PARENTS URGED TO TAKE PROPER CARE OF CHILDREN (PAGE 20)

THE future of every nation depends largely on the proper upbringing of and care for its younger generation, majority of whom are less privileged and therefore vulnerable.
Indeed, it is not enough to just give birth to an innocent child, if you are not in the position to take proper care of the basic needs of the child such as food, clothing, health and education.
It is as a result of concerns for such susceptible children that a development consultant, Mrs Sylvia Hinson-Ekong, has entreated parents to be more responsible towards the upbringing of their wards in order that the children do not waste away to become liabilities to society.
She described as most unfortunate the tendency of some parents to shirk their responsibilities in the proper upbringing of their children and observed that such irresponsible behaviours also accounted for the increasing child labour and abuse in the country.
Mrs Hinson-Ekong further observed that the growing practice of nurturing, particularly that of inter-family fostering of children in some communities in the country, was being abused.
“The protection of a child by the parents is first and foremost; a child can only be fostered when the parent is abusive, mentally unbalanced or deceased, among other reasons,” she further explained.
Mrs Hinson-Ekong, therefore, reminded the people that the law on the protection of children still existed for which reason those who went contrary to it could be prosecuted.
The consultant was speaking at a three-day capacity building programme for stakeholders on child labour, prevention and integration in Tamale. The participants included trustees, management and field staff of the Regional Advisory, Information and Network Systems (RAINS), a Tamale-based non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The programme formed part of the “Next Generation” project of RAINS that aims at combating child trafficking with particular focus on fostering and inter-family fostering practices in the country.
The project is being implemented in the Savelugu/Nanton and West Mamprusi districts in the Northern Region.
In most communities in the region young girls under 10 years of age are sent to their aunties or other family members for grooming instead of being sent to schools.
In some cases, the girls are maltreated and molested, forcing them to flee home to southern Ghana to engage in menial jobs to earn income to buy their personal effects and also acquire vocational skills.
The Programme Manager of RAINS, Mr Alhassan Musah, explained that his outfit was now shifting its focus into building the capacity of stakeholders to support in stemming the tide.