new migration story(W&C)
Child migration becomes rite of passage
Story: Doreen Allotey
Research has shown that north-south independent migration of children in Ghana has almost become a rite of passage for people in the north.
It has also found that in most cases, parents and relatives are involved in the decision as to whether or not the children should migrate.
The researchers are therefore advocating a programme that targets parents and potential child migrants at the sending areas to sensitise them to the risks involved in the migration of children.
The research was conducted by Dr Stephen O. Kwankye, Professor John K. Anarfi and Mrs Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), who are partners of the Development Research Centre of Migration, Globalisation and Poverty.
Data was collected from a random survey of independent child migrants during the first quarter of 2005 in Accra and Kumasi. In addition, in-depth interviews were held with parents of current migrants, opinion leaders and some of the migrants who had returned to the origin areas in the north.
Some Focus Group Discussions were also organised among potential child migrants and other adults on their views on migration.
The researchers are also suggesting that the district assemblies in the sending regions also devote a proportion of their common fund to sensitise potential child migrants to attain education, at least, up to the senior high school level before they decide to migrate.
This, they said, could pave the way for the migrants to be eligible for relatively decent jobs or have opportunities for further training at the destination areas.
“This way, their vulnerability and, consequently, the risks of migration would be reduced”, they pointed out.
The research has also found that child migrants are exposed to poor accommodation and health risks as they resort to self-medication and over-the-counter drugs in instances of ill health in addition to being exposed to sexual abuse, including rape among the females.
For this situation, the research recommended that the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Aids Commission refocus some special attention on vulnerable child migrants.
The study found that in spite of the problems and risks associated with child migration, some of the children were able to earn some income especially from the informal sector, sent some remittances back home and made some savings.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Dorothy Tackie— Ensuring Cabin safety is her business
Dorothy(women) Edited by LHA
October 17, 2007
Dorothy Tackie —Ensuring cabin safety is her business
Story: Doreen Allotey
One of the new requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is the establishment of a Cabin Safety Section.
In Ghana, Mrs Dorothy Marjorie Tackie, who is an Aviation Safety Inspector at the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, is the first to head the section. To prepare for her new role, she took a Safety Oversight Inspectors Course at the Singapore Aviation Academy in Singapore in addition to the ICAO Endorsed Air Operator Certification Course at the Federal Aviation Authority Academy in Oklahoma , USA to add up to other courses she had already done.
Her job requires that she carries out inspection to ensure the safety of the cabin by making sure that all emergency equipment are available and serviceable. Equipment for providing oxygen, fire fighting, first aid and medical kits as well as equipment for resuscitation.
Mrs Tackie also has to ensure that cabin crew are suitably trained and qualified on both domestic and international flights that land at the Accra International Airport.
In a chat with the Daily Graphic, Mrs Tackie said she was enjoying her new job in spite of the challenges.
“Because it is a new thing, some try to resist inspection but with a little bit of explanation they agree that it is for the good of both passengers and the crew”, she explained.
If a local aircraft does not meet standards, Mrs Tackie writes a letter of correction stating the discrepancies and gives a time limit for the airline to meet the standard. With international flights, she writes to the supervising authority of the airline.
Mrs Tackie was a cabin crew, what used to be called flight attendant, for close to 22 years. As a result, she has travelled the world over but has fond memories of the island of Barbados and South Africa. She also has a working knowledge of French and the diplomacy and patience to deal with the most difficult passenger.
Asked how she chose this profession, Mrs Tackie said “ I followed friends, applied for the job and I got it”. She sees this as part of God’s plans for her life.
When not on the job, Mrs Tackie loves to be with her husband and two children, read or listen to music.
She is concerned that society seems to be paying more attention to outward beauty rather than inner values.
She advises that women educate themselves to the highest level possible saying that women are the primary educators of children and are, therefore, responsible for what children became in society.
Mrs Tackie says she is ready to guide girls who want to chart a career in her field.
October 17, 2007
Dorothy Tackie —Ensuring cabin safety is her business
Story: Doreen Allotey
One of the new requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is the establishment of a Cabin Safety Section.
