FORUM HELD ON CHILDREN MIGRATION (MIRROR, PAGE 34, MAY 22, 2010)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga

Participants at a stakeholder’s forum at Bolgatanga have urged Municipal and District Assemblies in Northern Ghana to partner Child Rights Organisations and other institutions to reduce the migration of young children from the north of Ghana to Accra.
The forum, which was organised by Afrikids Ghana, a Child Rights Organisation, which works around indigenous communities in the Upper East Region to improve the quality of life for rejected and vulnerable children, attracted participants from a cross section of the society, including local authorities, the media, and other NGOs.
The aim was to assess the impact of the NGOs on their beneficiaries and also disseminate recommendations of an external evaluator on the activities of the NGO in the region.
The Country Director of AfriKids Ghana, Mr Nicholas Kumah, said unchecked migration of young people as well as the engagement of children in mining activities have been identified as a major threat to the development of the youth, hence, the need to mobilise and take appropriate actions to remedy the situation.
He said AfriKids have brought back over 150 children engaged in prostitution and illegal labour from the streets of Kumasi and have been assisted to acquire a vocation.
He disclosed that over 100 children have also been rescued from mining under dangerous conditions in the Talensi Nabdam district.
All the participants pledged to work together to ensure that the welfare of children, especially, those in deprived communities are improved.