Children calls for more commitment from government

Daily Graphic. pg.11 Thurs. June 18/09

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

THE tradition where children are seen but not heard and adults allowed to make decisions on their behalf was reversed last Tuesday when representatives of children from across the country handed over a communiqué to Parliament.
The communiqué was developed by some of these children with sponsorship from UNICEF and the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs as part of this year’s celebration of the AU Day of the African child on the theme “Africa fit for children: Call for accelerated action towards their survival”, It is being observed on June 16 of every year.
The day was declared by the AU in commemoration of the 1976 massacre of schoolchildren in Soweto, South Africa.
The communiqué, which was presented to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender and Children, Mr Sampson Ahi, among other things, called on the government to make the issue of children a top priority.
According to the representative of children from the northern part of the country, they needed good educational infrastructure and electricity to enable them learn education on child labour, trafficking and migration effectively, and called for an effective collaboration among all stakeholders to reduce child mortality.
From the middle belt, the children called for more spacious classrooms, ICT and science equipment, recreational centres, more health facilities, awareness on child rights and security for children.
From the southern zone, the children called for good educational infrastructure, science and computer laboratories, good learning environments, education on human rights, resources to meet the need of street children, stricter punishments for child traffickers, more national platforms for children’s views, good water supply, salary increment for parents and a stop to illegal mining.
For their part, members of the committee advised the children to ensure that they learnt harder to make the nation and their parents proud.
Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah, a member of the committee, called on the children to ensure that they were always obedient to their elders.
She also reminded them that although the 1992 Constitution granted them freedom to their rights, they should also remember that the freedom would come with responsibilities.
Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway said although children of Ghana were more privileged than many of their counterparts in other African countries, she called on them to ensure that they cherished what they had.
Ms Botchway called on the children to use the little that they had to achieve higher laurels in future, saying that they should work harder to become better and responsible citizens.
The Chief of the Child Protection Unit of the UNICEF, Ms Sheema Sen Gupta, in a brief remarks, said two representatives each from all the 10 regions of Ghana were drawn to come out with the communiqué, saying that the process would be continued over the years to inspire children to bring out their best for their future.
She said UNICEF was doing this in collaboration with the Children’s Department of the ministry as a means of promoting child participation and of creating awareness and promoting children’s right to survival.