Activist Hope Okoye, NGO Educate Anambra Students on Child Trafficking, Drugs

www.odogwublog.com reports that the Executive Director of Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking and Community Development Initiative (INTERCOM-Africa), Hope Okoye and

a Non Governmental Organisation, Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) Nigeria have urged Nigerian students to be wary of traffickers who may pose as friends or relations with ugly intension of trafficking them for sexual exploitation in the streets of Europe.
While speaking separately at Girls Secondary School, Awka, Comprehensive Secondary school Nawfia and Community secondary school Umuokpu-Awka, the activist, Hope Okoye defined child trafficking under international law, as a crime involving the movement of children for the purpose of their exploitation, which she said could be for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, organ removal or for begging purposes.
She however urged the students to reject any offer of taking them to Europe for any reason as there are no gold in the streets of Europe.
“Our reason for coming here is to let you know that human trafficking and illegal migration is a crime against humanity. Do not allow anybody to trade you like a commodity, remember that you are priceless. There are so many opportunities in Nigeria. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 1.2 Million children are trafficked every year and in Nigeria, over 2000 people leave Nigeria to Europe annually” she voiced out.
Okoye also reminded staff and students, that trafficking of a child is a gross violation of their human rights as most of these children live in slums and are forced to engage in exploitative employment arrangements such as domestic servants, even as she added that “these children are often sexually abused and are denied access to food, education and healthcare”
On his own, a prpgramme officer with Social Development and Rehabilitation unit of PRAWA, Mr. Nonso Maduka explained the dangerous effect of drug abuse and enjoined students to report anybody that tries to lure them into that act.
“You are important to Nigeria and if you want to be useful to the society, abstain from hard drug consumption as statistics has shown that every ten out of twenty people that starts taken drug at the age of sixteen, get addicted”

Earlier, he explained that PRAWA is a Non-governmental organization aimed at promoting Security, Justice and Development in Africa, which he said was established in 1994 and in 1998 it secured observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Chisom Onwuasoanya and Chijioke Unegbu of Comprehensive Secondary school Nawfia and Ugwunso Ginika and Chukwu Gift of Girls Secondary school, Awka said they were fulfilled at the sensitisation workshop but urged them to regularise their visit in their schools.
The principal, Girls secondary school Awka, Lady Willie Ibezim described the sensitisation tour as worthwhile as she identified the topic as the bane of Nigerian society.