June « 2015 « Safe Child

Discussion on Child Safety In Schools on TV3’s Morning Show “New Day.”

CEO of Safe Child Ghana, Eunice Baabu discusses Child Safety In Schools with Benny Blanco of TV3’s Morning Show “New Day.”

Eunice lays emphasis on Abduction, Gender Issues and Violence Against Children.

Safe Child Designs Board Game on “Water, Sanitation & Hygiene” (WASH) towards Behavioural Change in Children.

Safe Child is working on the newly designed “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” (WASH) Board Game for children to play towards behavioural change.

In the first 16 days of 2015, a total of 304 new cholera cases were reported in six districts in the Greater Accra and Volta regions of the country. Dr Emmanuel K. Dzotsi, Public Health Specialist at the Disease Surveillance Department of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), made this known in a press release.

Our intervention is crucial as in 2014, Cholera claimed nearly 250 lives and infected more than 24,000 people. Greater Accra was the most affected region, with over 18,000 cases and 114 deaths. Every year, children die from Cholera, which results from poor sanitation and hygiene. This is just unacceptable!

Since children are key Agents of Change, Safe Child is focusing on them through the usage of our Play Safe Board Games to also influence other children to achieve behavioural change. As children spend most of their time in schools, this is the place where they should learn and be motivated to perform good WASH behaviour such as, washing their hands with soap, always using toilets properly and drinking safe water.

In 2011, Safe Child designed its first Board Game was on Road Safety to change behaviours regarding road traffic rules. It was very successful.

Now, with our 152 Member Schools, with over 60,000 pupils, we intend to effect Generational Change towards better sanitation and hygiene practices.

We are working to get funds to launch and produce more of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Board Games to distribute to schools and communities to prevent Cholera, Diarrhoea and Typhoid.

Educating school children on basic hygiene and sanitation is very important because; most children are eager to learn and can therefore instill and promote positive behavioural change in others. Children have important roles in household chores related to hygiene, and can therefore instill change within their families and communities. These children are also future parents who will pass on the good hygiene practices that they learn through board games to their children.

Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae.

Join Safe Child in this initiative, as we harness the power of Play to promote sanitation and hygiene.

Empowering Girls For Change.

Safe Child works with adolescent girls to prepare them to live their lives in dignity. These girls act as agents of Change in the society, as Safe Child has developed their analytical skills to assess situations in family, schools and society.

These girls are empowered through training, workshops and seminars.

They are taught to say ‘NO’ to Child Marriage and other Gender Based Violence.

Safe Child Intervenes; New Bridge at Odikoman Built.

Above Photo: Old discarded bridge on the left. The New Bridge on the Right.

Before Safe Child’s Intervention:

Above Photo: School girl using the dilapidated bridge.

Over 600 children used this shaky bridge with dangling rails to and from school daily.

Dilapidated Bridge at Odikoman.

Impact-Tema Child Safety Conference (TCSC) 2014.

Above Photo: CEO of Safe Child Ghana, Eunice Baabu setting the tone on various child protection issues at the Conference.

Safe Child Ghana in October last year organized a novel Child Safety Conference to provide stakeholders the platform to examine child safety and protection, and to prescribe remedies. The resolutions were compiled to form an Action Plan for child protection in the Tema Metropolis.

Issues raised were Child Road Traffic Injuries prevention, Child Prostitutes, Gender based Violence, Sanitation and Home Safety.

Seven months after this Conference, Safe Child Ghana has achieved the following with our partners. On road accident prevention, Safe Child Ghana has engaged the Tema Metropolitan Assembly to mandate Metro-Guards to aid pupils to cross major and dangerous roads to and from school in the Metropolis. This has helped reduced the number of pupils being run over by vehicles.

Secondly, brothels housing child prostitutes in the Metropolis have been closed down. We have engaged the girls in Vocational skills and training, after taking them through counseling. Mothers whose daughters were child prostitutes have also been assisted to engage in economically productive work such as fish mongering and fish smoking.

Thirdly, Electricity Company of Ghana has remove and re-directed many exposed underground electrical cables that were posing danger to lives.

The fourth issue raised at the Tema Child Safety Conference was Sexual Violence against Children. Safe Child Ghana with the Police (Domestic Violence & Victims Support Unit-DOVVSU) has intensified our education in schools and communities on sexual abuse prevention and gender issues.

Conference was covered by GTV News, UTV, Peace FM and Okay FM, Today Newspaper and the Ghanaian Times. Through these media, Safe Child educated thousands on child protection and safety issues.

Judging from the success and impact of this Tema Child Safety Conference, Safe Child Ghana intends to replicate this project in other Municipalities to improve Gender and Child Protection in Ghana.