(Involvement of children in commercial sex worrying) (14/11/08)

Story: Jennifer Dornoo

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Odododiodioo Constituency, Mr Jonathan Tackie-Komme, has expressed grave concern about the increasing trend of the exploitation of children through commercial sex.
He said apart from the fact that it was in violation of the rights of the child as enshrined in the ratified documents such as The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on the rights of the child, it was also jeopardising the future of the country’s human resources.
The MP stated this at a community durbar on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children organised by International Needs Ghana at James Town in Accra on Tuesday.
The durbar was to educate the youth on harmful effects of child prostitution and also to present equipment to some people who were being assisted by International Needs Ghana in different training institutions to acquire vocational skills.
In all, three sub metros benefited from this project, namely Ablekuma South, Kpeshie and Ashiedu Keteke sub metros.
The items which included sewing machines, bags, towels, carpentry , hairdressing and automechanic tools were presented free of charge to the beneficiaries.
The MP said between 2002 and 2004 the ILO/PEC supported 304 children, 65 of whom were given vocational skills training while 239 enrolled in basic schools in Chorkor, James Town and La.
He, therefore, appealed to parents, opinion leaders and assembly members to advise the beneficiaries to concentrate on their training and studies for the period of three years, for which full payments had been made. The MP also thanked the donors for their wonderful gesture.
The project, which was organised by International Needs Ghana, was in collaboration with their counterpart in New Zealand, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (PEC).
In all, 272 people from the Ablekuma South, Kpeshie and Ashiedu Keteke Sub metros benefited from the project, which cost GH¢444,000.
The project assisted 72 children in basic schools by paying their school fees and providing them with uniforms and books.
It also assisted 200 people undergoing vocational training in dressmaking, carpentry and hairdressing.
The parents of the beneficiaries were made to sign consent forms to pay back funds that had been spent on their wards when they were not able to complete the training due to the incidence of pregnancies to enable other people who needed the opportunity to benefit from it.
The Executive Director of International Needs Ghana, Reverend Walter Pimpong, advised children to abstain from sex since it could ruin their future, and added that concentrating on their education and training were key to a bright future.