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Citi FM 97.3 will be airing a radio documentary on corporal punishment and why children are not attending public school on Tuesday the 29th of November at 9:15 AM. If you are able to please tune in and contribute to this important discussion.
Citi FM attended the Yen Daakye Movement protest march held in James Town when 100 children marched on Sunday 20th November 2011 to Celebrate UN's Universal Children's Day. The radio station covered the story in their news but also decided they wanted to explore this issue in more detail and have undertaken a documentary.
Please tune in!
100 children marched through James Town Sunday 20th November 2011 to Celebrate UN's Universal Children's Day, and help draw attention to the reasons why children are dropping out of public schools.
On a day set aside to mark the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations, the Yen Daakye Movement wanted to draw the nation's attention to the excessive levels of corporal punishment and the challenges within Ghana’s public education system.
It is 11 years since Ghana ratified the UN Convention but the rights of many children are being abused even when they are supposed to be in a safe learning environment. Through the march the children wanted to ask the local community, the state and civil society to come together and stand up for the Ghanaian child.
The issues the children themselves chose to write on their banners in both English and Ga included:
- Stop hitting us (nyƐ kpaa wƆ yii)
- Stop beating us
- Stop collecting our money (nyƐ kpaa wƆ shika hem)
- Stop bullying us (nyƐ kpaa wƆ esha feemƆ)
- Stop cheating us
- Stop insulting our parents
- Stop beating us with electric cable
The children have some very valuable and alarming experiences to share. Citi FM radio station came and supported the day and interviewed the children and reported the event in the 6 am, 10 am and 11 am news.
The radio station is currently in the process of preparing a documentary to be aired later this month to explore in more detail why children are dropping out of school. We will update you as to when this will be aired. 
They intend to have a phone-in discussion so we would welcome your involvement!
Viasat 1 TV station came down to directly interview the children. Whilst protecting the individual child's identity they also showed some of their physical scars from the excessive caning. The children's stories made the main national news on Sunday evening.
Please help us to keep the momentum moving. Share with us success stories of schools where different forms of discipline are being effectively used. We need to all learn together about how to change our behaviours.
Please read the pre march Press Release.
Yen Daakye Movement, an effort by people from different backgrounds who heartily advocate for the interests of children in Ghana is standing up to celebrate the Ghanaian child on Universal Children’s Day. United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the Twenty (20th) of November, 1989. Issues concerning Ghanaian children appear to be uncountable, even though we have laws such as the Children’s Act 560(1989) which is supposed to be protecting them. Today we as a group would like to focus on basic education specifically looking at corporal punishment and its effect on schooling.
Currently, public basic schools in the country are not conducive for our children’s total development. Most public basic schools lack facilities for effective teaching and learning. Parents would rather take their children to the private basic schools. Our public basic schools are overcrowded putting pressure on our teachers who have resorted to excessive and unreasonable corporal punishment of our children. This is one of the reasons public basic schools have become unattractive to our children.
On a day set aside to mark the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the child (CRC), the Yen Daakye Movement would like to focus on excessive corporal punishment meted out to children which has accounted for an increase in school dropout and attendance resulting in poor academic performance.
According to a Ministry of Women and Children Affairs/UNICEF(2011) report on the situation of Ghanaian children and women, one of the reasons why children drop out of school is pervasive and severe corporal punishment in schools (MOWAC/UNICEF 2011).
In Ghana, our culture allows for children to be beaten and not allowed to explain themselves. 
A traditional saying, borrowed from the Bible that says, "Spare the rod and spoil the child” encourages parents and teachers to adopt corporal punishment, especially caning of children. This is literally scaring our children for life. Let us ask ourselves if we are actually reforming our children by constantly beating them when they go wrong? Aren’t there better and more effective ways of correcting them?
