Ashaiman children turn to trading

Many children of school going age in the Ashaiman Municipality have joined the huge army of traders to make a living instead of going to school.

The children mostly aged between 10 and 14 years carry wares on their heads to sell in the markets, lorry parks or hawk in the streets.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), Work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling by depriving them the opportunity to attend school but for some of these children, selling is part of life.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, some of the child hawkers said they sell to support themselves as their parents were unable to provide for their needs.

They indicated that they were willing to go to school just like their peers but their parents and guardians did not have the means.

In an interview with Ghana News Agency on the issue, Mr Albert Baokye Okyere, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, said parents must not shirk their responsibility to cater for their children as doing so could lead to them engaging in activities that would expose them to social vices.

Mr Okyere urged parents who could not afford to educate their children to take advantage of government’s free education to enroll them in schools.

He added that the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development had programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) to cushion poor families to make a living instead of pushing their children into child labour activities.

Source: GNA