AGREDS rescues 728 girls

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Mr. Alexis Danikuu Dery, Senior Programmes Officer (SPO) of the Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS) Ghana, has disclosed that since its inception, the establishment of the Life Line Project (Elim Centre) by AGREDS, had so far, rescued, rehabilitated and re-integrated a total of 728 girls in various communities within the country, particularly those from the three Northern Regions.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency in Accra on the project on Thursday, Mr Dery stated that as part of its development agenda, the project, established a decade ago, was to provide skills training opportunities for the many trafficked girls languishing on the streets of Accra.

He said AGREDS-Life Line selected the Agbogbloshie/Konkomba markets for the project, due to the nature of those communities, adding that, they had large concentration of migrants from the Northern Regions, who were engaged in all sorts of menial jobs.

The SPO mentioned unfavourable cultural practices, such as forced marriages, domestic violence and child abuse, among others, as the major contributory factors that led to the exodus of the girls out of their various communities.

Mr Dery said programmes currently being implemented by AGREDS-Life Line included an Early Childhood Development Centre in urban Accra-Agbogbloshie; Back to School; and an Integrated Vocational Skills Training in urban Accra also based at Agbogbloshie, offering hairdressing, dressmaking, batik tie and dye and catering.

He disclosed that the long-term objective of AGREDS was to effectively contribute towards the progressive and sustainable elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

On challenges facing the project, the SPO mentioned inadequate funding to tackle the root causes of poverty through the provision of micro-credit support to families of trafficked girls; lack of transportation and other logistic support to embark on community sensitization programmes in the rural areas; and inadequate incentives to motivate staff and volunteers, as problems militating against the success of the Project.