Our objective today is to draw our society’s attention to the effects of corporal punishment on children’s education. Currently, evidence gathered indicates that, the practice still persists in homes and schools all over the country. This is contributing to absenteeism; high drop-out rate of school children and poor academic performance, amongst many other effects. Some children we spoke to, during our investigations have dropped out of school because teachers cane them daily. Children have resolved to stay home rather than undergo such abuse.
We wish to draw the attention of communities, religious institutions and the government to these issues and find out if they would look on for our dear children to undergo such brutalities in the name of punishment with the hope of reformation. Are children being reformed or have they rather become hardened by these brutalities? What role are we playing to ensure that our children, vulnerable as they are, are protected and can attend school without the fear of being physically or verbally abused?
We as parents, teachers and society in general need a new approach on how to engage children and get them corrected. We need to talk and explain things to children and to be friendly to them. We need to close the wide gap that currently exists between children and adults. Let us get close to them and engage with them as human beings. Christ our savour, who we believe in, called us in Matthew 19; 14 to “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belong to such as these”. We need to stand up and speak for children collectively as they are vulnerable. We in the Yen Daakye Movement have decided to dedicate our time to this cause and are calling on all to join us. We will be leaving forms with the church to encourage you to sign up and join the Movement.
Why have we selected this community? It is because in James Town the JayNii Streetwise Foundation are doing great work for children in this community. There are parents in our societies who simply cannot take care of their children. Who should provide for these children? We all as a country, represented by the State. However, we as a church and the community at large need to take some responsibility for what goes on in our community.
Our objective as we commemorate this day is to visit churches and call on parents to relook at corporal punishment. We all need to find new ways of engaging our children in correcting them. This Sunday is a day for us to stop and listen to the children. They have some very valuable (if not alarming) experiences of corporal punishment to share. Collectively we need to stand up against corporal punishment in our schools and homes. We need to find ways to change our culture; by changing our attitudes and behaviours towards children. We must stand up and break the cycle of poor academic performance in our public basic schools!
We need to cultivate the habit of taking interest in what is happening in schools in our communities especially the public basic school. Teachers need our support to train our dear children.
We all need to stand up and support children especially needy ones in our communities and also engage with teachers.
If you have the passion and want to speak for children, come join us by registering to be a member of the Movement and join today’s march after church. We will be meeting at the James Town Lighthouse at 12.30 pm.
Let us all stand up and advocate for a better future for our children, it is their right. They are the future for our country.
See you at the lighthouse!
Children’s March: Stand up for the Ghanaian Child
Organised by: Yen Daakye Movement
Date: Sunday 20th November 2011 @ 12.30
Venue: James Town Lighthouse
Children are marching! The Yen Daakye Movement are mobilizing this Sunday at the James Town Lighthouse to Celebrate UN's Universal Children's Day and help draw attention to the quality of Ghana's public education.
On a day set aside to mark the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations, the Yen Daakye Movement would like to focus on corporal punishment and Ghana’s public education system. It is 11 years since Ghana signed the UN Convention but the rights of many children are being abused whilst both the state and civil society look on.
This Sunday is a day for us to stop and listen to the children. They have some very valuable (if not alarming) experiences to share. We need to find ways to change our culture; by changing our attitudes and behaviours towards children. We must stand up and break the cycle of poor academic performance in our public schools.
Please read the Press Release
Source: ILO 2011: Yen Daakye (YDK) Most Significant Change Stories
The ILO estimates that some 215 million children are trapped in child labour. In Ghana, about 3million children are estimated to be involved in hazardous work. Many of these children work long hours, often in dangerous conditions. More than half of child labourers worldwide-an estimated 115 million--are involved in forms of employment that are likely to harm their health, safety or morals.
A decade ago, Comfort Nuamah, a grade three (3) pupil of Wuruyie Primary School in the Adansi South District of Ashanti Region in Ghana, went to support her parents on their farm but did not return; on her way to the farm, she was attacked and bitten by a cobra. After several attempts by traditional healers, her mother insisted that she should be taken to the hospital but unfortunately Comfort died on the way. "On that day, the whole community was thrown
into pain and sorrow because Comfort was such a promising child who respected and honoured everybody especially the aged”.