In Ghana, Mrs Dorothy Marjorie Tackie, who is an Aviation Safety Inspector at the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, is the first to head the section. To prepare for her new role, she took a Safety Oversight Inspectors Course at the Singapore Aviation Academy in Singapore in addition to the ICAO Endorsed Air Operator Certification Course at the Federal Aviation Authority Academy in Oklahoma , USA to add up to other courses she had already done.
Her job requires that she carries out inspection to ensure the safety of the cabin by making sure that all emergency equipment are available and serviceable. Equipment for providing oxygen, fire fighting, first aid and medical kits as well as equipment for resuscitation.
Mrs Tackie also has to ensure that cabin crew are suitably trained and qualified on both domestic and international flights that land at the Accra International Airport.
In a chat with the Daily Graphic, Mrs Tackie said she was enjoying her new job in spite of the challenges.
“Because it is a new thing, some try to resist inspection but with a little bit of explanation they agree that it is for the good of both passengers and the crew”, she explained.
If a local aircraft does not meet standards, Mrs Tackie writes a letter of correction stating the discrepancies and gives a time limit for the airline to meet the standard. With international flights, she writes to the supervising authority of the airline.
Mrs Tackie was a cabin crew, what used to be called flight attendant, for close to 22 years. As a result, she has travelled the world over but has fond memories of the island of Barbados and South Africa. She also has a working knowledge of French and the diplomacy and patience to deal with the most difficult passenger.
Asked how she chose this profession, Mrs Tackie said “ I followed friends, applied for the job and I got it”. She sees this as part of God’s plans for her life.
When not on the job, Mrs Tackie loves to be with her husband and two children, read or listen to music.
She is concerned that society seems to be paying more attention to outward beauty rather than inner values.
She advises that women educate themselves to the highest level possible saying that women are the primary educators of children and are, therefore, responsible for what children became in society.
Mrs Tackie says she is ready to guide girls who want to chart a career in her field.
Adwoa Sakyi— Mobilising women for development
Read by BS
Adwoa Sakyi (W&C)
Women here and there
Adwoa Sakyi— Mobilising women for development
Story: Doreen Allotey
AS a Gender Officer of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) from 1989 to date, Ms Adwoa Sakyi has been involved in mobilising wage earners as well as self-employed women to plan and implement programmes of activities for their own development.
These programmes involve raising of awareness about the problems facing women in agriculture and within the communities in which they are working, educating women on the need to be educated, and the need for them to get involved in the governance and decision-making process of the country.
GAWU is one of the 17 national unions affiliated to the Ghana Trades Union Congress.
Human rights is also of great concern to Ms Sakyi. She plays an active role in implementing the union’s comprehensive project on violence against women, with support from a non-governmental organisation called the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre.
Ms Sakyi has been carrying out programmes that have taken her to communities all over Ghana. She organises forums to educate men and women on such different laws as the Intestate Succession Law, Children’s Act, Marriage Laws and the Wills Act.
She has also found out, in the course of duty, that women often cultivate food crops and not cash crops, and seen this situation as a major setback in improving the finances of women.
The sad part of this situation, she said, was not because women farmers were incapable of farming cash crops, but simply because of their inaccessibility to land and a good capital base.
“The farm lands are mostly owned by men and marriage has several implications for access to land,” she said.
To help address this situation, Ms Sakyi has been collating the concerns of women on this issue and passing them to the new land administration programme of the government.
She has also realised that the low level of education of women prevents them from coming forward boldly to express themselves and even share their brilliant ideas and experiences with others.
“They even find it difficult to access poverty reduction programmes in the form of loans,” she added.
Ms Sakyi is proud that through the efforts of GAWU, Manchie, a farming community of about 700 people near Nsawam, now has a junior high school. The school, she said, started as a bamboo structure, erected by members of the union to provide shelter for a day care centre for the community so as to attract the attention of the Ghana Education Service to provide it with teachers.
“When all the structures were in place, children who were as old as 14 got ready to enrol in the day care to start formal education,” Ms Sakyi said.
Ms Sakyi has also been championing the elimination of child labour in the agricultural sector. She explains that she does this through raising awareness about the effects of the practice by getting farmers themselves to raise the health issues involved with the practice. She says, however, that the reason for the use of children as labourers was the lack of finance and of modern agricultural equipment to facilitate work on the farms.
