ABSTRACT
Project sustainability on eliminating child labour in cocoa
growing areas in Ghana has received less attention. Issues confronting
sustainability have rendered most projects not meeting project goals and needs
of future generations. This study therefore assessed the sustainability of
OASIS Foundation International child labour monitoring system project in Twifo
Hemang Lower-Denkyira District, Central Region in Ghana. Survey design was
employed to select 130 household whose member(s) was/were beneficiaries of the
project. Content validated and pretested interview schedule was used to collect
data, which was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential such as
Pearson product-moment correlation, Friedman rank test and multiple linear
regression. The results revealed that the project was generally less
sustainable; though the various dimensions used showed different levels of
sustainability ranging from unsustainable to very sustainable. Levels of
satisfaction, number of dependants, children less than 15 years, number of
children in school and use of soap making skills were significantly related to
social, economic, technical and institutional sustainability. Furthermore,
children in school and use of soap making skills significantly influenced the
sustainability of the project. The study recommends, among other things,
increased efforts of development agencies and government parastatals by
providing appropriate skills and resources to ensure economic, technical and
institutional sustainability of such interventions. Government of Ghana should
also ensure timely supply of school materials to increase enrolment and
retention of pupils in these and other communities with similar projects.
INTRODUCTION
The chapter discusses child labour projects and
sustainability. It briefly looks at OASIS child labour monitoring system
project. The chapter also outlines the problem statement, objectives of the
study, significance of the study and; limitations and delimitations of the
study, definition of terms and organization of the study.
Background to the Study
The current issues of child labour in cocoa growing
communities can be worst in the future if the necessary actions are not taken
now. The International Labour Organisation estimated that over 215 million
children worldwide are labourers and engaged in activities that should be
abolished. Amongst them, children under the age of 15 were about 152 million,
and those engaged in hazardous or dangerous activities were about 115 million
(ILO, 2010). Children below the age to work are mostly found in sectors such as
mining and agriculture. In a child labour survey, about 80 percent of all
children in employment are classified as labourers (Ghana Statistical Service,
2014). This is because they fall under the minimum working age of 18 years and
are engaged in works that threaten health, safety, or are subject to conditions
of forced labour.
The welfare of children in cocoa growing areas, who are engaged
in child labour, continues to be a concern to Government of Ghana and
development agencies such as; the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relation,
the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social
Protection and Non-governmental organisations and donor agencies.
According to Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment
(2008) a large number of children were exposed to hazardous working conditions
such as chemical spraying of cocoa trees without using protective clothing,
carrying heavy loads of cocoa seeds, and use of machete. Child labour and
exposure to hazards are said to adversely affect school enrolment,
participation, educational performance and completion rate. The labour menace prompted
the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to campaign against child labour
through the implementation of various projects or programmes. For example: The
Child Labour Monitoring (CLM) interventions began in the 1990’s by the
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of the ILO to
regularly check the places where girls and boys may be working. The overall
objective of the CLM is to ensure that, children and the young legally employed
workers are protected from exploitation and hazards at work (ILO/IPEC, 2005).
Project sustainability on eliminating child labour in cocoa
growing areas in Ghana has received less attention. According to Hanachor
(2012) projects form part of the basis of assessing a country’s development
among other countries. The assessment is based on an improved well-being of
citizens through projects. This assessment also does not leave out the welfare
of children. The Government of Ghana (GoG) has been partnering donor agencies
and many non-governmental organisations in implementing projects towards
poverty reduction and abolishing of child labour. However, confronting issues
of sustainability have drawn most of the projects into not meeting project goals and needs of
future generations (Egwemi, 2012). For example; the central tracking database
of ex-working children project in Ghana was faced with sustainability issues of
operations and maintenance (ILO/IPEC, 2005).
There are several dimensions to the sustainability of projects.
These include economic, social, environmental, cultural, political, ethical,
security and institutional sustainability (Dalay-clayton & Bass, 2002),
technical and infrastructural sustainability (Ika, Diallo, & Thuillier,
2012). The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of
the ILO viewed the CLMS as the system which is economically enhancing,
technically necessary, institutionally anchored and socially acceptable and
guarantees social justice in the rights of children and has harmony with
societal norms (ILO/IPEC, 2007). The study was therefore based on social,
economic, technical and institutional dimensions.
OASIS Child Labour Monitoring System Project
The Child labour monitoring system was an action project,
designed within the framework of ILO-IPEC project titled: “Child labour
monitoring system (CLMS)”. The ILO-IPEC project is a public-private partnership
between the Chocolate and Cocoa Industry and the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) to combat child labour in cocoa growing communities in Ghana
and Côte D’ Ivoire. The project aimed at developing model child labour
monitoring systems and processes to enable Government of Ghana, ILO and
IPEC scale up and implement effective CLM systems in other cocoa growing
regions.
The project was implemented by a Non-Governmental
Organisation known as OASIS Foundation International in Tweapease and Ankaakoo
communities of Twifo Hemang Lower-Denkyira District, Central Region, Ghana. The
goal of the project was to address child labour problems in the cocoa sectors,
largely by supporting and encouraging relevant district and community
stakeholders to implement Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System (GCLMS).
Also, the main objective of the project was to eliminate
worst forms of child labour in cocoa growing communities in Ghana. Furthermore,
the output was mainly the establishment of community child protection
committees (CCPCs) and district child protection committees (DCPCs) as child
labour monitoring systems.
Finally, outcome of the project was reduction of children
affected by WFCL through the prevention, withdrawal, rehabilitation and social
integration of children in the cocoa sector through the establishment of GCLMS.
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