By Malek Appiah Affum
Child Rights International (CRI), in partnership with Mondelez International Cocoa Life, organized a three-day capacity-building workshop for members of the Community Child Protection Committee (CCPC) in the Sekyere East District.
The purpose of the workshop was to equip the members on issues pertaining to child protection as part of interventions to combat child labour. CCPCs in the various communities advocate for the protection of children, respond effectively to issues concerning child labour and make referrals to the appropriate quarters when issues are beyond their authority.
The membership of the CCPC consists of a representative from the Chief/ Queen mother or community leader, a member from the unit committee, the assembly member, a representative from the Christian council and Muslim council, two volunteers from the community and a Child representative.
The training started on Wednesday, July 7 and ended on Friday, July 9, 2021. The facilitators from CRI were Mrs. Elizabeth Assimeng-Kwakye, Head of Training/Capacity Building and Malek A. Affum, Media Manager. They had enough time to explain and answer questions relating to child protection in the local language to help participants have a better understanding of the issues.
The training covered topics such as; Who a child is, legal frameworks for child protection (UNCRC, the 1992 Constitution, The Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), the four principles of the UNCRC, child abuse, types of child abuse, consequences of abuse, avoiding abuse as well as how and where to refer child abuse cases. Participants were also educated on how to effectively organize meetings, the relevance of the record and minute books provided and how to develop effective action plans for their activities.
During the training, participants contributed in diverse ways by sharing their childhood experiences that impacted their lives negatively and positively. They also discussed their role in the community, not only in taking on child protection cases, but in navigating and addressing some of the deeply rooted traditional norms and values that are intrinsically harmful to children.
CRI’s Field Officer for Sekyere East District, Paul Dwumfuoh, thanked all the participants for turning up in their numbers and urged them to implement all they have learnt during the training.
CCPCs have been established and trained in all 25 communities under the Cocoa Life Project in Sekyere East District, with a total of 197 members, made up of 135 males and 62 females.