Ms Sakyi was part of the panel that drafted the Women’s Manifesto, and is currently the president of the agricultural sector within the International Trade Union of Food, Agriculture and Allied Workers.
As a trade unionist, Ms Sakyi intends to contest for the seat of deputy general- secretary of GAWU in it elections scheduled for January next year.
She is not satisfied that the union, which has been in existence since 1959, has had only men at the helm of affairs to date. She, therefore, intends to make a difference.
Adwoa Sakyi (W&C)
Women here and there
Adwoa Sakyi— Mobilising women for development
Story: Doreen Allotey
AS a Gender Officer of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) from 1989 to date, Ms Adwoa Sakyi has been involved in mobilising wage earners as well as self-employed women to plan and implement programmes of activities for their own development.
These programmes involve raising of awareness about the problems facing women in agriculture and within the communities in which they are working, educating women on the need to be educated, and the need for them to get involved in the governance and decision-making process of the country.
GAWU is one of the 17 national unions affiliated to the Ghana Trades Union Congress.
Human rights is also of great concern to Ms Sakyi. She plays an active role in implementing the union’s comprehensive project on violence against women, with support from a non-governmental organisation called the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre.
Ms Sakyi has been carrying out programmes that have taken her to communities all over Ghana. She organises forums to educate men and women on such different laws as the Intestate Succession Law, Children’s Act, Marriage Laws and the Wills Act.
She has also found out, in the course of duty, that women often cultivate food crops and not cash crops, and seen this situation as a major setback in improving the finances of women.
The sad part of this situation, she said, was not because women farmers were incapable of farming cash crops, but simply because of their inaccessibility to land and a good capital base.
“The farm lands are mostly owned by men and marriage has several implications for access to land,” she said.
To help address this situation, Ms Sakyi has been collating the concerns of women on this issue and passing them to the new land administration programme of the government.
She has also realised that the low level of education of women prevents them from coming forward boldly to express themselves and even share their brilliant ideas and experiences with others.
“They even find it difficult to access poverty reduction programmes in the form of loans,” she added.
Ms Sakyi is proud that through the efforts of GAWU, Manchie, a farming community of about 700 people near Nsawam, now has a junior high school. The school, she said, started as a bamboo structure, erected by members of the union to provide shelter for a day care centre for the community so as to attract the attention of the Ghana Education Service to provide it with teachers.
“When all the structures were in place, children who were as old as 14 got ready to enrol in the day care to start formal education,” Ms Sakyi said.
Ms Sakyi has also been championing the elimination of child labour in the agricultural sector. She explains that she does this through raising awareness about the effects of the practice by getting farmers themselves to raise the health issues involved with the practice. She says, however, that the reason for the use of children as labourers was the lack of finance and of modern agricultural equipment to facilitate work on the farms.
Ms Sakyi was part of the panel that drafted the Women’s Manifesto, and is currently the president of the agricultural sector within the International Trade Union of Food, Agriculture and Allied Workers.
As a trade unionist, Ms Sakyi intends to contest for the seat of deputy general- secretary of GAWU in it elections scheduled for January next year.
She is not satisfied that the union, which has been in existence since 1959, has had only men at the helm of affairs to date. She, therefore, intends to make a difference.
Letitia Esi Sam— Driving is her passion
female bus driver ( women and children)
Letitia Esi Sam—Driving is her passion
Pix and Story: Doreen Allotey
When the Border Guards were disbanded in 1985, Ms
Leticia Esi Sam, was one of six females who were to be integrated into the army as drivers. She was fascinated about the whole idea because the uniform had always appealed to her. Her father was a soldier and was happy that one of his six children was to take after him.
But there was one major problem; her mother. She kept telling Ms Sam that she was a girl and that she should choose a job for females. She however remained resolute and reported for training before her mother could know.
Her second obstacle was when her mother learnt that she was to be trained as a driver. She wept. But the girl from Assin Nsuta in the Central Region was determined and went along with the training.
She started with the pinzgauer and progressed to bigger vehicles through to the Leyland bus.
