MP Urges Government To Take Care Of South Sudan Children A Member of Parliament at the Upper Nile State Legislative Assembly has said that it is the duty of the government to take full care of children in the country.
20 April 2013 Children in Malakal. About 35 per cent of children in South Sudan are engaged in various forms of child labour according to the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development. [Ariik Atekdit] By Ariik Atekdit MALAKAL, 19 April 2013[Gurtong] - Makia Senate, the chairperson of Gender and Social Welfare committee said that children need development of mind and better care. “We need to teach them real nationalism and loyalty. It is a responsibility of the current leadership to make the children of today a better generation of tomorrow,” he said. Senate said the country needs funds to open up better programs for children so that they grow into responsible citizens in South Sudan. “We must centralize our development into our children. Any fund spent on children is investment, because if children become good citizens they will do much better than we have done,” Senate said. Among the social issues troubling Africa’s newest state, South Sudan’s street children pose a delicate but serious challenge to regional authorities. Roughly half of the children were orphaned during the civil war; the rest left home due to neglect, cruelty, including domestic violence, or other rights abuses. “There should be children conferences conducted in the country as well as some radio and television programs that can speak out children’s rights and protection. Seminars and lectures can be conducted from time to time so that the situation in South Sudan can improve. A lot of awareness needs to be done,” she added. Senate said the government should make schools available in villages and take girls education as a priority. “Our children especially girls need boarding schools, this will control them from dropping out. They will keep them away from a lot of responsibilities and workload that they encounter in their houses. Girl-child education should be not ignored because it is very important the development of our country,” Senate concluded. About 35 per cent of children in South Sudan are engaged in various forms of child labour according to the Undersecretary for Labour in the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development, Madam Hellen Achiro Lotara. Many of the affected children work in the informal sector undertaking activities such as pushing wheelbarrows, shoe shining, working in backyard garages and street vending. A Labour Market Information survey conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had revealed that the work undertaken by the children was often hazardous, requiring them to work long hours, including nights and exposing them to physical and verbal abuse on the streets. Madam Hellen recently said that the government was committed towards ensuring that children were protected and cited the ratification by government of the ILO Convention 182 on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for admission to Employment. Posted in: Home, Governance, Parliaments -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
