Gawu saves 20 children from child labour and trafficking, provides them with educational packages

12 years old Kindergarten 2 pupil, Master Delali recently withdrawn from child labour and enrolled in school.

More than 20 children have benefitted from a project being undertaken by the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), to eradicate child labour and trafficking in some communities dotted along the Volta Lake in the Kpando Municipality of the Volta region.

GAWU supplied these children in Dzigbe and Torkor with brand new uniforms, bags, footwear, books, pens, math sets and other school supplies as an incentive for them to stay in school.

According to Mr. Andrews Tagoe, project lead and deputy General Secretary of GAWU, “We cannot withdraw these children and leave them to roam the communities without putting proper measures in place to discourage them from going back to doing adult work”.

He noted that … “after proper consultation and research, these kids were identified by the community people themselves, as child labourers, some of whom were trafficked”.

He was hopeful that this initiative coupled with the efforts of the Community Child Protection Committee (CCPC) in these communities would be enough to ensure that the children remained in schools to receive proper education.

These children, ranging between six(6) and twelve (12) years, according to some teachers, have had to work to fend for themselves and their families.

Madam Miriam, a teacher at the Dzigbe LA Primary could not hide her joy as to what this initiative by GAWU meant to the children. She was convinced that this would go a long way in making sure the children remained in school.

She was positive this move would act as a means of convincing other child labourers to come to school and for that, commended the GAWU team for their efforts.