Anglican Church to build Hope Community for rescued children
Accra, Aug. 19, GNA - The Anglican Diocese of Accra, has pledged to build a Hope Community in one of its rural communities to resettle rescued children from trafficking.
The Right Reverend Daniel S.M. Torto, announced this at the launch of the campaign against child trafficking in Ghana, collaboration between the Anglican Sunday School Association, the Anglican Diocese of Accra and the United States Embassy.
He said the Hope Community is where the rescued children would have a new home, get education and be assisted to develop their God their God-given talents to become what they are ordained by God to be.
The five-year campaign collaboration would focus on awareness raising and information campaigns through the use of symbols, and slogans; community mobilisation and outreach educational programmes; capacity building of especially the Church agents, institutional strengthening and networking.
Others include individual and group empowerment to help in checking the abuse and supporting and engaging stakeholders in legislative and pragmatic measures to address root causes on a sustained basis.
Rt Rev Torto said the Anglican Diocese of Accra in its quest to assist in eliminating the menace, has adopted a three-tier theory of change to drive individual, societal and systemic level of change.
It has also adopted four prong strategies, namely, protection, education, livelihood and advocacy in identifying the root causes of child trafficking.
He said the child protection aspect would entail a preventive strategy of raising awareness for behavioural change, a curative strategy of rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration and monitoring of victims of child tracking in Ghana.
'The education aspect involves providing affordable education for children from deprived families and general educational support to children, while livelihood category would focus on sustainable economic empowerment for deprived families as a way of reducing poverty levels, which has been the main underlying factor for child trafficking in Ghana, 'he added.
The advocacy aspect, he said, would focus on influencing national and international policies, laws and programmes that protect children and also push for law enforcement.
Rt Rev Torto, commended the US for his bold step to lend the support of his office and country to the laudable initiative, and called on other stakeholders to join hands in fighting the crime.
Mr Robert Jackson, US Ambassador said his country has signed a five- million dollar Child Protection Compact Agreement with Ghana to combat child trafficking.
He said his government also supported Ghana with GH₵ 32 million to get children out of cocoa and mining sectors, and expressed commitment to assist in eradicating the crime.
He recounted the role United States religious leaders and groups played in the abolishing of slavery some 300 years ago, adding: 'Everybody has a role to play, every church has a role to in the fight against human trafficking.'
Mr Jackson, therefore, urged the public to report perpetrators of the crime to the Police or Church Leaders for appropriate action to be taken.
Mrs Victoria Natsu, Acting Executive Secretary, Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Secretariat, said the recently passed Human Trafficking Regulation (LI 2219) s spells out the various penalties for trafficking in persons.
She said if convicted for child trafficking or aiding the perpetration of the crime, parents or guardians would be imprisoned for a period not less than 2,500 penalty units and not more than 5,000 penalty units or to both.
Mr Natsu said though it is the State that has the ultimate responsibility for the protection and welfare of children, families, communities, chiefs and the church must all be a part of the agenda of protecting the rights of children.
She, therefore, commended the Anglican Diocese of Accra for the bold initiative.
Oblempong Nii Kojo Ababio V, Paramount Chief of Ngleshie Alata, James Town, in a speech read on his behalf called on metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and security agencies to clamp down on perpetrators and punish them severely to serve as deterrent to others.
On the forthcoming elections, he said the country is once again confronted to elect a leader to govern the country and appealed for peace before, during and after the elections to further deepen the country's democracy.
'I appealed to the citizens to ensure that peace characterise this year's elections,' he said and commended the Anglican Church for the project.
GNA
By Patience A. Gbeze, Accra