By Doris Yiboe | Counter Trafficking Field Coordinator
During this quarter, an IOM social worker visited and counseled every reintegrated child and their family, including those who were reunited last year.
In addition, each parent, caregiver and child received food support to ensure that the immediate nutritional needs of the children are met. Each child received a package that included bags of rice, maize, sugar, beans, oil, a local food made from cassava called ‘gari’, breakfast cocoa powder, powdered milk, tom brown (a local cereal meal), a solar lamp for evening studies, soap and toilet rolls.
The quarterly visits and monitoring have imparted positive benefits on most of the children, who look forward to receiving additional guidance and motivation from the IOM Social Worker. This has resulted in the children excelling academically. Some of them have also been encouraged to take up leadership roles. For example, one of the girls currently in Senior High School has become the Girls’ School Prefect. Those in apprenticeship are also really doing well to the extent that their trainers comment on their strong performance.
In addition, about 8 of the reintegrated children have been recently supported to enroll in boarding facilities so they can improve their academic performance as well as be better supervised. They were provided with basic school needs including uniforms, stationery, personal effects, mattresses, bedsheets and trunks to make their stay a comfortable one. Those who were enrolled in the technical schools were also provided with basic tools depending on their technical specialty. Their enrollment fees too were paid in full.
The children and their families were extremely grateful to IOM for the support. Most of them expressed their gratitude and wished the donors well so they could continue to support them.
IOM Ghana will continue to regularly follow-up on the reintegrated children so as to assist them and their parents should any difficulties arise. The organization is also now carrying out prevention activities to stop children from being trafficked in the first place.
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