The government of Ghana has recently endorsed the International Cocoa Initiative’s comprehensive training and awareness raising materials aimed at the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). With the ratification by the Ivorian authorities a year ago, one of ICI’s core tools now becomes a national standard in both countries.
ICI’s training methodology provides fundamental information about child labour and the need for child protection, while explaining risks and good practices. It contains a trainer’s manual and a set of posters, pictures and illustrated books – and is ready to support community workers, police officers, immigration service officials, information agents and many more in their efforts to protect children in cocoa-growing communities.
Elizabeth Akanbombire, Labour Department (Head of Child Labour Unit), under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) of Ghana states that “the training toolkit allows stakeholders and practitioners deeply versed into the issues to appreciate the full context and extent of discussions on the subject matter. The themes in the picture book make the guide simple for all usage. There are already a few tools in use by practitioners and stakeholders; however, ICI’s toolkit includes current and much needed details which others lack.”
Mrs. Akanbombire encourages all stakeholders particularly practitioners, irrespective of their function on programming or policy-making at national, local or decentralized levels to take advantage of the opportunity presented by ICI and to work together in a collective manner that helps confront the realities and complexities of child labour.
According to the Ghanaian authorities, ICI’s training materials are a key pillar in the provision of technical and methodological support for all involved in the training and awareness raising necessary to combat child labour.