By Allan Ntana, Tabora
CALL has given to the government to have good initiatives on
eradication of child labour and related issues so as to lay concrete
on child social stability, protection and improved livelihood.
Tabora Regional Administrative Secretary who was represented by Dr.
Phillips Mtiba told the congregation held yesterday at Ipole ward in
Sikonge district that efforts of eliminating a child from risky jobs
should not be left to organizations or stakeholders only.
He said parents are the key elements to child labour as they involve
their children in tobacco farms and other domestic activities at early
ages hence hinder them to get formal education because they can’t meet
school expenses due to poverty.
‘We all appreciate the efforts of local and international
organizations especially Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco
Growing Foundation (ECLT) the financier of Prosper project, who work
diligently day and night in our region to rescue our children from
tobacco growing and alike jobs’, he added.
The primary responsibility for ensuring the existence of
child-sensitive social protection rests with the government and other
social partners like employers because the risk for children who enter
child labour is because of lack of access to social protection in most
areas, he stressed.
As a matter of assuming responsibility, Dr Mtiba said the government
should not rely on donors for everything. ‘We should play our part by
setting our strategies’, the issue of providing basic social services
to our people has to be done by the government, while donors can take
part on big issues only, he added.
Sighting an example he said, ‘The two districts supported by the
project here in Tabora have more than 200 villages, out of these only
20 villages 10 from each district have benefited from the project,
what about the rest, it’s my sincere request to prosper project and
the government to extend their help and services to other villages for
the betterment of our children’.
PROSPER project director from Winrock Internation, Bahati Nzunda
emphasized that the project is aiming at combating all forms of child
labor as stipulated in the ILO Convention 182 in Sikonge and Urambo
districts in Tabora region.
Project interventions entirely focus on combating child labor by
providing proper responses such as access to quality education through
improvement of the learning and teaching environment and addressing
poverty by improving the livelihood of women and youth in the two
areas.
He said the maximum support from the government, implementing partners
(WINROCK, TAWLAE and TDFT), community, tobacco sector itself, and
other stakeholders has paved a way for the project to perform
successfully.
Christopher Luyenga, Project Community Outreach Coordinator, noted
that the project has set to maximize the means of access to education
to all vulnerable children from poor families for the targeted areas
within the two districts as a strategy to ‘extend social protection
and combat child labour’.
Waziri Rashid who is Care International-Capacity building Manager and
Shamsu Bwikizo Red Cross Coordinator in Sikonge district commented
that the problem of child labour in the region is still huge compared
to the efforts made hence called for more initiatives from the
government in collaboration with other stake holders.
‘The level of child labour is huge not only in the two districts but
the entire region, the government should take serious initiatives, in
addition to that, extension of the project is very important, no need
of phasing out by Dec.2015’, they advised.
CALL has given to the government to have good initiatives on
eradication of child labour and related issues so as to lay concrete
on child social stability, protection and improved livelihood.
Tabora Regional Administrative Secretary who was represented by Dr.
Phillips Mtiba told the congregation held yesterday at Ipole ward in
Sikonge district that efforts of eliminating a child from risky jobs
should not be left to organizations or stakeholders only.
He said parents are the key elements to child labour as they involve
their children in tobacco farms and other domestic activities at early
ages hence hinder them to get formal education because they can’t meet
school expenses due to poverty.
‘We all appreciate the efforts of local and international
organizations especially Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco
Growing Foundation (ECLT) the financier of Prosper project, who work
diligently day and night in our region to rescue our children from
tobacco growing and alike jobs’, he added.
The primary responsibility for ensuring the existence of
child-sensitive social protection rests with the government and other
social partners like employers because the risk for children who enter
child labour is because of lack of access to social protection in most
areas, he stressed.
As a matter of assuming responsibility, Dr Mtiba said the government
should not rely on donors for everything. ‘We should play our part by
setting our strategies’, the issue of providing basic social services
to our people has to be done by the government, while donors can take
part on big issues only, he added.
Sighting an example he said, ‘The two districts supported by the
project here in Tabora have more than 200 villages, out of these only
20 villages 10 from each district have benefited from the project,
what about the rest, it’s my sincere request to prosper project and
the government to extend their help and services to other villages for
the betterment of our children’.
PROSPER project director from Winrock Internation, Bahati Nzunda
emphasized that the project is aiming at combating all forms of child
labor as stipulated in the ILO Convention 182 in Sikonge and Urambo
districts in Tabora region.
Project interventions entirely focus on combating child labor by
providing proper responses such as access to quality education through
improvement of the learning and teaching environment and addressing
poverty by improving the livelihood of women and youth in the two
areas.
He said the maximum support from the government, implementing partners
(WINROCK, TAWLAE and TDFT), community, tobacco sector itself, and
other stakeholders has paved a way for the project to perform
successfully.
Christopher Luyenga, Project Community Outreach Coordinator, noted
that the project has set to maximize the means of access to education
to all vulnerable children from poor families for the targeted areas
within the two districts as a strategy to ‘extend social protection
and combat child labour’.
Waziri Rashid who is Care International-Capacity building Manager and
Shamsu Bwikizo Red Cross Coordinator in Sikonge district commented
that the problem of child labour in the region is still huge compared
to the efforts made hence called for more initiatives from the
government in collaboration with other stake holders.
‘The level of child labour is huge not only in the two districts but
the entire region, the government should take serious initiatives, in
addition to that, extension of the project is very important, no need
of phasing out by Dec.2015’, they advised.
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