Sumaila is a dark and lanky fourteen-year-old from Dakeo, in the Upper East Region who lost both parents at a very tender age. Sumaila had no choice but to start working in the market after school and during weekends, carrying head-loads and doing other piecework from which he bought himself a new uniform and some basic school supplies. Soon afterwards, the household that was looking after him stopped feeding him, presuming that he could now earn an income. Increasingly, he would leave for school without breakfast. Hungry and weak after school, he would head for the market to carry loads for a tip. After a year or so, he finally gave up on his schooling to work full timeand now lives on the street. He earns just enough for his immediate needs - between GHc2 and Ghc5 a day, he is saddened when he sees his former school mates, because he knows they have a bright future ahead. Sumaila observes: "Some of the older porters in the market can not longer carry loads and have become dependent on the benevolence of others. That means I may find myself in that situation in future if I do not return to school . But the question is who will support me in school?
There are countless numbers of such stories all over the world of children losing their lives, being deformed or suffering other health casualties because of their involvement and engagement in hazardous labour activities.
On the commemoration of World Day against child labour the YDK Movement- a not for profit non-governmental social organisation committed to fighting for the rights of children, drawing attention to the need to prioritise children’s needs shares the story of Comfort.
YDK Movement is committed to working with the ILO, and other institutions in and out of Ghana to reduce the number of children who are trapped working in hazardous labour
You can join, support the YDK Movement by sending an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Also visit the YDK website to find out more about the movement at www.yendaakye.org
Emefa Gavor: YDK MOVEMENT Coordinator
Contact: 0289 554 360
On this day, April 12, as the world commemorates International Day for Street Children.The Yen Daakye Movement calls on the Government of Ghana, civil society organisations, individuals and stakeholders concerned about children to work together. And support in the quest to take children off the streets. They are our future leaders.
The Yen Daakye(literally translated as “our future” in Akan-Twi) Movement- an effort by people who heartily advocate for the interests of children which go further to bring about social change on how children are viewed in Ghana for a better future.
The YDK movement supports the theme for this year’s observance- LOUDER TOGETHER, and finds it appropriate as we make the call to join forces today to give voice to the millions of street children around the world whose rights are ignored.
A ‘headcount’ of street children and young mothers in the different parts of Accra, carried out between June and August 2009, categorises 21,140 as street children; 6,000 street babies; 7,170 street ‘mothers’ under the age of 20; 14,050 urban poor children most likely at high risk of coming to the street-(Street Children Statistics, Consortium for street children).
Also, the Yen Daakye Movement calls on Government to increase efforts in providing education, shelter and protection from abuse of the street child. A child on the street has equal rights as any other child. A right to life, protection from abuse, education, nutrition and provided with health care.
The YDK Movement pledges its support to Causes that seek to recognise and place emphasis on the development of children by prioritising their needs. Together we will be louder and we will make greater impact.
if you are an NGO / civil society organization ... Organize a debate, hold discussions with a local radio station or with a local school ... print up posters and T-shirts and hand them out in the streets ... get people involved and, best of all, get people talking about child abuse in our society!
if you are an individual ... write a letter to your local newspaper, ask your local town hall to put up notices telling people about child protection and abuse, or ask them to put more information on their websites on the state of children ... write to your local council or to your member of parliament and ask them what they are doing to promote child rights and protection of abused children!
if you are a teacher or pupil ... have a discussion in class about child rights and the need for the state to protect abused children ... think of some requests you can file with your local authority or with a government body such as the Ministry of Education ... find a local issue that you would like to know more about such as reports of children abused in the media and the state of national shelter for abused children in your country!