“When I started, it was difficult, but fright was not a word I even thought of” she told the Daily Graphic in a chat .
At the end of it all, she alone survived the training. The other five women she trained with were scared and could not complete the training.
As a border guard training at Kpetoe, Ms Sam found herself working as a nurse at the 37 Military Hospital where doctors had gone on strike in 1979. It was a not too pleasant experience for her . Some of her colleagues stayed and were trained as health professionals after the strike.
Ms Sam stayed in the army for six years . Her fond memories include when she drove journalists into the bush during a military operation known as “exercise teamwork” in 1985.
“The whole of Ghana thought there was a coup but the soldiers were just testing their readiness”, she recounted.
In 1986, Ms Sam applied to work for the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority as a driver. She was employed and has remained in that job for 21 years now. At 53 years, she is a shift supervisor at the transport section. She deals with fuel supplies and submits monthly returns to the transport manager.
Through the years, she plied all routes . She drove every where —in Accra , to the North, South , East and West of the country.
She was given no special concession by the men she worked with. She did night duties and would sleep among the men once she was on duty. She became popularly known among workers as Auntie Esi.
She sees driving as a way of gaining exposure and learning about different cultures. She became the love of workers of the authority especially because she had patience for them and was prepared to drive them anywhere.
“ I just feel happy behind the steer and even as a supervisor now , I just jump behind the wheel in the absence of any driver”, She said.
Auntie Esi said she had a lot of cheers as she drove through town and was even given gifts as she did so.
She did airport pick ups, drove the staff buses — Neoplan bus, Willowbrook, Space car, name it. She drives any vehicle.
At home, Auntie Esi enjoys washing , cleaning and cooking.
She advises women to believe in themselves to do whatever job they loved to do without thinking whether it is for males or females.
“The most important thing is to learn what you want to do very well and you will excel at it”, she said.
Letitia Esi Sam—Driving is her passion
Pix and Story: Doreen Allotey
When the Border Guards were disbanded in 1985, Ms
Leticia Esi Sam, was one of six females who were to be integrated into the army as drivers. She was fascinated about the whole idea because the uniform had always appealed to her. Her father was a soldier and was happy that one of his six children was to take after him.
But there was one major problem; her mother. She kept telling Ms Sam that she was a girl and that she should choose a job for females. She however remained resolute and reported for training before her mother could know.
Her second obstacle was when her mother learnt that she was to be trained as a driver. She wept. But the girl from Assin Nsuta in the Central Region was determined and went along with the training.
She started with the pinzgauer and progressed to bigger vehicles through to the Leyland bus.
“When I started, it was difficult, but fright was not a word I even thought of” she told the Daily Graphic in a chat .
At the end of it all, she alone survived the training. The other five women she trained with were scared and could not complete the training.
As a border guard training at Kpetoe, Ms Sam found herself working as a nurse at the 37 Military Hospital where doctors had gone on strike in 1979. It was a not too pleasant experience for her . Some of her colleagues stayed and were trained as health professionals after the strike.
Ms Sam stayed in the army for six years . Her fond memories include when she drove journalists into the bush during a military operation known as “exercise teamwork” in 1985.
“The whole of Ghana thought there was a coup but the soldiers were just testing their readiness”, she recounted.
In 1986, Ms Sam applied to work for the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority as a driver. She was employed and has remained in that job for 21 years now. At 53 years, she is a shift supervisor at the transport section. She deals with fuel supplies and submits monthly returns to the transport manager.
Through the years, she plied all routes . She drove every where —in Accra , to the North, South , East and West of the country.
She was given no special concession by the men she worked with. She did night duties and would sleep among the men once she was on duty. She became popularly known among workers as Auntie Esi.
She sees driving as a way of gaining exposure and learning about different cultures. She became the love of workers of the authority especially because she had patience for them and was prepared to drive them anywhere.
“ I just feel happy behind the steer and even as a supervisor now , I just jump behind the wheel in the absence of any driver”, She said.
Auntie Esi said she had a lot of cheers as she drove through town and was even given gifts as she did so.
She did airport pick ups, drove the staff buses — Neoplan bus, Willowbrook, Space car, name it. She drives any vehicle.
