A collaborative approach to combating child labor in Ghana
By: Clifford Ateesi, MATE MASIE project officer, Winrock International
Offinso municipal district, located in the Ashanti region of Ghana, is a gateway from the Northern and Bono East regions to Kumasi, the country’s second-largest city. Agriculture is the backbone of the municipality’s economy, with cocoa, palm oil and citrus as the primary cash crops. However, poverty in the area sometimes leads to child labor, particularly in the cocoa sector and on market days. To address this, the MATE MASIE project, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, has been working with cocoa cooperatives to combat child labor in five communities in the area, as well as in three other districts in the region.
In April 2023, I began working for Winrock as a MATE MASIE project officer in the municipality. I am based in Offinso township and am driven by a commitment to support these communities, cooperatives and other stakeholders to ensure the wellbeing of children. I work with the project to expand partnerships with cooperatives operating there, as well as with the Municipal Child Protection Committee and Community Child Protection Committees. The collaboration and synergy I’ve witnessed between our project and these important local partners highlights a shared commitment to safeguarding the rights and welfare of children.
Ebenezer Kwame Amofah, head of the Planning Unit in Offinso and an MCPC member, highlighted some of the positive changes: “The MCPC had been inactive until the intervention of the MATE MASIE project, which led to its reactivation,” Amofah said.
“Through this project, effective collaboration has been fostered among cooperatives and law enforcement agencies and the various departments of Offinso Municipal in the fight against child labor.”
In addition, CCPCs are now empowered to document and refer child labor cases to partner cooperatives and the Department of Social Welfare for remediation and counseling. These CCPCs have also independently raised funds through their own initiatives and community support to assist children who have dropped out of school but who do not reside in households of cooperative members. CCPCs in the Abofour and Amoawi communities have provided children with schoolbooks, tables, chairs, pens and pencils, school bags and uniforms.
The cooperatives also administered the MATE MASIE Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System to identify households with children engaged in child labor, or who may be at risk of engaging in child labor. They have enrolled identified household members in the National Health Insurance Scheme and supported children through assistance with birth certificate registration, provision of educational materials and vocational training. Some adult members of the vulnerable households have also been trained in income-generating activities including snail rearing, beekeeping, soap-making, and baking, and have been provided with start-up kits for these vocations.
In the Kyebi community, the MCPC identified a pressing need for teaching and learning materials, including desks for primary school and Junior High School. These needs were confirmed by the Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System. The lack of resources had indeed contributed to high school dropout rates in the community.
With support from MATE MASIE, the Offinso Fine Flavor Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Society Limited responded. The cooperative procured and delivered desks, marker boards, learning charts and textbooks to the schools in need. MATE MASIE’s project director and a Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations representative presented these items to Kyebi’s chief before transferring them to the Offinso Municipal Education Directorate for distribution. In September 2024, enrollment increased from 330 to 437 in the Kyebi primary school and from 108 to 125 at the junior high school.
The deep community engagement has allowed MATE MASIE to continue to identify pressing needs affecting child welfare across Offinso. Another major issue cited was the lack of basic amenities, such as schools and potable water, in the Ayaasu community. The community had high incidences of child labor because children had to walk long distances to attend school and fetch water. After a project sensitization drive underscored the crucial need for water, the Assembly started a fundraiser in October 2023 to construct a borehole (water well) in Ayaasu. Initially, it seemed that despite the crowdfunding efforts and appeals to development partners and organizations operating in the municipality, the funds received would be insufficient. However, the Assembly later secured funding from the Ghana Oil Company and the borehole was completed.
Veronica Dufie, an Ayaasu CCPC member, said: “We previously relied on unclean water from a stream, with the only borehole taking four hours to fill a bucket, but now we have clean water for drinking, cooking and washing, sparing our children long walks and hours of waiting to fetch water.”
In June 2024, our project commemorated World Day Against Child Labor with a four-day event in the municipality. Representatives from the MCPC, OFFCOP and Winrock participated in a radio discussion. School children engaged in a quiz competition and debate about child labor issues. An awareness procession through Abofour’s streets heightened public interest, and the grand finale featured cultural displays, poetry recitals and dramatic performances by the children, alongside goodwill messages emphasizing the need for collective action to protect children’s rights.
As I reflect on the strides we have made, I am optimistic about the future of these communities in Offinso. The collaborative spirit among cocoa cooperatives, the committees and community members ignited a movement toward sustained child protection.
As MATE MASIE draws to a close, I am confident that the structures and partnerships we helped build will drive lasting change. I look forward to seeing these communities become models of how collaborative efforts can eliminate child labor and create a future where every child can enjoy their right to education and a childhood free from labor.
Additionally, I invite you to join us in this vital work against child labor. Whether through raising awareness, supporting local initiatives, or engaging with organizations dedicated to this cause, every action counts. Together, we can ensure that every child enjoys their right to education and a childhood free from labor.
Let’s work together to create a brighter future for the children of Offinso and beyond.
Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL-35537-20-75-K. One hundred percent of the total costs of the project are financed with USG federal funds for a total of $4,500,000 dollars. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government.
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