PARENTS have been called upon to embrace family planning so as to end child labour in the state.

Blessing Ojadi, president-general, Anaku Progressive Union, Women Wing, made the call in an interview with newsmen at Anaku, Ayamelum LGA.

Ojadi urged parents, especially those in rural communities to give birth to the number of children they could care for.

She noted that child labour could be stopped, if parents especially those in rural areas would indulge in family planning, stating that child labour results from a lack of family planning.

Ojadi, who explained child labour mean children who are forced to perform jobs above their age in order to make ends meet, noted that it had become a way of life for some families.

“It gets so difficult to feed the children and pay educational levies if you have many of them.

“Sometimes, it is even so bad that parents are forced to give their children to strangers as maids.

“Some families are so populated that the children are forced to hassle as much as their parents to generate income, either by hawking or doing menial jobs,’’ Ojadi said.

She condemned the idea of children hawking wares and doing menial jobs to care for their families.

Ojadi recalled an incident that took timely intervention of Victoria Chikwelu, a former commissioner for Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs, to save an Anaku girl from the streets of Abuja.

“Some time ago, when Mrs Chikwelu was the Commissioner for Women Affairs, she found an Anaku girl, who was sent to live with strangers in Abuja loitering the streets of Abuja and brought her back to Anaku by herself,’’ she said.

The PG, urged parents to engage their children in academic works all through the long vacation to help build their mental strength.

She pleaded with the non-governmental organisations, NGOs, churches and other humanitarian organisations not to relent in their fight against child labour and trafficking.

Ojadi, however, congratulated parents who have adopted family planning as a way of safe guarding their children’s future and pleading with others yet start, to key in such family planning.

– Aug. 1, 2018 @ 18:35 GMT |