14 Oct 2013

Batswana have been urged to join hands with the District Child Protection Committee to promote the interest and welfare of the children.

Speaking during the stakeholders meeting in Maun, the assistant district commissioner, Mr Mogomotsi Madome said child negligence was a concern  as it exposed children to socials ills.

Children, he said, were exposed to drug abuse, rape, exploitation, defilement and child trafficking which destroyed their purity. Mr Madome said the committee’s mandate included protecting children’s rights from childhood to adulthood.

He said the period of childhood was a phase in which the human being is more vulnerable because they have not finished developing physically or mentally and needs particular care. He said through partnership, they could provide support to the children population, improve their living standards and promote awareness on issues affecting them such as child labour.

The assistant district commissioner appealed to some parents who still hide children living with disability to bring them forward so that they could be assisted, including those who are denied the right to education.

He said some parents fail to report people who impregnate their girl-child aged 10 and 11years because the culprits provide for their families. He urged parents to desist from protecting such culprits over their own children as such action undermines the children’s self-esteem and dignity.

Mr Madome who chairs the District Child Protection Committee urged parents to play their role in the upbringing of their children to ensure they become responsible citizens. He said the committee has realised that some children come from dysfunctional families while some are heading families and schooling at the same time.

To address such issues, he said government has established policies, procedures and practices intended to protect the child. For her part, Ms Peggy Ramaphane from Women Against Rape said it was vital for families to hold meetings to appreciate challenges faced by individual family members. Communication, she added also plays a vital role in parenting.Ends