At home, Auntie Esi enjoys washing , cleaning and cooking.
She advises women to believe in themselves to do whatever job they loved to do without thinking whether it is for males or females.
“The most important thing is to learn what you want to do very well and you will excel at it”, she said.
Philomena Debrah— Her long Journey to establishing Gari Instant mix
Philo Delio Smile foods(women&children)
Philomena Debrah— Her long journey to establishing Gari Instant Mix.
Story and Picture : Doreen Allotey
AFTER long years of struggle to establish her own manufacturing company, Ms Philomena Debrah, Managing Director of Philio Delio Smile Foods, is convinced about one thing.
She is convinced that until the government establishes an institution to guide, guard and finance people with brilliant entrepreneurial ideas to start their business, many people with such ideas, but without funds will go no where with their ideas.
Quoting an Akan proverb to support this, she said, “Se wo sika sua, wo asem sua”, which literally means that if you have little money, your influence in society is very limited.
Ms Debrah had always dreamt of one thing for herself— to become self-employed in a manufacturing or production business of some sort, big or small.
After training as a teacher, she taught at a primary school in Nkawkaw for almost four years, but her dream did not allow her to continue in the profession. In the fourth year of teaching, she left to work towards fulfilling her dreams. Little did she know that she had more than an arduous task ahead.
She is now producing a special kind of food she calls ‘Gari Instant Mix’. This mix is made up of gari, milk and groundnuts and other ingredients which improve the nutritional value of the mix.
She believes that “good health is priceless, so I do everything to make sure the mix is prepared in a hygienic way; the Food and Drugs Board and the Ghana Standards Board have certified my product”.
Recounting her difficulties, Ms Debrah said her several visits to banks, the National Board for Small Scale Industries, German Development Agency ( GTZ), Danish International Development Agency( DANIDA) and Japanese International Co-operation Agency ( JICA) were tiring but fruitless.
“They told me that, “ We don’t do it with starters. You have to start before we come in to assist.”
In the end, she had to rely on her own savings, while she traded in all kinds of items for survival after leaving the classroom.
She started by travelling along countries along the west coast. She bought black thread for plaiting hair and electrical tapes from those countries and brought them to Accra for sale.
Then she progressed to travelling to Italy to buy scarves, shoes, watches and bags for supply to shops in Accra. The difficulty with this trade was debt collection. Those she supplied the items to played hanky-panky with her.
Ms Debrah stopped that business and opened a pharmaceutical shop. She later stopped this job too and landed in China where she bought some items made from melamine, plastic cups, napkins and take-away food packs .
As the years went by, her dream of establishing the company continued to haunt her. She mobilised everything she had accrued and started the Gari Instant Mix.
For the lack of capital, she got stuck along the way. She now wants to start producing a kind of herbal drink for refreshment to offer a choice to those who are health conscious and want to avoid sugary drinks.
She also wants to expand her Gari Instant Mix business to Nigeria, “but I cannot afford the $10,000 needed for registration with the Nigeria Food and Drugs Board”. She also wants to manufacture a bottled cocoa drink.
For Ms Debrah, the struggle to remain in private business continues.
Philomena Debrah— Her long journey to establishing Gari Instant Mix.
Story and Picture : Doreen Allotey
AFTER long years of struggle to establish her own manufacturing company, Ms Philomena Debrah, Managing Director of Philio Delio Smile Foods, is convinced about one thing.
She is convinced that until the government establishes an institution to guide, guard and finance people with brilliant entrepreneurial ideas to start their business, many people with such ideas, but without funds will go no where with their ideas.
Quoting an Akan proverb to support this, she said, “Se wo sika sua, wo asem sua”, which literally means that if you have little money, your influence in society is very limited.
Ms Debrah had always dreamt of one thing for herself— to become self-employed in a manufacturing or production business of some sort, big or small.
After training as a teacher, she taught at a primary school in Nkawkaw for almost four years, but her dream did not allow her to continue in the profession. In the fourth year of teaching, she left to work towards fulfilling her dreams. Little did she know that she had more than an arduous task ahead.
