END CHILD LABOUR NOW, SAYS GHANA’S CHILD DELEGATE AT THE AFRICA CHILDREN SUMMIT

By Precious Mupenzi

• The vibrant kente cloth worn by the Ghanaian delegation to the Africa Children’s Summit brought a colourful reminder of the purpose of the summit – to communicate the messages of the children wearing the garb.
• One of the youngest delegates to the summit was 12-year-old Kendrick Otto, who delivered a powerful message that children should be in school, not working on cocoa plantations.
• “We are not just numbers,” Otto told the delegates, “We are children. And we matter.”

Draped in the vibrant colours of Ghana’s iconic kente cloth – a tapestry woven with centuries of culture, pride, and resistance – the Ghanaian delegation brought a striking splash of heritage and heart to the Africa Children’s Summit in Johannesburg on 6 April 2025.

Standing out not only in appearance but in purpose, the delegation included the youngest voices of the continent – among them, 12-year-old Kendrick Otto from Ghana’s Volta Region.

Poised yet passionate, Otto joined his peers in representing the voices of approximately 12 million Ghanaian children.

His message, though delivered with youthful humility, carried a weight that gripped the room.

“Our country is known for cocoa,” Otto began, referencing Ghana’s global reputation as one of the top producers of the sweet commodity.

“But behind the chocolate the world enjoys, many children are working on those farms instead of being in school.”

Clad in gold, green, red, and deep black kente – each colour telling its own story of struggle, unity, and prosperity – Otto and his delegation brought visibility to a difficult truth: child labour remains a pressing issue in Ghana, particularly in cocoa-growing regions where poverty forces many children into farm work.

“This is not the future we want,” Otto said firmly. “Children should be in classrooms, not on cocoa farms with machetes.”

His remarks echoed a concern raised at the 2022 Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, held in Durban, where Ghana’s cocoa industry came under scrutiny.

Despite progress in policy and advocacy, the lived reality of many Ghanaian children remains unchanged.

“The poverty is real. Many families have no choice but to send their children to work,” Otto explained. “But we need more help from our leaders. We need real change.”

The Ghanaian delegation’s presence at the summit was more than symbolic. Their attire became a visual reminder of both Ghana’s rich cultural identity and the unresolved struggles of its youngest citizens.

“Our voices must be heard,” Otto insisted to a round of applause. “We are not just numbers. We are not just statistics. We are children. And we matter.”