Support fight against human trafficking — Oye Lithur
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, has called on the public to support the fight against human trafficking and child labour.
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She said people tended to think that human trafficking referred only to instances when persons were taken out of the country and explained that it could take place within the country.
Nana Oye was speaking at the 14th graduation of the Assemblies of God Relief & Development Services (AGREDS) in Accra last Wednesday.
The AGREDS programme focuses on rescuing girls from trafficking and exploitative activities and re-integrating them into society.
Exploitation
The minister said in the urban centres, particularly in Accra, where the kayayo (head porterage) business was booming, unofficial reports had it that self-styled contractors were exploiting the vulnerability of the girls for their personal benefit.
She said the exploiters did so on the pretext of offering the vulnerable girls assistance, noting that that practice qualified as trafficking and that the vulnerability of the kayayei (head porters) increased the risk of their being trafficked, as well as being exposed to gender-based violence.
Nana Oye said the government and NGOs could not address all the developmental problems, hence the need for concerted and coordinated efforts to achieve maximum results.
She commended AGREDS for its efforts and urged all stakeholders to continue to give children the opportunity to fully develop their potential and be the generation to break the poverty cycle in their homes.
The Executive Director of AGREDS, Mr Joseph K. Wumbee, said the programme, which usually rescued and trained 100 trafficked girls every year, was able to train only 32 girls this year due to the lack of finance.
He said AGREDS ran an Early Childhood Development Centre which provided pre-school education for children in the slums, where most of the kayayei lived.
Mr Wumbee appealed to the government, churches and organisations to help sponsor the programme in the coming years to empower the girls to make a good living and save them from exploitation.
He said AGREDS ran an Early Childhood Development Centre which provided pre-school education for children in the slums where most of the kayayei lived.
Mr Wumbee appealed to the government, churches and organisations to help sponsor the programme in the coming years to empower the girls to make a good living and save them from exploitation.