She is now producing a special kind of food she calls ‘Gari Instant Mix’. This mix is made up of gari, milk and groundnuts and other ingredients which improve the nutritional value of the mix.
She believes that “good health is priceless, so I do everything to make sure the mix is prepared in a hygienic way; the Food and Drugs Board and the Ghana Standards Board have certified my product”.
Recounting her difficulties, Ms Debrah said her several visits to banks, the National Board for Small Scale Industries, German Development Agency ( GTZ), Danish International Development Agency( DANIDA) and Japanese International Co-operation Agency ( JICA) were tiring but fruitless.
“They told me that, “ We don’t do it with starters. You have to start before we come in to assist.”
In the end, she had to rely on her own savings, while she traded in all kinds of items for survival after leaving the classroom.
She started by travelling along countries along the west coast. She bought black thread for plaiting hair and electrical tapes from those countries and brought them to Accra for sale.
Then she progressed to travelling to Italy to buy scarves, shoes, watches and bags for supply to shops in Accra. The difficulty with this trade was debt collection. Those she supplied the items to played hanky-panky with her.
Ms Debrah stopped that business and opened a pharmaceutical shop. She later stopped this job too and landed in China where she bought some items made from melamine, plastic cups, napkins and take-away food packs .
As the years went by, her dream of establishing the company continued to haunt her. She mobilised everything she had accrued and started the Gari Instant Mix.
For the lack of capital, she got stuck along the way. She now wants to start producing a kind of herbal drink for refreshment to offer a choice to those who are health conscious and want to avoid sugary drinks.
She also wants to expand her Gari Instant Mix business to Nigeria, “but I cannot afford the $10,000 needed for registration with the Nigeria Food and Drugs Board”. She also wants to manufacture a bottled cocoa drink.
For Ms Debrah, the struggle to remain in private business continues.
call for debate on child migration
child migration (women and children)
Call for national debate on child migration
Story : Doreen Allotey
Three researchers of the University of Ghana, Legon, have called for a national debate on independent child migration, particularly from the North to Southern Ghana, as a basis for formulating policies and programmes that would mitigate the risks associated with it while increasing its benefits.
They say that this could be achieved, “when as a nation, we place the phenomenon of north-south child migration as one of the priority areas on our national human development agenda against the background that the North lags behind in development”.
The call for the debate was part of recommendations made by the researchers, Dr Stephen O. Kwankye, Professor John K. Anarfi and Ms Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe, following findings of their survey into the “Independent North-South Child Migration in Ghana: The Decision Making process”.
The recommendations were disseminated at the inaugural meeting and launch of the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and poverty Research Dissemination Network at the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research in the University of Ghana, Legon.
The study was conducted in 2005 in Accra and Kumasi and in 2006 supplementary qualitative data from Accra was added.
The aim was to among others find out factors that affect the migration of children from Northern to southern Ghana and who the main players in the decision making process are. The sample size was 450 child migrants at the lorry parks and markets.
The researchers also recommend that the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs( MOWAC) institutes a programme that would assist child migrants to the south, who have regretted their movement, to return home and settle them in some business.
This , they said, should be after the children have been equipped with some skills to enable them have relatively more lucrative jobs, especially in the area of self employment.
This programme, they said, should be done in collaboration with civil society organisations which were already into that kind of programmes to achieve a more sustainable integration into the local economy of the children.
The survey found that parents were actively involved in the decision -making process concerning the children’s migration.
The recommendation therefore is that parents should be sensitised on the costs of child migration.
The researchers also suggest that the Government targets the three northern regions as a special case in its poverty reduction programme.
“ From the analysis, some of the young girls engaged in the sheanut trade to secure their transport fare to embark on migration down south. It is therefore possible that if this trade were given a special business attention as one of the Presidential Special Initiatives, it would be a more lucrative source of income for the young girls such that they could stay behind at their places of origin and work in the sheanut and shea butter industry.
In another study into the costs and benefits of children’s independent migration from north to south Ghana, Prof Anarfi and Dr Kwankye found that some of the child migrants were able to make remittances to their family and that migrants working in Kumasi were able to send more remittances than those in Accra.
They found that girls who were able to return home with certain items became “ hot cakes” for suitors.
