The Upper West Regional Department of Children, and Pollie Kids, a Civil Society Organization with support from Plan International Ghana have unveiled Children Parliament House in the region.
Speaking at the launch, the Upper West Regional Director for the Department of Children, Madam, Matilda Chireh, said the vision of her department is to create a harmonious society for children.
She said her department is also working to ensure survival and protection of the children, as well as to ensure their participation in decision making in matters concerning their lives.
Madam Chireh said this at the outdooring of the first sitting of the Upper West Regional Children Parliament in Wa yesterday.
She said the Children’s Parliament is a platform for children to meet and discussed their challenges.
The Director added that the Children’s Parliament serves as an avenue to empower the children and give them the voice to speak-up regarding issues of concern to them.
The Deputy Dirctor at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, Pognaa Fati Koreh, in a speech read on behalf of the Regional Minister, commended the Members of the Children’s Parliament for taking the initiative to represent children in the region.
He also encouraged them to debate on issues that will help in the development of children in the region and beyond.
He said issues such as teenage pregnancy, child marriage, malnutrition among others affected the development of children and should be discussed in the House for the attention of the authorities.
Ms Zakia Ibrahim, the Speaker of the House, urged children to take up their responsibilities of being obedient to authorities.
She said respecting and obeying their parents is one thing children can offer their parents.
Some members of the House observed that FGM was outmoded and should be discarded as it was an outright abuse of the rights of the victim.
Members of the Children’s Parliament are drawn from all eleven districts in the Upper West Region.
The Pollie Kids launched the Upper West Regional Children Parliament in March 2020 to, among other things, build the capacity of children to prepare them for the mantle of responsible leadership in the near future.
Stakeholders present at the event included educationists, representative from National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVSU), National Youth Authority (NYA) and Department of Community Development among others.
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