The NGO ANGE in partnership with the municipality of Yoto 2 celebrated the Day of the African Child on Thursday July 08, 2021 at the town hall of Ahépé in the presence of the Mayor of the Municipality of Yoto, Mrs. Yawavi ADZRA-AZIADEKEY. This celebration was marked by an awareness campaign around the theme ” Phenomena of street children in Togo: causes and consequences” .
For ANGE, it was an opportunity to make people understand the phenomenon of street children in Togo and to raise awareness in the community.
According to the field experience of street educators, more and more children from rural areas find themselves on the streets of Togo, the capital. Faced with this phenomenon, the authorities of the municipality of Yoto 2 are committed to eradicating this scourge by raising awareness among all actors, including children.
Municipal elected officials, students, teachers, community leaders and the population were made aware of this issue dear to the
of the NGO ANGE.
Starting from the causes of the phenomenon of street children in Togo, which are, among others, parental neglect, precariousness, abuse and juvenile delinquency, the facilitators insisted on the consequences for the child, the family and the society.
The real problems were revealed and concrete solutions were proposed in order to help build an enabling environment that respects the rights of all children. In addition, this activity was an opportunity for ANGE to advocate for the inclusion of children’s rights in municipal development strategies and plans.
“The commune was chosen to celebrate this event because it has been observed in recent years that many children who are on the streets in Lomé today come from this locality. The strategy of the NGO ANGE today is to sensitize the population at the base in order to awaken children, parents and community leaders on the subject”, said Yves Abassa, street educator at the NGO ANGE.
In perspective, a synergy of action between the municipality of Yoto 2 and the ANGE in order to strengthen the support and follow-up of young people in schools.
In 2015, a joint study by UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Action revealed that Togo has more than 6,000 street children, more than half of them in Lomé. Ange works daily with several technical and financial partners. In particular, as part of this preventive action, we have received support from the CAJJED Foundation, Togo Debout vzw, ADEPOMA, GENED TRADING and JAC.
As a reminder, the day of the African child celebrated every June 16, is in memory of the uprising of South African students in Soweto, June 16, 1976 to denounce the poor quality of
education.
