Wa, Oct 17, GNA – PLEDGE Ghana, gender and
child cantred Non-Governmental organisation, has distributed assorted education
materials and skills training equipment to 1,300 children from ten communities
in the Upper West Region to encourage them stay in school.
Beneficiaries were from five districts as
part of joint efforts and commitment by the local NGO and international child
rights organisation, UNICEF, towards eliminating worst forms of child labour in
Upper West and Ashanti regions.
Around 2,000 school children from the two
regions were benefiting from the $120,000.00 project, while another, 600
youngsters out of school, would acquire technical and vocational (TVET) skills
and relevant tools to help them start trading.
Presenting the items to beneficiaries in one
of the communities at Jonga in the Wa Municipality, Mr Joe Nakoan Nabin,
Director of Programmes at PLEDGE Ghana, said the gesture was to stem drift of
child labour from the region southern Ghana.
It was also to assist parents and guardians
to help take care of the needs of their children and ensure that they stayed in
school and progressed to higher levels of education.
“We are following up with parents and
supporting them with livelihood skills training so that they will be able to
support and anchor the support we have provided,” he said.
He added: “For the children in school, we
are providing school supplies and this include; uniforms, bag packs, exercise
books, sandals, pens and pencils so that they will have no excuse not to be in
school”.
Those who are not in formal education were
given auto mechanic equipment, sewing machines and hairdryers among others
depending on their area of trade.
Mr Nabin said selected community members
were trained and supported to help address some of the challenges in their
communities to ensure children were enrolled and stayed in school for learning.
Mrs Veronica Tobge, Assistant Social
Development Officer at the Wa Municipal Department of Social Welfare and
Community Development, told the Ghana News Agency that the supplies would help
keep children in school as most of them dropped due to lack of basic learning
materials.
She said the supplies would help curb school
dropout, adding: “Even common pen, some of the parents will tell you they don’t
have money to buy that is why the child is staying at home,” she said.
“So with these items being presented to
them, it is going to make the children happy and as the children are happy our
department is also happy”.
The Department of Social Welfare and Community
Development receive several reports daily from communities about children not
in school, which was attributed to inability of parents to provide basic school
needs of their kids.
GNA
