The name Yen Daakye is an Akan phrase which translates literally as “Our Future.” It was chosen to stress the need and urgency to change current practices if we want a future for children .
The Movement was 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 used participatory methods to engage various stakeholders in community (leaders, men, women, youth, children, and teachers). The dialogue and sensitisation processes, provided community members with information on the rights of the child, child trafficking and related laws and international conventions. Parents and the communities have changed their attitude to children and are now beginning to advocate for the rights of their children at the community level and at district level.
Based on the outcome, all the partners of the project came to the conclusion that to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and eventually child labour in totality, requires a national 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 YDM to champion these resolutions nationally and advocate for the development of children in Ghana.
