Social Welfare appeals for temporary shelter for children

March 29, 2011 Koforidua, March 29, GNA-The Eastern Regional Director, Department of Social Welfare, Mr Gyamerah Ahwenee Danquah, has appealed to government to provide a temporary shelter where the department can keep children before they trace their families.

He also urged the Municipal and District Assemblies to provide funds and collaborate with the Department of Children, Ministry of Health, the Media and National Commission for Civic Education to educate parents on the rights of their children and child trafficking.

Mr Danquah said the education was very important because some parents were ignorant and did not have any idea on the rights of the child and also did not know the effects of giving out their children to people.

He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Koforidua on Tuesday.

He said parents were now shirking their responsibilities of taking good care of their children and giving them the best of education instead, they give them out to other people to be used as labourers and domestic servants.

Mr Danquah therefore called on the New Juaben Municipal Assembly to team up with the police to arrest parents push children into illegal labour and punish them to deter others.

He observed that matters of children are not taken seriously, sooner than later, the country would lose its future leaders.

He noted that as children struggle to earn a living on the open and back streets, they encounter many challenges and adopt bad or survival lifestyles from their peers.

Mr Danquah said if such negative behaviours were not checked, they could be very dangerous to the society.

GNA