Mate

Today is the World Day against Child Labour, and the Commission sent a team of representatives to show support for efforts being done to combat the issue. They took me too. When we arrived punctually on Ghana time (1.5 hours late), they were still setting up the room and looking for the speakers among the crowd. 

But there was wonderful entertainment provided by a local choir group so waiting wasn´t too bad at all

The Program was a type of panel discussion with interludes of some children telling their own experiences regarding child labour and others performing short skits regarding the issue and how it manifests itself in the community. The people at the high table were select representatives from stakeholder institutions such as the ILO, Ministry of Women and Children, UNICEF, the CHRAJ, and the Ghanaian Employment Association. The US Embassy also sent a representative who I think was half Ghanaian but had a strong Southern-US Accent. 

The speakers made remarks about the current situation of child labour in Ghana, and laid out the regulations that had been put in place to prevent it. Child labour in Ghana is associated closely with the mining and cocoa industries, but it´s these companies who have devoted the most strength to curbing the issue in recent years. Because of their efforts and collaboration with the other stakeholders, there has been an overall decreasing trend in the number of children who are put to work since the government first started collecting data in 2002. By 2015, the Ghanaian government has vowed to end the worst forms of Child Labour, which include quarrying, child trafficking, and mining, among others. 

The skits were performed by a theatre group called Curious Minds. I think they were my favourite part 

And this girl was my favourite of all:

Another group of children present had participated in a conference discussion for which they were selected through an application process, and in which they discussed the issue of Child Labour and how to tackle the root causes associated with the issue. 

After the program we had some meat pie and went back to the office, from where I took a trotro home after picking up my things. In the trotro, there is always the Master, who is the guy driving the bus, and the Mate, who is the guy that collects the money, shouts out the bus stops, and opens the door to let passengers out of - and on to the bus. Today, the Mate taught me how to do his job, and had me announcing the bus stops as an introductory lesson (collecting the money is Lesson 2). I think he makes a better Mate than I do

Heute war ich bei einem Program gegen Kinderarbeit mit der Commission. Es waren Representanten verschieder Organisationen dort, und es wurde viel gesagt und versprochen. Es waren auch Gruppen von Kindern eingeladen die sich auf das Programm vorbereitet hatten, und zusammen Vorschläge presentierten die die Behörden adoptieren sollten um Kinderarbeit in Ghana zum Ende zu bringen. Es war auch eine Gruppe dort die kurze Theaterstücke vorgespielt haben die Kinderarbeit in Ghana sehr wahr erschienen ließen. 

Letztes Wochenende sind wir in Accra geblieben, und ich hab viel an der Victoria Project Webseite gearbeitet. Ich versuche alles zu ändern damit die Informationene mehr Relevanz tragen und die neuen Bilder und Geschichten dort erscheinen. Ich hoffe ich bin dieses Wochenende fertig. Wir waren auch bei einem Italienischen Restaurant in der Innenstadt Accra - Mamma Mia. Die Anderen die schon länger hier sind haben gesagt dass die Pizza dort so toll sein soll, also haben wir alle Pizza bestellt - und sie hatten recht. Ich hätte ein Bild machen sollen...aber wir hatten alle zu viel Hunger (wir mussten etwas länger warten. Ob das wegen dem Italienischen oder dem Ghanaischen war weiß ich nicht genau ;) Der Mann neben mir ist der eine der mich zu der Slum Gemeine mitgenommen hat. 

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