ACCESS-MENA Holds Workshops on Fighting Child Trafficking in Yemen
YememOnline- July 09, 2008- The Alternatives to Combat Child Labor through Education & Sustainable Services (ACCESS-MENA) conducted five workshops dubbed Together to Combat Child Trafficking. The workshops aimed to make sheikhs, members of the local councils, and other dignitaries aware of child trafficking in the Hajja Governorate. At the end of the workshops, the 126 local council members and sheikhs signed papers pledging to reject all forms of child trafficking, help raise awareness in their communities, and, most importantly, urge their community to send their children to school. The pledge papers also included the commitment to support all efforts at fighting child trafficking by mobilizing the citizens of their districts to report and stop child trafficking. In addition, these community leaders will urge the executive bodies to alleviate poverty and disparity, the leading cause of child trafficking, in solidarity and strength. Jamal Nasser Al-Aqel, the Deputy Governor of Hajja, Ahmed Al-Shami, the Deputy Governor of Hajja for Tihama Affairs, and Haitham Al-Jubari, the General Director of the Social Affairs & Labor Office, launched the opening ceremony of the workshops in the Haradh district. Dr. Jamal Al-Haddi, ACCESS Project Manager, took part in the conclusion of the workshops in the Aslam district. He delivered a speech to the sheikhs and dignitaries of the district, urging them to undertake their responsibilities as community leaders to limit child trafficking. He ends by saying that the proper place for children is the classroom
ACCESS-MENA has headed several interventions to combat child trafficking including the re-enrolling 206 children in school, protecting 1,416 children from dropping out of school, and repairing and maintaining the nine schools targeted by the Project. They have also provided schools with social and cultural centers and electrical generators. The activities coincide with the intensive awareness campaigns that transcend all sides of the community. Similar workshops following the framework of activities and programs held by ACCESS are now emulated by other charitable organizations. CHF International, in an executive partnership with the Charitable Society for Social Welfare, is holding ACCESS inspired workshops with funding from the US Department of Labor.
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