If you are a journalist ... write an article about the prevention of child abuse with some statistics. Discuss the issue of child abuse and protection on one of your radio or TV programme!
if you are an Information Commissioner ... join in the publicity for the day by holding an event or issuing a press release on child abuse, hold a competition that will encourage abused children to contribute ... publicize examples of information on children who have been victims of abuse in Ghana... send a memo to government departments reminding them that 19th November is the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse and emphasizing the need to protect vulnerable children.
if you are a public servant or elected member of government ... ask yourself what are you doing to help protect children in general ... find out what the department you work in is doing to support abused children ... think about how you provide some protection for abused children in the society. ... Put out some more information on your website on what you are doing to protect children.
if you are still not sure what to do ... take a look at the Yen Daakye Movement website (www.yendaakye.org) for more information about what the members are doing and what you can do ... we can also put you in touch with the local organization in your country working to protect children ... and please, send us your reports and press cutting so that we can make our World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse as successful as possible this year! Thank you.
In this day, April 12, as the world commemorates International Day for Street Children, The Yen Daakye (literally translated as “our future” in Akan-Twi) Movement- an effort by people who heartily advocate for the interests of children and bring about social change on how children are viewed in Ghana for a better future, calls on the Government of Ghana, civil society organisations, individuals and stakeholders concerned about children to work together and support in the quest to take children off the streets. They are our future leaders.
The YDK movement supports the theme for this year’s observance- LOUDER TOGETHER, and finds it appropriate as we make the call to join forces today to give voice to the millions of street children around the world whose rights are ignored.
A ‘headcount’ of street children and young mothers in the different parts of Accra, carried out between June and August 2009, categorises 21,140 as street children; 6,000 street babies; 7,170 street ‘mothers’ under the age of 20; 14,050 urban poor children most likely at high risk of coming to the street-(Street Children Statistics, Consortium for street children).
Research conducted by the Department of Social Welfare Indicates that there are 33,000 children living on the streets in the country.According to the research, 75% percent of all street children live in Accra and Kumasi, with 71% percent of them being illiterate.The Country Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dr. Iyabode Olusanmi, made the revelation at this year’s celebration of the International Day of the African Child in Accra yesterday.The celebration was on the theme, “All Together for Urgent Action in Favour of Street Children”.(Source: Daily Graphic, friday, June 17, 2011).
Also, the Yen Daakye Movement calls on Government to increase efforts in providing education, shelter and protection from abuse of the street child. A child on the street has equal rights as any other child. A right to life, protection from abuse, education, nutrition and provided with health care.
The YDK Movement pledges its support to Causes that seek to recognise and place emphasis on the development of children by prioritising their needs. Together we will be louder and we will make greater impact.
Emefa Gavor
YDK MOVEMENT Coordinator
Contact: 0289 554 360
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
A civil society organization aimed at contributing to the elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labor (WFCL) in the country has been inaugurated, Known as ‘Yen Daakye Movement’, the organization is a community-based movement that works in collaboration with Participatory Development Associates Limited (PDA), a non-governmental organization. It is funded by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and aims at eliminating child labour in cocoa producing communities.
The first edition of the organisation’s report, which was launched during the inaugural ceremony, gives an account of some projects it had to undertaken by ensuring the safety of children in very deprived coca growing communities.
Dubbed ‘Securing the Future of our Children, Getting on Track with Basics in Education’, the 16-page report highlights on programmes undertaken by the organisation, its aims and achievements, and some testimonies from beneficiaries.
Addressing the ceremony in Accra, a Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences at the University of Ghana, Rev. Samuel Asuming-Brimpong indicated that issue of child labour in cocoa cultivation, had been a common problem in all nations, especially developing one which needed great interventions.
He said the problem which was identified in the early part of the 19th century has received much attention from stakeholders in the country, but remained a disturbing factor in the development of children.
He stated that although the development of children required some training to enable them acquire skills for their future, there was the need for the education and sensitization of parents and guardians to their interpretation of the difference between child work and child labour.
He defined child work as activities that enable children to acquire necessary skills for their future without interfering with their development, education and health, while child labour constituted activities that deprived children of their development, education and expose them to health hazards
Rev. Samuel Asuming-Brimpong emphasised that apart from hazardous tasks giving to children that posed a threat to their development, activities such as house chores and light work on farms were considered normal and healthy to the proper upbringing of children adding that “traditionally family farms and enterprises are seen as part of the process by which children are trained towards adulthood”.
