A few weeks ago I was asked to support my colleague to deliver some training on Child Protection, a key element of their programme seeing as children are at the centre of everything World Vision does.

The training was suggested to me months back, but because of the huge workload of the Sponsorship Officer, it has been postponed a number of times, until the staff realised that it was actually getting to the point where we couldn't delay any longer; the auditor is coming in a few weeks time, and will without doubt want to check on all child protection processes.

Child protection is something that is taken very seriously in Ghana, but many issues still exist and children are vulnerable to a number of abuses. Some abuses are entwined with traditional cultural practices, such as female genital mutilation, so being able to carefully handle any child protection issues that come up is a must for any World Vision staff member or volunteer. So this was no small call!

I thanked my lucky stars for all the delays and postponements we have had until now, because that has actually given me the time and the opportunity to get an idea of the vulnerability of children here in Ghana and what is in place to protect the safety and well-being of children at a local, district and national level. Some of the cultural practices are so complex, for example many teachers still use canes in schools to punish the children, even though it is now against the law, and those who come late to school may be asked to farm or weed or undertake what might at home be seen as child labour. In some communities, female genital mutilation still takes place, although thanks to the many community sensitizations, and a move to make it formally illegal this has now decreased drastically. Other issues that often come up are early child marriage, where girls as young as 12 or 13 may be forced to marry older men, or child trafficking and child labour, and issue especially in those communities that are operating illegal mines.

Thankfully World Vision has a very strict behaviour protocol and child protection procedures for all staff volunteers and visitors, and they instil a sense of care and love for children in everything they do, so with that we had a good starting point. Spending time with my colleague to prepare this session was an insight for me into his work, as well as an opportunity to do what we VSO volunteers are really here to do - share our skills. My involvement in this was significant on a number of levels; it was an opportunity to take on a real coaching and mentoring role with one of my colleagues, it solidified our working relationship, and it gained me a big slice of respect and acceptance amongst those that we trained.

World Vision have almost 3,000 sponsored children in this district which poses a huge challenge when it comes to ensuring their safety and wellbeing. The training was for Child Welfare Supervisors (CWS's), the people who offer to voluntarily 'keep an eye on' and support the sponsored children in their communities. I have to say, this is one seriously committed bunch of people, who honestly care about children, and take on this role voluntarily above and beyond their very busy work and life schedules. They are the real life reflection of the African saying 'it takes a community to bring up a child'.

26 of them turned up on the day, many of them head-teachers, chiefs and pastors, men and women who have huge amounts of respect in their communities, and who might be unlikely to listen much to a younger white female from a cultural background very different to theirs. So needless to say I was a little bit nervous as to how they might react to me and our very participatory training session! But in actual fact they were so welcoming, open and kind to me, and so responsive to the training, that it felt more like I was part of the team than an outsider - one of the things I love about Ghana.

I was so proud to be able to empower my colleague to run some fun and creative activities that the CWS's loved, and we made sure that by the time they left they felt confident in knowing what to do when faced with some very challenging child protection issues. We covered all kinds of topics, including religious questions such as whether the bible gives permission to beat a child, and whether child abuse is more common in some religions than others. At times it looked like some prejudice might raise its head between different religious groups, but we managed to keep a sense of equality and respect within the group, and they all responded so well to different perspectives on some of the more sticky subjects.

I'm so appreciative of the things I am learning here; each experience has another eye-opening 'wow' element, and I feel like I'm constantly unfolding layers of culture and ways of life, slowly getting a better idea of how things work here and how some of the big issues can potentially be challenged.

By the end of the day I was tired, but also elated, it was a really good experience, and one that I know will truly benefit the children that we work with. I could literally see the change in confidence levels amongst the group; when they arrived they were looking at Child Protection like it was some kind of big scary lion, but by the end it was more like a little mouse!

With love from Ghana,

Em

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