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The Community Child Protection Teams (CPTs) formed in the Bolgatanga Municipality in 2003 by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and Department of Community Development (DCD) to address issues affecting the growth and development of children are making a significant impact in the area.
The CPTs made up of 48 communities from the Municipality had eight groups working on voluntary basis. The groups which were trained by the DSW and the DCD with sponsored from UNICEF, and report issues affecting children including child labor, Child Migration, Early marriages, sexual abuse, Child Trafficking, Child Rights, Education, Early Childhood Development, healthcare, and Registration of births and deaths, and child disability to the appropriate authorities such as DSW and DCD.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after a two day training workshop for the participants, the Municipal Directors of DSW and DCD, Madam Mercy Pwavra and Mr. Richard Adongo respectively, explained that many children who were denied the benefits of education by their parents were now sent to schools due to the sensitization work of the CPTs.
Many parents, they noted, were not aware that it was illegal under the country’s constitution to refuse to send their children to school, so the children were rather made to engage in petty trading and farming. The Directors noted that there had been a reduction of child labor and migration in the Municipality than before and attributed this to the effective work being undertaken by the CPTs in the various communities.
There has also been an increase in the registration of births and deaths in the various communities and the reduction of early marriages, sexual abuse as well as the integration of the disabled into skills training at rehabilitation centers and other areas. They noted that through the project, community members had been able to prevent diseases as a result of improved hygiene among others. Madam Mercy and Mr. Adongo indicated that the concept had also attracted the attention of partners including the Department of Women and Children and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
In her closing remarks, the Municipal Director of DSW urged the teams to work together and to report any urgent issues to the appropriate authorities for the necessary action to be taken and not to take the laws into their own hands. Madam Mercy urged the team to always endeavor to submit their report in time for quick action to be taken to avert the situation before it get out of hand. Some of the CPTs complained that their lives were sometimes threatened by parents who did not take it kindly when the bad side of their children was exposed, adding that this did not augur well for the development of the child. Participants also appealed for some allowances to enable them discharge their duties efficiently.
The Municipal Director of DSW indicated that parents were only stewards to their children and could therefore not manhandle or molest them as this was prohibited by the country’s constitution. She commended UNICEF for the support to the team but appealed to them and others to also contribute in addressing issues affecting children to enable them to become more responsible citizens. She said there was more yet to be done since some children were still suffering especially under child labor, early marriages, and child migration among others.
The Participants were taken through topics including childhood development, Child Labor, Child Migration, Child Rights, Child Trafficking, birth and death, Child fostering, Healthcare among others.
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