In her address, the director and founder of Rescue Foundation Ghana, Madam Silvia Hinson-Ekong, spoke about problems confronting children in schools in cocoa growing communities and mention lack of motivation of children and teachers, lack of proper school infrastructure, lack of trained teachers, lack of access to District Scholarship, and inadequate learning and teaching materials as some of the factors that influence child labour practice in the country.
Giving a brief on the project, the project Co-ordinator, Mr, Joshua Roland Baidoo, said the project which started in 2004, employed community -based approach to enable cocoa farmers, their families and communities to make necessary changes in their labour practices as well as help them understand child development and educational needs.
The Director of PDA Mr. Tony Dogbe, who launched the organisation and it report, called on all to join in the fight against child labour and appealed to government to consider the child of cocoa farmer in rural communities since they (cocoa farmers) produced large income of the economy of the country.
Source: Daily Graphic, Tuesday, June 15,2010
The Yen Daakye Movement, a civil society organisation which seeks to support community driven initiatives for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and forced labour in the growing and marketing of cocoa in Ghana has made significant achievements in eliminating child labour.
Under its pilot phase, the movement reached out to 17,521 persons in three districts. They are Adansi South, 7,221 persons; Mpohor Wassa East District, 2,873 persons and the Wassa Amenfi West District, 7,427 persons. The project sought to work with the entire community in the 24 communities in the three districts from. Thus dialogue and sensitisation on child labour and related concepts and the formulation and validation of community action plans were done as community wide activities. The programme is presently being implemented in 158 communities in 7 districts.
Following the initiative, today communities have owned up to the existence of worse form of child labour, forced labour and abuses of the rights of the child, they have identified the causes of worse form of child labour and forced labour and taken practical measures to address them and made changes in labour and social practices that are unfavourable to the child.
Also in 21 communities, children are no longer directly involved in spraying of cocoa. They fetch water for spraying the day before it takes place. Nineteen communities have taken measures to reduce the load children carry, eight communities have taken measures including adopting bye-laws against children clearing land and felling trees.
In 24 communities, there are parents and guardians who have started providing protective clothing for children when they accompany them to the farms. Twenty-one communities have taken measures to see to the proper disposal of pesticide containers used for cocoa spraying and also for adults to wash spraying machines after use, among other things.
The organisation carries out its activities through a child-centred development approach, causing change in attitudes from adult-centred development to child-centred development -development that places premium on children and seeks to safeguard their future. It also seeks to change top-down solutions and actions, to community-driven solutions and actions.
The name Yen Daakye is an Akan phrase mean which translates literally as “Our Future.” It was chosen to stress the need and urgency to change their current labour practices if they wanted a future for their children and livelihoods.
The Movement is borne out of the Yen Daakye project, which is of community driven initiatives for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour sponsored by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI). The initiative was necessitated by international threats to boycott the purchase of cocoa from West Africa if action was not taken to eliminate worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector.
The project started with a pilot phase in three districts- two in the Western Region and one in Ashanti Region, with a total of 24 communities. In the communities, local implementing partners were responsible for supporting communities implement their action plans. The three implementing partners were Hope for Humanity (HFH) in New Edubiase, Community Development Consult (Codesult) in Asankrangwa, and SCMPP in Daboase.
Participatory Development Associates (PDA), as the local co-ordinating agency (LCA) helped to design, inform, co-ordinate, and monitor the implementation by the implementing partners. PDA also implemented the programme directly in six communities in Asankrangwa.
Training and technical backstopping, on worst forms of child labour and its related concepts was provided by Rescue Foundation. The pilot phase lasted a period of 25 months from November 2004 to December 2006.
