Students Want Abandoned Children’s Park Revamped

Some children in the Volta Region have appealed to the Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, to ensure the rehabilitation of their abandoned park.

The Regional Children's Park, located at Anlo Kordzi in Ho, was acquired in 1988 with the purpose of developing it into a multipurpose Recreational Centre for children in the region.

It was also supposed to include, among other things, a library where various learning material would be available to the children to help them improve their cognitive skills.

But the park has since been abandoned, with encroachers taking over the land and refuse being dumped in some sections.

The area has become a haven for hooligans, making the area generally unsafe for children who would normally play at the park.

The situation, the children lamented, is denying them their right to rest and leisure per the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child which Ghana is subscribed to.

Presenting the petition to the Regional Minister during his end-of-year interaction with them, the children outlined the various benefits they would derive from the park if government showed commitment to rehabilitate it.

“….Article 31 of the United Nations Conventions on the Right of the Child states that, every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. By the meaning of this article, we children in the region are losing out on a lot of fun, as we see children do on TV at the Afua Sutherland's Children's Park”

“The existence of the Children's Park in the region will help us partake in adventure programmes which will teach us the importance of trust, appropriate risk-taking, supportive social interaction and personal challenges while creating valuable lifelong memories as well as social interaction through recreation and to break down fear and isolation among others” they stated.

The children also used the opportunity to plead with the Regional Minister to strengthen the various mechanisms ensure that their rights as children are protected and support their growth.

On his part, the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, who was excited to host the children in what he described as an ‘all-important interaction’, pledged government's commitments to improving the lives of children in the region and for that matter Ghana.

He reminded the children of the key role they play in the growth of the country’s human resources and advised them to be responsible citizens.

He assured them that urgent attention would be given to their concerns and to ensure the original plans for the park are realised.