A recent survey conducted by Today news team in some parts of Accra revealed that child labour is on the ascendancy in the capital city with some parents compelling their children to sell sachet water on the streets of Accra.
The survey also revealed that most children who are compelled by their parents to sell the sachet water are mostly between the ages of 6-13 years. Our findings established that the primary reason why these children are made to sell in the scorching sun was poverty.
Families of the affected children were mostly people who had migrated from different hinterlands in the country to the capital to earn a living.
The paper also discovered that despite the heavy risks involved, many of the parents did not take into consideration the safety of the children, and all they were interested in was the daily profits that the children brought home.
Among the risks involved in this endeavour of the children is the risk of being knocked down by vehicles.
It was gathered that most of these children reluctantly embark on the sale of the sachet water: these children have no alternative and would hence comply.
They are also compelled by their parents to go or miss their daily bread: some of these parents sit back at home expecting sales; failure to give good sales results in the children receiving heavy beatings.
Research indicates that about 20 per cent of children world-wide are in one way or the other involved in child labour.
Majority of the children, our survey indicated are denied access to education due to obvious reasons.
Other areas in which the services of children were employed include stone breaking (quarrying), sand winning, fishing, street hawking as well as farming.
International Labour Organisation (ILO), reports explained that out of over 1,273,294 children who were engaged in child labour, 1,031,220 of them were less than 13 years.
It further revealed that 242,000 of the children worked in dangerous environments, which are referred to as the worst form of child labour.
Civil society organisations have time without number been called upon to help safeguard the future of children in the country by instituting measures to curb this canker.
STORY: ACHINAKE FATAW
