take it up to my community development manager in our organization and see what can be done.”
Ms Naomi Krakue, a representative from the assembly, assured that the assembly had been working tirelessly to end forced and child labour in every community within the municipality.
She promised to forward all the issues raised by the various stakeholders to the appropriate authorities to be addressed as soon as possible.
Mr Anthony Kwame Darko, Programme Director for New Generation Concern, commended all the stakeholders for their dedication to duty and entreated them to work hard as the project had not yet ended.
Mr Richard Oblitei Tetteh, a representative of Rainforest Alliance, explained that the project was a step in the right direction as it aimed at complementing government’s efforts in eradicating child labour, forced labour in the Ghanaian cocoa and gold mining sectors.
He said over the last three years, the project had provided adequate support for cocoa companies, traders, cooperatives, farmer groups and gold associations to implement measures that would help to prevent, identify and address forced and child labour.
Significant achievements had been made and these included the training of 212 government agencies such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Minerals Commission and Child Labour Unit to enhance their knowledge and skills in child and forced labour issues.
Over 220 cooperatives representing 40,000 farmer cooperatives/ gold associations have been trained in a five -day Training of Trainers on Human Rights Due Diligence.
There has also been the formation and strengthening of 40 Community Child Protection Committees to identify, monitor and report child and forced labour related activities among others.
“Undoubtedly, the achievements of these feats would not have been possible without the involvement of key stakeholders and the significant roles they played,” Mr Tetteh added.
He urged all stakeholders to continue to work together to end child labour and give every child a chance to succeed since they are the future of the world.
GNA