Caritas Ghana, a relief arm of the national catholic secretariat, in partnership with the Ghana immigration service is seeking to achieve these goals with a project code named ‘smart’.The support services for migrants and refugees in transit, ‘smart’, for inclusive development project, seeks to effectively manage migration issue and refugees in Ghana.
Migration is an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety and a better future.It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family and plays a critical role in global development.
If properly harnessed, migration could help in the achievement of the sustainable development goals, especially in respect of goal 1, no poverty, goal 8, decent work and economic growth, goal 10.7, reduced inequality in safe, orderly, regular and responsible migration.
However, some are taking undue advantage of the systems to abuse the rights of others by trafficking them into various dehumanizing ventures.
Ghana is considered as a source, transit and destination country.
The anti-human smuggling and trafficking in persons unit of the Ghana immigration service has been investigating and prosecuting cases of human trafficking.
The unit has secured a 15-year conviction against a trafficker found guilty on counts of trafficking girls into Ghana to be engaged in prostitution.
Comptroller-general of immigration, Kwame Asuah Takyi, disclosed this at the launch of a migrant’s support service by caritas in Accra.
Caritas Ghana, a relief arm of the national catholic secretariat, in partnership with the Ghana immigration service is seeking to achieve these goals with a project code named ‘smart’.
The support services for migrants and refugees in transit, ‘smart’, for inclusive development project, seeks to effectively manage migration issue and refugees in Ghana.
The project was designed to achieve an overall goal of providing “responsive humanitarian assistance and reintegration support for returned migrants and refugees in Ghana and curtail the menace of irregular migration from Ghana into the West through Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) activities in the communities by 2025”.
The project aims at achieving two strategic objectives, namely:
Improve institutional capacity of Caritas Ghana to respond to the relief and emergency needs of migrants and refugees in Ghana.
Migrants, refugees and their families, and community shift their perspective of successes and failures related to migration.
This project framework is motivated by Strategic Objective 5 of the Caritas Ghana’s Strategic Plan which is “To promote youth self-employment and empowerment” and outcome 5.3 focusing on “Migration managed to eliminate/minimize its negative impact and optimize it’s positive impact”.
The project hinged on the Dicastery’s goal of Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican.
Caritas is presently exploring partnership support from development partners within and outside the country to enable them make up for the funding shortfall.
They are happy to initiate discussions with partners under a co-financing arrangement.
This project framework will target 18,000 direct beneficiaries and over 145,000 indirect beneficiaries through different mediums and interventions as captured under the following strategic objectives such as:
1. Training of Caritas Ghana staff on humanitarian assistance and safeguarding migrants and refugees;
1.1 Establish a migrants and refugees call centre;
1.2 Provide emergency relief services to returned migrants and refugees;
1.3 Reintegration support for returned migrants and refugees.Establish and inter-sectoral;
1.4 Coordinating mechanism to protect the interest of migrants and refugees.
2.1 Inception meeting with local stakeholders at the community level.
2.2 Formulation and dissemination of Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) messages using community radio and local drama troupes.
2.3 Showcasing local success stories.
2.4 Commemoration of the international migrants and refugees’ day celebration.
The project is expected to be implemented in nine out of the sixteen regions of Ghana, namely, Ahafo, Bono-East, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western and Oti.
Having shared highlights on the project framework, caritas call for support and cooperation to enable them harvest as many outcomes as possible to secure the future of our country’s labour force which is under threat due to the menace of irregular migration.
Caritas ghana also wish to also use this platform to engender discussion with multilateral and bilateral partners to enable them raise the needed budget deficit needed for the full implementation of the project.
A board member of caritas Ghana and a private legal practitioner, Clara Beeri Kasser-Tee, urged the public to support the effort of Caritas Ghana and the Ghana Immigration Service to realize the dream.
By peter Quao Adattor
