Street Children Empowerment Foundation Executive Director, Paul Semeh
Story by: Ishmael Barfi
A non-governmental organisation, Street Children Empowerment Foundation (SCEF Int.) has called on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to invest in polices and initiatives that would keep street children safe and protected.
According to the NGO, It is totally impossible to walk or drive through the principal streets of Accra, without being approached by a child in street situation to render a service of either wiping the screens of cars, selling of water and other edibles or to blatantly beg for alms.
Indicating that, “The situation is even of much concern at night- some of these children seek for shelter at various lorry parks and markets, sidewalks, uncompleted buildings and In front of shops, while others sleep in the open space, regardless of the dangers that stir them directly in the face”.
This was contained in a letter to the Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection signed by the Street Children Empowerment Foundation Executive Director, Mr. Paul Semeh in Accra today, 12th April 2023 to mark this year’s International Day for Street Children (IDSC).
The observation of 12th April every year is to provide opportunities for various civil society groups and human rights organizations to spread awareness of the plights of children in Street-connected situations throughout the world as well as serve as a powerful voice, hence ensuring that, their rights are not ignored.
Furthermore, the day also presents an opportunity for the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, government, Social workers, non-governmental organizations, and individuals advocating for the right and safety of Children to reflect on the successes chalked in children’s (street) protection/issues, challengeses identified and Profess solutions and initiatives to reduce the harm.
Speaking further, the Executive Director believed that, it is time the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection intensify it’s collaboration with civil social groups, social workers, human rights activists to address the numerous plights harm of children in street connected situations across the country.
“This worrying phenomenon of street children is not peculiar to just Accra but also in cities and urban towns like Takoradi, Kumasi, Ho among others.
“We are willing and ready to sit with the Ministry to highlight progressive ways we can collaborate to keep these children safe and protected”, he reiterated.
Whilst on the street, these children he explained do experience abuse, exploitation, stigmatization and criminalization as well as restrictions on access to essential services, such as healthcare, nutrition and education.
Adding that, “sadly, children in street situations do not have any trusted adult or structured institutions to rely on”.
He further indicated that, vulnerable girls who get abused sexually are most often left to their fate uncared for and sometimes without medical attention-due to high cost of medical examination.
And due to the never-ending and cumbersome court proceedings amid other expenses, these girls are denied of Justice hence, their perpetrators are let loosed and unpunished but rather society stigmatizes them and sometimes points accusing fingers at the victims, blaming them for inviting such harm.
Though he acknowledged the countless efforts by successive governments and the Ministry to address the street situation through social protection programmes, a lot more needs to be done in upholding, implementing and exercising the rights and Well-being of children, especially those in street-connected situations within the 2030 Agenda and the Children’s Act, 1998 Act 560, Child and Family Welfare Policy among other children’s protection policies.
“We want to use this opportunity to ensure governments’ obligations to street-connected children are prioritized by highlighting the urgent need for the implementation of United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment 21 on Children in Street Situations (UNCRC GC 21), which among Other objectives seeks to provide comprehensive and authoritative guidance to States on using a holistic, Child rights approach to prevent children experiencing rights violations and the lack of choices that results in them having to depend on the streets for their survival and development.
Also, to promote and protect the Rights of children already in street situations, ensuring a continuum of care and helping them to develop to their fullest potential.
To ensure the above, Street Children Empowerment Foundation recommended that, the Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister should fast-track the signing of the contract with the service providers for the commencement of the Ghana Education Outcome Project (GEOP) Lot 7.
Secondly, recognizing effective interventions to keep street-connected children safe, hence providing adequate recognition and investment to maximize the impact of these interventions, implementing effectively the law to free medical care and support from domestic violence Victims support fund.
Furtherance, ensuring street-connected children’s get access to a trusted adult or facility through the provision of High-quality training, guidelines, and accreditation for street and social workers, whose expertise In upholding children’s rights and psychosocial well-being must be respected by governments.
In conclusion, ensuring that, teachers and healthcare workers have robust policies and practices in place to keep safe the street-connected children they come into contact with whiles the Government and other state institutions must offer assistance to CSOs/NGOs, that offers support to children in street-connected situations.
However, Mr. Paul Semeh acknowledged that time and resource constraints may seem to make the above measures difficult to implement, thus with reverence to SDGs 17 which focuses on partnerships Street Children Empowerment Foundation is opening its doors to collaborations with government and other state agencies to make the proposed measures achievable and UNCRC GC 21 a reality.
Stressing that “We hope you will take this opportunity to demonstrate our country’s commitment to protecting all children and to prioritize investment in policies and initiatives to keep street-connected children safe.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
