Regent of Tolon pledges support to end child trafficking

The Regent of Tolon in the Tolon District of the Northern Region, Major Retired Sulemana Abubakari has pledged his support to end child trafficking in the Northern Region. He however cautioned NGOs working in the region to avoid meddling in politics if they want their work to impact society, adding politics has been a threat to development anytime an opportunity offers itself. Major Sulemana made the pledge when the Catholic Reverend Sisters and some civil society groups in partnership with African Faith and Justice Network Ghana advocating against child slavery paid a courtesy call on him at his palace. “Child trafficking is upsetting and politics is a threat to our living. To succeed in this campaign, you have to take government and politicians out of your plans in curbing the situation because anything about them doesn’t yield positive result” he said. Pledging his support to the cause of the coalition, he urged them to collaborate with traditional authorities in the affected areas to curb migration of young girls to the cities to perform duties he termed as slavery. Addressing a gathering of chiefs, women groups and school children in Tolon, the leader of the advocacy group Sister Olivia Umoh said the group has taken the responsibility of addressing menace of streetism, child trafficking and other dehumanizing conditions in the cities. She said the group is concerned with the worrisome conditions which has negative implications for children, their families and cultural values of the nation. “Ghana is the first country to sign the united nations convention on the rights of the child and has also enacted laws such as the Cildren’s Act, Act 560 of 1998 and the domestic violence act to protect children which all constitute bids to protect and safeguard children from abuse, neglect and exploitation,” she said. She recounted an experience with young girls at the Aboabo market in Kumasi who told her they were doing Kayayei for their bridal ceremony which ended up exposing them to danger. She appealed to the communities to advise the children to stop moving to the cities in the name of acquiring wealth because the suffering they go through is immeasurable. The group also visited Kumbungu, Savelugu, as well as the regional minister and the Chief Imam of Tamale Sheikh Abdul Sallam Ahmed to appeal to them to join in the campaign. The coalition has been on a three day advocacy and awareness creation tour of the Northern Region. By Christopher Amoako |3news.com]]>