GAWU supports anti-child labour festival

A five-day sports festival to sensitize Osino community schools on the dangers of Child labour has ended in Nsutam in the Fanteakwa District of the Eastern Region. The event on the theme, �Education the right response to child labour�, it was the collaboration between the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Osino West Sport Association to promote child education in the community to reduce child labour. Mr Edward Kareweh, Deputy General Secretary of GAWU, urged the participating teams to exhibit a high sense of sportsmanship to unearth their talent for the development of mother Ghana. In all, 21 basic schools from primary and Junior High School (JHS) which participated in the competition include Osino Islamic primary and JHS, Osino Presbyterian primary and JHS, Saamang Methodist primary and JHS, Nsuapemso District Assembly primary and JHS and Osino District Assembly primary and JHS, Nsutam SDA primary and JHS and Osino Roman Catholic primary. He had earlier called on the participants to work hard towards victory in their various sports discipline, adding that the union would continue to support sport and other developmental activities in the area to curb the child labour menace. Mr Kareweh later presented two trophies, two football and other sporting items to the Osino West Sport Association in the company of the chief of the area to be used in their annual sport festival. Mr Andrews Tagoe, Head of Training and programmes of GAWU, said the reason for partnering the sports festival was also to make education more attractive to children. He noted that the Union had organised a number of Cocoa farmers in alternative livelihood activities to promote events that would reduce poverty while other opportunities have been introduced to them in other farming areas. He explained that all the activities were geared towards the promotion of Ghana�s cocoa beans and products on the international market since the issue of the alleged used of children on Cocoa farms could result in the boycott the commodity. �Thirty women will undergo a training programme in mushroom and snail rearing to boost their income levels,� he added. Mr Emmanuel Amposah, Chairman of the Osino West Sport Association, said the participating teams were competed in disciplines including football, table tennis, volley ball and athletics. He appealed for more support from corporate institutions to unearth talents for national development.