Providing School Supplies to 100 Children in Ghana

My name is Akira Kondo, and I am the Ghana Project Manager for ACE. Thank you so very much for supporting our efforts to end child exploitation in the world.

Covid-19's Impact on our Project Communities in Ghana

Lockdown measures were in place in targeted areas of Ghana from March 20th to April 20th; the area where our project is currently operating was not included and people were able to carry on as usual.

However, all schools are currently closed across the country, including in the project villages, and as of yet there is no prospect of them reopening any time soon. The Ghana Education Service (GES) announced that it will introduce online classes nationwide, but most of the households in the project area do not have internet access, and as such it will be difficult if not impossible for children in these communities to complete the school curriculum. We worry that this will affect their examination results and the ability to enter the next grade.

Children in the villages are predominately helping out at home and carrying out light activities on the farms, playing outside with friends, and playing soccer in the schoolyard. 

Current Status of Project Activities

The school closure means that the project’s Child Dignity Club is also suspended. This is unfortunate in itself but it also means that we are unable to get an update from teachers regarding the educational status of the children.

Fortunately, our agricultural training sessions and CCPC activities (Community Child Protection Committees formed by local volunteers) are still operating as usual. In addition, local administrative functions in the project area are still conducting business as usual, signifying that activities to formulate the ordinances for the "Child Labour Free Zone” system have not been affected. 

Field officers residing in the project area are able to work as usual, but staff staying in Kumasi, where the lockdown curfew is effective, are working from home until the lockdown is lifted. Even after it is lifted, we will be implementing measures to prevent infections including social distancing, hygiene practices such as hand washing, and frequent disinfection.

About our Future Strategy

Interviews with local people conducted by local NGO staff have shown that children are at a higher risk of returning to child labour due to their inability to go to school. In addition, since the “Blue Sky Market”, where larger numbers of people gather to buy and sell products, is currently closed, local cash income is decreasing. This undeniably increases the risk of children being forced to return to child labour. Moreover, although June is the final semester of the school calendar and there are children who are preparing to attend the next school year, under these circumstances, more and more families are worried whether they can safely and realistically send their children back to high school.

Given the circumstances, we are considering how to adjust our operations in the project area to support local people. Our top priority is to protect children's rights and prevent child labour re-emerging, and this will remain our top priority and the basis of our future strategy.

Thank you again for your continued support!  Any further support that you can give will be much appreciated.