NCCE Amenfi Central Educates Children on Personal Safety and Their Rights

“My body, my safety, my rights.” For children, knowing these three things can make the difference between suffering in silence and having the confidence to speak up when something feels wrong. With this in mind, the NCCE Amenfi Central District Directorate has engaged students of the Bethel Holistic Child and Youth Development Centre, an NGO at Wassa Kwamang, on child protection and personal safety.

The engagement, held at the Wassa Kwamang Methodist Church Auditorium, brought together children between the ages of 13 and 15 under the theme “My Body, My Safety, My Rights.”

The programme sought to equip the children with knowledge of their fundamental rights, help them recognise different forms of abuse, and guide them on where and how to seek help when they feel unsafe at home, in school or online.

Speaking during the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the NCCE, Mr. Daniel Kumi, noted that many children suffer in silence because they may not understand what constitutes abuse or know where to report it.

He emphasised that every child deserves to feel safe in every environment and encouraged children to understand that they have a voice and the right to speak up when their safety is threatened.

The children were subsequently introduced to key reporting and support channels, including trusted adults, the Police Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), the Department of Social Welfare and the NCCE.

To make the session interactive and relatable, the facilitators engaged the students in an ice-breaker activity dubbed “Safety Circle,” followed by a True or False quiz. The activities helped address common misconceptions about abuse, including the harmful belief that a child is responsible when an adult abuses them.

The session ended on an empowering note as the students recited a Class Pledge, committing themselves to protecting their safety and speaking up when they or someone else is in danger.

The Director of the NGO, Mr. Daniel Adjepong Mireku, commended the NCCE for the timely intervention. He noted that teenage pregnancy, online exploitation and emotional abuse are emerging concerns in communities and called for similar engagements to be extended to parents and caregivers.

The NCCE Amenfi Central District Directorate assured participants that the education would continue in selected schools across the district as part of the Commission’s child protection and citizenship education mandate.

The engagement reinforced a simple but important message: children have rights, children deserve protection, and when something feels unsafe, speaking up is a strength, not a fault.