Corporate entities, others asked to help end child labour
Child labour has been identified as an undermining factor in the sustainable growth and development of a country.
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It is said to also have harmful repercussions on society.
The Chief Executive Officer at GOBTENSED Kente LTD and a board member of Macee Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Torgbui Gobah Tengey Seddoh, who said thus, has, therefore, called on corporate entities and individuals to support a national campaign against child labour in the country.
Torgbui Tengey made the call when a team from Macee Foundation presented a message on the campaign to the Managing Director (MD) of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Accra.
Campaign
The Stop Child Labour in Ghana campaign, dubbed “School is the best place to work,” will rescue children who are victims of child labour to rehabilitate and re-integrate them with their families.
It will also provide a vocational school and shelter for children who are rescued but are unable to reach their parents.
Torgbui Tengey said victims could end up becoming armed robbers in future, due to the fact that they had been denied their rights to education; therefore, the need to campaign against it in order to stop it in the country.
According to him, the aim of Macee Foundation is to give life to children who are being abused daily through child labour.
“It is our responsibility as parents and owners of the land to ensure that these children are rescued and sent to school because if the child does not go to school, he grows up to become a deviant in society. It is our duty and if we do not do it, tomorrow it will reflect in our lives. We are therefore appealing to all and sundry to make sure we champion the cause of freedom for the children who are being suppressed,” he said.
Presenting the campaign message to the MD for GWCL, he appealed to the company for its support to fight against child labour.
GWCL
The MD for GWCL, Dr Clifford A. Barimah, pledged the company’s support to fight against child labour, since it was for a good cause.
“Child labour is something that is critical to all of us, especially as parents. We see children doing menial jobs and we ask ourselves what the future holds for them.
Therefore, if there is an organisation that will bring them out and get them into school, it is our responsibility to support them, and we will support them in our own way,” he said.
He encouraged the foundation to go beyond its limitations to end child labour in Ghana.
Macee Foundation
The Campaigner and Ambassador for the Stop Child Labour in Ghana campaign and Founder of Macee Foundation, Mr Harry Ahorlu, said the foundation had been given six uncompleted buildings in the Volta Region to establish a vocational centre for children who were rescued.
According to him, the foundation, which was established in 2005, had campaigned against child labour and rescued 45 children from their masters, and added that the foundation was supporting some of these children in school.
