Very Reverend Professor Joseph Manasseh Yarquah Edusa-Eyison, the Vice Principal of the Methodist University College, Ghana has called on Churches to join forces with other stakeholders to liberate the African Child from poverty.
Rev Prof Edusa-Eyison said church leaders must engage members of their congregation to protect the right of children in a move to help children in African and Ghana to exploit their potentials.
He was speaking on the topic: “Accelerating Protection, Empowerment and Equal Opportunities for Children in Ghana – The Role of the Church,” at a symposium organised by Compassion International Ghana in Accra.
The symposium formed part of Compassion International Ghana’s celebration of the International Day of the African Child, which falls on Friday, June 16 to raise awareness of the continuing need for improvement of education provided to African children.
He said certain specific areas of churches’ role in ensuring protection, empowerment and equal opportunities for children in Africa included provision of schools in needy places to bridge the gap of educational inequalities.
Very Rev Prof Edusa-Eyison noted that the challenges confronting the African and Ghanaian child included poverty of families and parents, unequal educational opportunities, child trafficking, child labour and neglect due to over engaged parents at work places.
He indicated that a research conducted revealed that, church leaders must engage their communities in education and problem solving, adding that it also prompted that, “despite expressed desire for collaboration, churches and social service organisations rarely coordinated in the prevention efforts of child abuse”.
Rev Prof Edusa-Eyison said: “Perhaps the greatest amount of challenge to the protection of the African Child and his/her welfare is the lack of political will to undertake clear projects and programmes to facilitate child rights and welfare.
“The case of children’s rights and welfare appear to be spearheaded by civil society organisations, the church and other private child rights activists across the continent,” he added.
According to him in order to achieve the desired for the African child’s right and welfare; there was the need for a strong partnership and collaboration among the various stakeholders, which included traditional rulers, churches and civil society organisations.
He indicated that the church had tried over the years to create safe space and offer priority attention to children as Jesus exemplified in the scriptures.
“Certain specific areas of churches’ role in ensuring protection, empowerment and equal opportunities for children in Ghana include provision of schools in needy places to bridge the gap of unequal educational opportunities”.
Others included churches’ intervention in education of disadvantaged children by offering scholarships, orphanage homes, and street children programmes, he stated.
He said churches’ educational programmes on parental responsibilities and societal responsibility to children had helped in securing the protection, empowerment, and welfare of the African Child.
Rev Prof Edusa-Eyison indicated that the African Union programme for the development of the continent by 2063 has pushed regional theological associations like the West African Association of Theological Institutions to discuss and address the strong role the Church should play to secure moral, ethical as well as corruption free development of the continent.
Such association, he said, could equally advocate the addressing of the challenging cases of child abuse, child trafficking and labour in Africa with the aim of their total eradication or reduction to the barest minimum.
The Day of the African Child is celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when the Organisation of African Unity first initiated it. It sought to honour those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in June 16, 1976.
In Soweto, South Africa, on the said day, about 10,000 black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanded to be taught in their own language.
Hundreds of them were shot and more than a hundred people were killed in the protest of the following two weeks, with more than thousands being injured.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
(Via: Ghana/Accra News)
