coastal communities in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District of the Central
Region, have been cautioned of dire consequences when trapped by the
law.
Mr. Solomon Kwashie Abam-Quaye, District Chief Executive for
the area who gave the warning at Senya Beraku said such people would
not be given the option of a fine when they appear before the law
court on child trafficking offences.
He said that reports reaching his office indicated that certain
recalcitrant wicked people in coastal towns and villages in the
district were still bent on influencing parents faced with abject
poverty with a few hundreds of thousands of Cedis to give the children
out for strenuous labour work alongside the Volta Lake.
Mr. Abbam-Quaye was addressing a ceremony organized by
officials of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya district secretariat of the Centre
for Rural Enterprise Development (CRED) to distribute free school
uniforms, shoes and bags to over 40 children in Senya township who
were rescued from indirect slavery conditions at Yeji and surrounding
fishing communities by the Government.
He recalled the bad name the illicit child trafficking business
had carved for the district in recent years, and said effective
measures had been put in place to deal with criminals who, in spite of
the tireless efforts by the government to redeem victims of child
traffickers, were determined to undermine such moves.
Mr. Abbam-Quaye expressed appreciation to directors of the
Centre for Rural Enterprise Development for the immense contributions
they were making to sustain the interest of the rescued children in
education in order to build them to become useful to the society in
future.
He charged parents and guardians of the beneficiary children to
seriously supplement the efforts of CRED by taking advantage of the
free uniforms to encourage their kids to attend school regularly.
Mr. Abbam-Quaye cited himself as an example, saying that even
though he was born in a small community in the Awutu Traditional Area,
because his parents attached great importance to his education he has
been blessed with the appointment as a District Chief Executive.
He stressed the need for parents not to allow poverty to
undermine the future of their children because it is possible that
some of these children might grow to become ministers of state,
doctors, educators, engineers scientists and powerful administrators
and judges to handle the affairs of the country in future.
Mr. Abam-Quaye assured CRED officials in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya
District of his administration's continued support and co-operation to
enhance their work.
Mr. A. S. Nkrumah, Project Officer of CRED in-charge of the
district, had earlier outlined the aims and objectives of the
organization and strongly advised parents of children who benefited
from the gifts to make sure that their wards remained in school.
That is the best reciprocal gesture directors of CRED expects
from the parents of the beneficiary children, adding that this way,
they would be offering CRED the much needed inspirations to extend
more benefits to children in other deprived communities in the
country.
According to Mr. Nkrumah since the project started more than 70
children had been given school uniforms, shoes, bags, while others
were being trained to acquire knowledge in various vocations to make
them self-reliant in future.
07 June 07