On the other hand , the risks of child migration they, found included rape, the contraction of Sexually transmitted Infections and trauma.
s
Call for national debate on child migration
Story : Doreen Allotey
Three researchers of the University of Ghana, Legon, have called for a national debate on independent child migration, particularly from the North to Southern Ghana, as a basis for formulating policies and programmes that would mitigate the risks associated with it while increasing its benefits.
They say that this could be achieved, “when as a nation, we place the phenomenon of north-south child migration as one of the priority areas on our national human development agenda against the background that the North lags behind in development”.
The call for the debate was part of recommendations made by the researchers, Dr Stephen O. Kwankye, Professor John K. Anarfi and Ms Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe, following findings of their survey into the “Independent North-South Child Migration in Ghana: The Decision Making process”.
The recommendations were disseminated at the inaugural meeting and launch of the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and poverty Research Dissemination Network at the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research in the University of Ghana, Legon.
The study was conducted in 2005 in Accra and Kumasi and in 2006 supplementary qualitative data from Accra was added.
The aim was to among others find out factors that affect the migration of children from Northern to southern Ghana and who the main players in the decision making process are. The sample size was 450 child migrants at the lorry parks and markets.
The researchers also recommend that the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs( MOWAC) institutes a programme that would assist child migrants to the south, who have regretted their movement, to return home and settle them in some business.
This , they said, should be after the children have been equipped with some skills to enable them have relatively more lucrative jobs, especially in the area of self employment.
This programme, they said, should be done in collaboration with civil society organisations which were already into that kind of programmes to achieve a more sustainable integration into the local economy of the children.
The survey found that parents were actively involved in the decision -making process concerning the children’s migration.
The recommendation therefore is that parents should be sensitised on the costs of child migration.
The researchers also suggest that the Government targets the three northern regions as a special case in its poverty reduction programme.
“ From the analysis, some of the young girls engaged in the sheanut trade to secure their transport fare to embark on migration down south. It is therefore possible that if this trade were given a special business attention as one of the Presidential Special Initiatives, it would be a more lucrative source of income for the young girls such that they could stay behind at their places of origin and work in the sheanut and shea butter industry.
In another study into the costs and benefits of children’s independent migration from north to south Ghana, Prof Anarfi and Dr Kwankye found that some of the child migrants were able to make remittances to their family and that migrants working in Kumasi were able to send more remittances than those in Accra.
They found that girls who were able to return home with certain items became “ hot cakes” for suitors.
On the other hand , the risks of child migration they, found included rape, the contraction of Sexually transmitted Infections and trauma.
s
No Name for the fathers?
birth registry (W&C)
Story & Pix by Doreen Allotey
No name for the fathers?
A number of women who call at the various offices of the Birth and Death Registry in the country are unable to give the full names of their partners during interviews for the registration of their babies.
They would, for instance, give the name of their partner as “Bra Kwaku” and this information would be inadequate for the registration of their infants.
Other women are neither able to give information on the kind of work their partners are engaged in nor agree on the spelling of the names of their children.
During a visit to one of the registries at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, a mother who had come to register her infant could not give the name of her partner but said she lived in La and would therefore go home and come back with the required information.
She has two other children with that partner.
The Daily Graphic therefore contacted Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Senior Assistant Registrar at the head office of the Birth and Death Registry in Accra, for information on the importance of registering deaths and births.
He said what the registry did in situation’s where the mothers are not able to give the names of their partners was to allow the mother to go back home for consultation but in some cases, they did not return.
He said if the mother was unable to tell who the father of the infant was, the registry would register the infant as one with
“ doubtful paternity”.
Mr Addo said the ideal thing was to have the mother and father present during the registration but “the men seem to have left the registration to the women because they see it as a women’s issue, ”.
He described the situation as unaceptable explaining that birth registration was very important because it established a legal identity for the child.
“ Birth registration is the first legal proof that a child exists,” he said.
Mr Addo said birth certificates also helped in the dispensation of justice.
“It offers protection for the child because it becomes a legal document that would be a reference point for fighting forced marriages and child trafficking,” he said.
In this instance, “the certificate would establish the child as a minor and the laws of the land can take their course,” he added.
