National Partners Forum On The Elimination Of Worst Forms Of Child Labour

(WFCL)VALIDATES FACILITATOR’S MANUAL ON BEST PRACTICES FOR THE ELIMINATION OF WFCL IN THE COCOA SECTOR

Ejisu, Kumasi - March, 2010 – The National Partners Forum for the elimination of worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector of Ghana has validated a Facilitator’s Manual on best practices in remediation at its 10th meeting in Ejisu, near Kumasi. The Manual will serve as a guide to all partners implementing interventions to eliminate worst forms of child labour in all the six cocoa growing regions of Ghana. The manual was conceived, designed and developed as a practitioner document for facilitators involved in the elimination of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) in Ghana and not as a conventional trainer’s manual.

The manual is aimed at providing guidance and support to train community development facilitators and practitioners who are at least fairly skilled in community-based interventions and particularly in remediation and elimination of the worst forms of child labour. It can be used as a reference material to help organise and structure what practitioners working with communities to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are already doing.

The development of the Facilitator’s Manual was initiated and coordinated by the Secretariat of the National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC) as part of efforts to improve the coordination of various interventions to eliminate worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector at the community level. It is the expectation and hope of the NPECLC and indeed all Partners that this Facilitators Manual will go a long way to help streamline intervention processes towards eliminating the worst forms of child labour in the communities – and in the process contribute to the overall development of the children affected, their families and the communities at large.

The process for the development of the manual started at the 8th Partners’ Forum during which partners shared best practices in remediation based on their field intervention experiences. As a result, a consultant was hired to develop the Facilitator’s Manual based on the best practices of the various partners. The 9th Partners Forum was used to review the draft as presented by the consultant. The draft manual was reviewed by partners and their comments were taken into consideration in the final draft for validation.

Speaking at the opening of the 10th Partners Forum, Hon. Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare urged all the implementing partners to put the manual into good use. “Let’s not shelve it, but rather use it as a guide in your interventions efforts for the betterment of children and cocoa growing communities”, Hon. Sekyere stated.

Mr. Vincent Frimpong Manu, Programme Remediation Officer for the NPECLC in his welcome address commended implementing partners for their support which led to the tremendous achievements in 2009. He reminded them of the need to work together in a well coordinated manner in order to achieve more and overcome challenges. “2010 has presented greater opportunities but yet even more challenges. We have the opportunity to consolidate the impact we are making and even achieve more” Mr. Manu stressed.

The NPECLC was set up in August 2006 with the aim to reduce the incidence of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) in cocoa production processes to the barest minimum by 2011, while contributing to the elimination of WFCL from all sectors in the medium to long term.

The programme also forms part of measures being implemented to address threats of boycott of Ghana’s cocoa by the Western countries, and also to enforce the child labour provisions of the Children’s Act (Act 560) and as a follow-up to the ratification of the relevant international conventions, notably the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (No. 182), and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Partners in a group photograph after the opening session.

Contact: Francis Asenso-Boakye Development Communication Specialist MESW - NPECLC Tel: 021-684511 Email: asenso@gmail.com