COMMEMORATION OF 2023 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN

On Wednesday, 12th April, 2023, the Department of Social Welfare under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) in collaboration with UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services and the Consortium have organized a one-day workshop to celebrate and climax the 2023 International Day for Street Children.

The celebration which was held on the theme Safety for All Children sought to promote awareness on street connected persons’ issues across the country. It was also to afford stakeholders validate the 5-year Strategic Plan on Street Connected People.

The International Day for Street Children has been celebrated globally on 12th April since 2012 to raise awareness on the millions of street children all around the world and to recognize the humanity, dignity and defiance of street children in the face of unimaginable hardships.

Delivering her keynote address, the Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon Francisca Oteng Mensah decried the sorry state of street connected children and called on all well meaning Ghanaians to work with the Government to help curb streetism which has become rampant in the country.

“Street Connected Children get exposed to physical and moral dangers whilst living on streets and sometimes get abused by the very adults who are supposed to protect them and ensure their safety. Let me use this opportunity to call on all Ghanaians to join the Goverment and our various stakeholders to protect children who find themselves on the streets.” She said.

Hon Francisca Oteng Mensah also reiterated the importance of proper parenting and family structures as a means to curb streetism. She therefore advised parents, guardians and caregivers to create a caring and loving environments at home to refrain children from moving away from their homes to the streets.

The Deputy Minister made a passionate appeal to all relevant stakeholders on street connected children to devise strategies to curb streetism in Ghana.

The Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Rev. Dr. Comfort Asare on behalf of the Chief Director, Dr. Afisah Zakariah in her address, called on all stakeholders to work hand in hand to streamline data on street children in Ghana for effective monitoring.

Solidarity statements from UNICEF Ghana, Coalition of Street Connected Children and Catholic Relief Services called for a collaborative approach to help combat streetism in Ghana and to protect street connected people and protect them from the vices and other dangers they face on the streets.

Benedict Mensah, a street connected person also appealed for support and protection for all street children in Ghana.

The program was concluded with inputs from stakeholders into the 5-year Strategic Plan on Street Connected People.

Source: MoGCSP