Abstract:
The rights and protection of children have become the central focus of sustainable human
development. However, children are usually left out in all decisions that are meant to promote
their well-being. One such discussion is the issues of child labour. The main aim of the study
was to examine how children could participate in the various processes of eliminating child
labour in cocoa growing areas. A mixed method approach was used. This included a survey,
focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to gather data in five selected cocoa growing
communities in the Suhum Municipal Assembly. The study revealed that the level of awareness
of the concept of child labour among respondents in the Suhum Municipality was appreciably
high. Majority of the adult respondents said they were aware of interventions running in the
Suhum municipality to help eliminate child labour. Respondents interviewed were generally
aware of what constitutes child labour with most attributing its perpetuation to poverty.
Majority of Children engaged in child labour however do so without any compulsion which reechoes
the fact that poverty is a key driver of child labour in cocoa farming. This information
gives the indication that, the underlying factors for most of these children to willingly opt to
work on the farms rather than going to school is the due to financial challenges.
The results further showed that most of the respondents are aware of child labour and its negative
effects on the child‟s development. The respondents also considered child participation as an
effective approach in eliminating child labour. It also identified institutional structures such as
the Social Welfare and NGOs that exist in the District and how they work to improve child
participation in child labour elimination. It was therefore suggested that children should be
involved in decisions and processes outline to eliminate child labour.
