The Plight of Working Children at Mankessim, Ghana

Abstract

Children serve as social assets for domestic and economic activities. It is therefore not uncommon to see children in Ghana working under the instructions of their parents. In some instances, children are engaged in economic enterprises due to household poverty. Whereas some of these activities initiate children into adulthood, others affect their school attendance and development. The paper explores some of the activities children engage in at Mankessim in the Central Region of Ghana. It justifies that some of these activities constitute labour; and discusses other factors that contribute to household poverty in the area. Data were obtained from 152 children engaged in various economic activities. Findings revealed that 69% of the children were asked by their mothers to work. Half of the children benveen 6 and 11 years and more than one-third aged 11-17 worked for over five hours a day. Sixty-six per cent complained of tiredness. In-school children missed school at least once a week to work while 10% dropped out of school due to work. improving standards of living of women and strengthening societal organizational values are crucial in addressing the plight of working children in the area.

Keywords: Child work; hawking; child labour; Mfantsiman Municipality; Mankessim; Ghana.