By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Ministry of Social Welfare has on the 28th January 2021 conducted a three-day intensive training for anti-human trafficking task force members in Kenema.
In his statement, the National Coordinator of the task force Dehunge Shiaka said the training will equip the district taskforce with skills to help prevent human trafficking in the communities. He said it was in line with the anti-human trafficking Act of 2005 and the noted that the practice “is real and is happening all over the communities, districts and the country as a whole.”
Shiaka stated that one of the contributing factors for the country to have been successfully selected for the MCC compact grant is the fact that the government was resisting human trafficking. “This helps a nation to win the MCC grant within two years. There have been six convictions in court for human trafficking which tells the world that as a country we are making progress against an act few people are aware of’’.
He said this was the first time such training is taking place through the International Organization on Migration.
The National Programme Officer IOM, Mangeh Sesay said many children are being trafficked in the name of sending them to schools while women are trafficked for either domestic work or sexual exploitation.
He said upon completing the training, the task force members are expected to be pro-active through networking and collaboration in engaging the media to educate the people about the negative effect of human trafficking on the country.
The Assistant Director of the Ministry of Social Welfare east, Haja Alice Jeneba Koroma said her ministry takes the issues of vulnerable people in the society especially women and children very seriously but that they do not hall all the resources to carry out all their functions.
The social welfare officer said that most of the children selling on the streets are victims of trafficking in the guise of being helped through school. She said: “poverty is one big factor responsible for children and women to be easily trafficked. People are now using human beings as commodities to transact business.” She called on the task force to embark on massive sensitization of children and especially parents not to give their children out to other people.
The participants, including civil society workers, police officers of trans- national crimes unit, local councils authorities and partners in child protection were trained in how to detect traffickers and victims of human trafficking.
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