Mwanza learners equipped with child rights messages

Association of Progressive Women (APW) has embarked on a project to equip learners in primary schools in Mwanza District with knowledge on child rights.

In an interview on the sidelines of a workshop at Tsupe Primary School on Friday, APW project officer Emmanuel Limbani said learners need to know and understand their rights.

“We would like the participants to be well equipped with child rights issues so that they can report when they feel that their rights have been violated,” he said.

Limbani said some learners in the district are victims of various abuses such as child marriages, human trafficking, corporal punishment, teenage pregnancies and child labour.

“As such, figures of school dropouts, particularly for girls, are increasing in the district,” he said.

In an interview, Sara Guduwelo, a Standard Seven learner of Tsupe Primary School, said the knowledge gained would assist her club to interpret child rights to fellow learners at her school.

“We have increased our knowledge on child rights and we will ensure that our rights are upheld at school,” she said.

On his part, Mwanza district social welfare officer Aaron Macheka bemoaned increasing cases of child abuse.

“We have over 40 reported cases of violation of child rights ranging from child marriage, human trafficking, defilement and teenage pregnancies,” he said.

During the training, each primary school was represented by 10 child-led club members comprising five boys and five girls.