The Department of Social Welfare has sensitised residents, including persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in the Logre-Zogin and Logre-Kolkpeng communities of the Nabdam District in the Upper East Region on child protection. 

The sensitisation centered on child labour, teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, illegal mining activities, and the functions of the Department of Social Welfare, aimed at inculcating in them the need to protect their children and prepare them for the future. 

It also focused on how they could seek support from the Department of Social Welfare for vulnerable groups in their families and the communities at large. 

The Nabdam District Officer at the Department of Social Welfare, Gabriel Azagsa Apobona, noted that due to activities of illegal mining in the areas coupled with lust for money among the children, some of them dropped out of school and were at the mines loitering.

That, he said, was worrisome as it did not present a good future for them, however given the needed education and guidance, these children could unearth their given potential hence the need to sensitise their parents to shape them well for the future. 

“We also realised that some of the children were either orphans or disabled, and so, for them, we intend to link them with social welfare and the District Assembly because, as you know, the government has been allocating three percent of the Common Fund for these groups of people, and in every quarter there is a package that we give to such people,” he stated. 

Mr Apobona emphasised that this necessitated the need for residents of the two communities to be sensitised to be aware of this support by government so that they could seek support for their vulnerable children. 

He advised the parents to prioritise education by enrolling their children in schools and nurture them through to become better citizens to cater for them at their old age and contribute to the development of the country. 

Madam Yenpoka Mba, a participant, lauded the efforts of the department for charging them with their responsibilities as parents and added that it was a call in the right direction, and she was committed to investing in her children's education.