Apart from these benefits, the birth certificate facilitates enrolment in educational institutions, employment and recruitment into the security services, and the acquisition of passports and visas.
“If the employer uses the birth certificate as a reference point, there will be no argument on the date for proceeding to retirement for instance,” Mr Addo said.
On death registration, Mr Addo said it was necessary because it was needed when making Social Security claims in the event of the death of a partner.
He said the certificate was also needed before the contents of a Will would apply or the Intestate Succession law under PNDC Law 111 could hold because it would be evidence that the partner was dead.
Giving some statistics, Mr Addo said the Birth and Death Registry had from January to June this year, registered 131,928 infant births.
Of this number, 67,858 were males while 64,070 were females.
Last year, 391,841 infant births were registered. The males were 201,369 while the females were 190,472.
Registered infant births for 2005 were 476,251.
The Birth and Death Registry has information on births in the Gold Coast dating from 1912.
Pix: Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Senior Assistant Registrar at the head office of the Birth and Death Registry, pointing at some of the records which are currently being computerised.
Story & Pix by Doreen Allotey
No name for the fathers?
A number of women who call at the various offices of the Birth and Death Registry in the country are unable to give the full names of their partners during interviews for the registration of their babies.
They would, for instance, give the name of their partner as “Bra Kwaku” and this information would be inadequate for the registration of their infants.
Other women are neither able to give information on the kind of work their partners are engaged in nor agree on the spelling of the names of their children.
During a visit to one of the registries at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, a mother who had come to register her infant could not give the name of her partner but said she lived in La and would therefore go home and come back with the required information.
She has two other children with that partner.
The Daily Graphic therefore contacted Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Senior Assistant Registrar at the head office of the Birth and Death Registry in Accra, for information on the importance of registering deaths and births.
He said what the registry did in situation’s where the mothers are not able to give the names of their partners was to allow the mother to go back home for consultation but in some cases, they did not return.
He said if the mother was unable to tell who the father of the infant was, the registry would register the infant as one with
“ doubtful paternity”.
Mr Addo said the ideal thing was to have the mother and father present during the registration but “the men seem to have left the registration to the women because they see it as a women’s issue, ”.
He described the situation as unaceptable explaining that birth registration was very important because it established a legal identity for the child.
“ Birth registration is the first legal proof that a child exists,” he said.
Mr Addo said birth certificates also helped in the dispensation of justice.
“It offers protection for the child because it becomes a legal document that would be a reference point for fighting forced marriages and child trafficking,” he said.
In this instance, “the certificate would establish the child as a minor and the laws of the land can take their course,” he added.
Apart from these benefits, the birth certificate facilitates enrolment in educational institutions, employment and recruitment into the security services, and the acquisition of passports and visas.
“If the employer uses the birth certificate as a reference point, there will be no argument on the date for proceeding to retirement for instance,” Mr Addo said.
On death registration, Mr Addo said it was necessary because it was needed when making Social Security claims in the event of the death of a partner.
He said the certificate was also needed before the contents of a Will would apply or the Intestate Succession law under PNDC Law 111 could hold because it would be evidence that the partner was dead.
Giving some statistics, Mr Addo said the Birth and Death Registry had from January to June this year, registered 131,928 infant births.
Of this number, 67,858 were males while 64,070 were females.
Last year, 391,841 infant births were registered. The males were 201,369 while the females were 190,472.
Registered infant births for 2005 were 476,251.
The Birth and Death Registry has information on births in the Gold Coast dating from 1912.
Pix: Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Senior Assistant Registrar at the head office of the Birth and Death Registry, pointing at some of the records which are currently being computerised.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Introduction
Hello,
My name is Doreen Allotey. I work as a Senior Staff Writer at the Daily Graphic. It is the newspaper with the biggest circulation in Ghana.I love my job and can't think of doing anything else but journalism. I hope to share my ideas and experiences on any subject matter on my blog. Cheers
My name is Doreen Allotey. I work as a Senior Staff Writer at the Daily Graphic. It is the newspaper with the biggest circulation in Ghana.I love my job and can't think of doing anything else but journalism. I hope to share my ideas and experiences on any subject matter on my blog. Cheers
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