Parents called upon to be more responsible
Parents and caretakers have been called upon to take their responsibilities seriously in helping to develop children both mentally and physically.
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As first-line caretakers, they have been asked not to shirk their responsibilities in taking care of their children.
At a ceremony to commemorate the Day of African Child (DAC), the Country Director for Compassion-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Mr Padmore Baffour Agyapong, committed to helping with the development of underprivileged children. He said taking care of children was not the responsibility of the government, NGOs and religious bodies alone but rather a collective responsibility of everyone in society, including parents.
The ceremony, which was celebrated at Akropong in the Eastern Region, brought together about 70 schoolchildren from three different clusters under the Compassion Child Development Programme (CCDP).
Elaborating more on the topic, he said, the government and individuals could do their best but at the end of the day, it was up to the family to help bring up the children very well because they bore the key responsibility.
“Compassion can do all they can but if parents do not help, then all our efforts will be in vain and nothing will be achieved,” he added.
Brother’s keeper
Mr Agyapong noted that people in the society today were not each other’s keeper and only concerned themselves with matters that affected their family, citing an example that in the olden days, older people could punish other people’s children because they believed it was their responsibility to discipline children whenever they went wrong.
“We at Compassion are dedicated to releasing children from poverty but at the same time, we also believe in discipline and child development as priority and with the help of God, we are gradually getting there,” he said.
For her part, the Headmistress of Aburi Girls’ Senior High School, Mrs Alice Prempeh Fordjour, said children were fragile, dependant and often vulnerable and as such, it was the duty of adults to give them protection, love, a voice and fair treatment.
“Young and seemingly feeble as they are, they have rights as we do. These rights have to be secured to prepare them for more responsibilities in adulthood, it is a call to fairness and proper care,” she explained.
Child rights
She mentioned that the theme for this year’s celebration was a call to expedite action to enhance the quality of life of the African child and grant them positive fulfilments so they could take up the mantle of responsibility and make Africa great again.
“To get the child’s rights accelerated quickly, I humbly call on member states, national human rights institutions, United Nations (UN) Agencies, NGOs, faith-based organisations and the media to do this loco parentis,” Mrs Fordjour said.
The headmistress advised that the children must join the movement by participating in programmes related to their rights. Quoting Psalm 132:12, she said: “If your children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I teach them, their children shall also sit upon your throne forever more.”
“To consolidate this movement, the rule of law must work in all spheres of the child’s life on the national and international levels,” she added.