The successful implementation of the pilot phase culminated in the project being scaled up in February 2007 with new implementing partners undergoing training. These are: Global Responses Initiative (GLORI) in Wasa Amenfi West District of the Western Region Help Advance Community Opportunities Goals (HACOG) in Mpohor Wassa East, Safe Life for All Foundation (SLF) in Adansi South, PROMAG in Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region, Rural Environmental Care Association (RECA) in Wasa Amenfi East (Wassa Akropong) - Western Region and Oasis Foundation in the Assin North District (Assin Fosu) - Central Region.
Based on this analysis, the International Cocoa Initiative /Participatory Development Associate approach in the pilot and in the scale-up phase engaged various stakeholders in the community (leaders, men, women, youth, children, teachers) in dialogue and sensitisation processes, which provided them with information on the rights of the child, child trafficking and related laws and international conventions.
More importantly, the process enabled community members to reflect on the vulnerability of the child, analyse the risks and hazards to which they put their children.
Invariably, they come to their own conclusions as to what actions to take to end the worst forms of child labour. Community actions to end Worst Form of Child Labour were captured as Community Action Plans (CAPs). CAPs include decisions taken by the community to improve child welfare and maintenance at both the household and community level, as well as improving on education, health and nutrition of children. Decisions make provision for or the improvement of school infrastructure or the environment.
The communities used their CAPs to mobilise resources from within and outside their communities, notable are district authorities. Communities review their CAPs and draw new ones, based on their ten-year vision of what they would like to see their children become. Most communities have implemented nearly 80 per cent of their plans.
Based on this outcome, all the partners of the pilot phase came to the conclusion that to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and eventually child labour in totality, requires attitudinal change, change from adult-centred development to child-centred development, from top-down solutions and actions, to community-driven solutions and actions. This resolve led to the formation of the YDK Movement to champion these resolutions and also advocate for the development of children in rural communities
Author: Frederick Asiamah (Public AGENDA Friday Edition, June 11,2010)
In 2000 and 2001, media reports drew attention to the occurrence of Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) in cocoa production in West Africa, resulting in threats of a consumer boycott of cocoa and its derivative products if action was not taken to eliminate WFCL in the cocoa sector. Responding, Ghana commenced several efforts towards eliminating WFCL by 2011.
Worldwide, tomorrow June 12 would be observed as World Day against Child Labour, presenting opportunity for the country to evaluate efforts towards eliminating all forms of child labour, especially in cocoa.
In 2003, a child labour survey estimated that there were 6.3 million Ghanaian children between the ages of 5 and 17. It was also estimated that almost two out of every three working children were engaged in agriculture, including forestry and fishing. It was also established that a good number of working children were engaged in cocoa production, assisting their parents in the production of the precious crop.
After the 2000/2001 consumer threat to boycott cocoa and its derivatives from West Africa, the Harken-Engel protocol, an agreement by key stakeholders in the cocoa industry, was signed to ensure that "Cocoa beans and their derivative products are grown and processed in a manner that complies with International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour."
Of course, Ghana was one of the parties to the Harken-Engel protocol for two important reasons: first, Ghana was among the first countries to ratify the ILO Convention 182 and second, Ghana which was then the third largest producer of cocoa was determined to restore the integrity of its cocoa sector.
Following the Harken-Engel, a number of interventions were rolled out - both by public institutions and private ones, as well as, by public-private partnerships. I recall the National Programme for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC) which was run at the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare. The NPECLC's goal was to eliminate WFCL in cocoa by 2011.
WFCL embraces practices like slavery, compulsory labour, bondage, prostitution, and pornography. Also included in WFCL is work that is hazardous or harmful or interferes with a child's education.
However, there is dispute over what actually constitutes hazardous work. So, the NPECLC has developed a Hazardous Child Labour Activity Framework (HAF). The HAF categorizes activities such as spraying insecticides; applying fungicides and herbicides; working on farm for too long; peg cutting; lining and pegging; felling and chopping trees; and using cutlass for weeding as hazardous.
