Towards a sustainable NGO intervention on child protection: taking indigenous knowledge seriously

ABSTRACT

The development and well-being of children are important to governments. In Ghana and elsewhere in Africa, policies directing children’s welfare are mostly influenced by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Despite enormous energy devoted to generating policies and guidelines, little attention is given to the rejection of indigenous knowledge on childhood, and its effect on the sustainable implementation of child-focused interventions. This article uses an ethnographic approach to explore rural parents’ attitudes to an NGO intervention on children’s rights to basic schooling, and the illegality of child labour. Based on the study findings, the article discusses lessons for practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Civil society – NGOs
• Aid – Development policies
• Labour and livelihoods
• Social sector – Education
• sub-Saharan Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All programme and organisation names are pseudonyms.

2 The 22 farmers were selected from over 85 farmers who participated in the workshop due to their willingness to be interviewed and to make time for focus group discussions.

3 This participant’s response also drew attention to another important aspect of childhoods in Ghana which has not been researched fully, children’s play. This is particularly important because it is generally agreed that children learn many skills from playing. This lack of research could be because the dominant discourse has been on African children’s work and the humanitarian crisis thereof.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sampson A. Yeboah

Sampson Addo Yeboah is a researcher and applied social scientist. He holds a PhD from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and is a member of the African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific (AFSAAP) research group. His research interests are in sustainable development policies, African childhood and youth development, and the sociology of science, technology and society.

Marguerite Daniel

Marguerite Daniel is a Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Norway, and a member of the Global Development for Equity research group. Her research interests include the resilience of orphaned and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of international aid targeting children, and the strategies and resources that help the integration of refugee children and youth in Norway.