‘Enforce child protection laws’
The Country Director of Compassion International Ghana, Reverend Jemima Amanor, has called on the government to be proactive in enforcing laws protecting children through the initiation of a comprehensive child protection policy which would spell out the responsibilities of all stakeholders .
“Orphan and vulnerable children need to be re-integrated with their families because the best place for the child is the home and not an institution,” she said.
Rev Amanor was speaking at a ceremony to climax the celebration of the International Day of the African Child in Accra. This year’s celebration was themed, “All Together for Urgent Action in Favour of Street Children”.
The celebration was marked with poetry recitals, cultural displays, exhibitions and drama depicting the plight of street children in the country.
The International Day of the African Child was instituted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), in honour of children who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976.
On June 16, 1976, about 10,000 black schoolchildren in Soweto, South Africa, marched in protest of the poor quality of their education and demanded their right to be taught in their own language.
Hundreds of young students were shot. More than 100 people were killed in the protests that ensued the following two weeks and more than 1,000 were injured.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported that there were 120 million street children world-wide. Of this figure, 30 million were found in Africa.
According to the Department of Social Welfare, 33,000 children could be found on the streets, of which 75 per cent were living in Accra and Kumasi. Seventy-one per cent of these children, 50 per cent of which are girls, are illiterate.
Rev Amanor noted that the practice whereby children were left in the care of relatives in the absence of their parents needed to be revisited.
She noted that during the World Education Forum held in Dakar in April 2000, the international community underscored the need to eradicate extreme poverty through education.
“Education is an equalising factor and can bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Not only is education important in reducing poverty, but it is also key to wealth creation,” she reiterated.
Unfortunately, she said, education in the country was often too expensive for the poor.
She added that there were potentially many able children who possessed excellent academic abilities but they came from poor homes, thereby, making it impossible for them to complete their education.
“If all children have the opportunity to go to school, the public benefits substantially from increased graduation rates that result in low crime rate,” she said.
Therefore, Rev Amanor said, if the necessary grounds are prepared for street children to be reintegrated into families and enrolled in school, society would be the beneficiary and the children who would have otherwise become social misfits would become responsible adults.
“Orphan and vulnerable children need to be re-integrated with their families because the best place for the child is the home and not an institution,” she said.
Rev Amanor was speaking at a ceremony to climax the celebration of the International Day of the African Child in Accra. This year’s celebration was themed, “All Together for Urgent Action in Favour of Street Children”.
The celebration was marked with poetry recitals, cultural displays, exhibitions and drama depicting the plight of street children in the country.
The International Day of the African Child was instituted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), in honour of children who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976.
On June 16, 1976, about 10,000 black schoolchildren in Soweto, South Africa, marched in protest of the poor quality of their education and demanded their right to be taught in their own language.
Hundreds of young students were shot. More than 100 people were killed in the protests that ensued the following two weeks and more than 1,000 were injured.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported that there were 120 million street children world-wide. Of this figure, 30 million were found in Africa.
According to the Department of Social Welfare, 33,000 children could be found on the streets, of which 75 per cent were living in Accra and Kumasi. Seventy-one per cent of these children, 50 per cent of which are girls, are illiterate.
Rev Amanor noted that the practice whereby children were left in the care of relatives in the absence of their parents needed to be revisited.
She noted that during the World Education Forum held in Dakar in April 2000, the international community underscored the need to eradicate extreme poverty through education.
“Education is an equalising factor and can bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Not only is education important in reducing poverty, but it is also key to wealth creation,” she reiterated.
Unfortunately, she said, education in the country was often too expensive for the poor.
She added that there were potentially many able children who possessed excellent academic abilities but they came from poor homes, thereby, making it impossible for them to complete their education.
“If all children have the opportunity to go to school, the public benefits substantially from increased graduation rates that result in low crime rate,” she said.
Therefore, Rev Amanor said, if the necessary grounds are prepared for street children to be reintegrated into families and enrolled in school, society would be the beneficiary and the children who would have otherwise become social misfits would become responsible adults.
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