It is on record that WFCL impact negatively on the education of children in cocoa growing areas. This interference is either by denying children even minimal access to education through farm site engagements, or by allowing them only a few contact hours with the teacher but preventing them from doing home work and instead using them for farm activities.
A project called 'Yen Daakye' (our future) was started in Ghana in 2004 to try finding answers to the puzzle. The Yen Daakye (YDK) project is the International Cocoa Initiative's (ICI) community based project to eliminate WFCL and aims to contribute to the elimination of WFCL in the cocoa sector and enhance the development of children in cocoa-growing communities towards a bright future.
Rolling out YDK
According to project coordinator Joshua Roland Baidoo, the project started as a pilot in 24 communities in 2004/2005 and was scaled up in 2007. It is currently being implemented in 158 communities in seven districts of three regions, namely Wassa Amenfi West, Mpohor Wassa East, Sefwi Wiawso, Sefwi Akontombra, Wassa Amenfi East (all in the Western Region), Adansi South (Ashanti Region) and Assin North (Central Region).
The community activities are being facilitated by eight non-governmental organizations with technical support from the Participatory Development Associates (PDA), a development consultancy organization. The implementers wanted community ownership of the YDK project and therefore adopted strategies to explain to the cocoa farmers what constituted child labour and its forms; the impacts of child labour on children; and available mitigation and resolution strategies for addressing the menace. The project tested several approaches; some of which have paid off.
YDK's successes
Schools in Ghana are often said to belong to the government. Thus, no matter the obstacles these schools may be confronted with, most communities would wait upon government intervention, albeit to the detriment of their children. The YDK came face-to-face with such a problem at Odumase in the Adansi South District where the Odumase DA Junior High School could not boast of even a single trained teacher.
Consequently, the school always recorded zero percent pass rate in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The project, however, successfully sold the idea of engaging a few of the community's senior high graduates to teach in the school as volunteers.
"For the first time we had a very good result last year; we had six (6) students currently in the Senior High Schools. Previously, it used to be zero percent (0%) pass rate but improvement began in 2006 and in 2008, it was 100%, says Mr. Stephen Owusu, Assistant Headmaster of the school.
A second challenge the YDK project exploited was that of the constant engagement of children of school going age in farming activities during school hours, especially in cocoa-growing communities. This occurs mainly because many of such communities lack educational facilities and so young children often have to trek distances to attend school in other communities.
Again, YDK's implementers successfully convinced community leaders to give up land and other resources for the development of school infrastructure. These were complemented with letters requesting the approval of such developments by district education offices and subsequent posting of teachers to these schools.
One of the beneficiary communities is Sika Nti, a farming community in the Wassa Amenfi West District, where a primary school infrastructure has been built from this inspiration. "We are very proud and happy to have built our own school.
Now most children in the community are in school and parents now feel the need to send their children to school," Enock Amissah, a unit committee member said.
There is still another success story: it is the story about the YDK Farmer Field School (FFS). This initiative arose from the acute indebtedness of many farmers in the project areas. It was found out that most farmers took high interest loans for the upkeep of their households, farms and in some cases to finance their children's education.
The FFS involved the formation of 20-25 member cocoa farmer groups from communities to meet regularly through the cropping cycle. Guided by a facilitator, the famers discussed and experimented with new production options in the cultivation of quality cocoa beans. In the end, many farmers achieved higher yields at a lesser cost and have been able to pay back most of their loans.
Commenting on the FFS, 54-year old Madam Mary Adukorang who is owner of a half-acre farm said, "I don't have a big farm, but the best practices are helping me to harvest more cocoa beans than most people who have not been to the training school. These days I get more money and I don't depend so much on loans to pay my children's school fees."
Speaking about the YDK project, former chief executive of the Wassa Amenfi West District, Mr. Albertto Samuel Tekyi, expressed satisfaction about his district's association with the YDK project. He stated, "It is a positive development to see the people taking collective action towards community development and I am happy to see such a commendable effort to bring change to our communities."
