The Executive Director of Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation, Otiko Afisah Djaba, says head porters ‘ job, popularly known as kayaye, is purely modern-day slavery and the girls engaged in the trade are slaves to a society that has failed them.
“Kayaye is a failure of parents, the government system and duty bearers, the community, the traditional rulers, stakeholders and the girls themselves,” she indicated.
Madam Djaba said this during a National dialogue conference on the welfare, reduction, and eradication of the Kayayei menace in the country.
The event, organized by Henry Djaba Foundation with its partners United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), is to enable the parties to share ideas to identify sustainable solutions to address the challenges confronting girls involved in the trade to bring dignity to women and the young girls in Northern Ghana.
She said Kayayes have been struggling with the scars of poverty, hunger, fear of abuse and violence for so long and called on Ghanaians to take collective responsibility and action to support government to give a better future with great opportunities to the Kayaye girls in the country.
“I challenge government and the assemblies to provide aggressive investments in the infrastructure of our rural communities to increase growth, provide alternative livelihood opportunities and reduce rural migration of our girls,” she noted.
She urged parents to be responsible and take good care of their children’s welfare.
Mr Sule Salifu, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, urged stakeholders to come out with policy guidelines for the welfare, reduction and eradication of Kayaye in the next few years to end the Kayaye trade.
He urged parents to support government to assist these girls, especially from the rural areas to acquire educational and vocational skills to reduce poverty which has led the girls to engage in the Kayaye trade.
He advised the stakeholders to protect girls from early marriage, unwanted pregnancies and HIV disease.
Mr Mammah Tenii, the Programme Specialist of UNFPA in the Northern Region said UNFPA would continue to support government to enhance the future of the Kayayes to have a better life in society.
Naa Bakpem Yoo-Naa Abdulai V, the Paramount Chief of Savelugu Traditional Area, urged government to develop livelihood skills in the rural areas, especially in Northern Ghana to enhance the cause of living to reduce the situation of Kayaye.
