The Department of Social Welfare of the Assin South District Assembly on the 12th of June, 2023 celebrated the world Day Against Child Labour at the Presbyterian Church building at Assin Manso. The program was organized in collaboration with Ghana Education Service (GES) Girl Child coordinator and Touton Cocoa and also Present at the Day celebration were students from the Assin Manso D/A basic school ‘A’ & ‘B’ on the theme “Protect Children from Child Labour, Now more than ever”
The training took place on Monday 12th of June, 2023. The Day celebration covered topics such as; ‘Who is a child’, ‘what child labour is’, ‘Causes of child labour’, ‘effects of child labour’ and ‘possible solutions to curb the menace of child labor and force labor’. The Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560) and Referral Pathways was another area that students were sensitized. The training also covered education on Social Welfare child protection programmes and activities.
The causes of child labor and force labor has varying negative effects on children and these include; extreme physical harm, mental/cognitive harm, slavery, sexual and economic exploitation, decreased in education and health care, restricting fundamental rights and death. Participants during the Day celebration contributed in diverse ways by sharing their past experiences and expressed their profound gratitude for the Day celebration.
The actions and measures taken into consideration included; to report anyone involved in child labour, providing educational services to enhance teaching quality and improve learning spaces, providing support for parents to improve their incomes and food security so that children won’t need to work, advocating for national child labor laws and their enforcement.
