By Barr. Awele Ideal/ Patrick Ochei.
A nine year old girl named Faith, from Ebonyi State, has exonerated her guardian, one Mrs. Chika Nwankwo living around Midwifery Market, Okpanam, from any form of abuse.
She told two members of the Delta State Child’s Rights Implementation Committee – Barr. Awele Ideal and Comrade Patrick Ochei that the aunt whom she refers to as mother never beats her nor starves her.
Faith further confided confidently in the Child Protectors that she only does sweeping and fetching of water for the aunt, and that she was happy living with her.
Equally, Mrs. Nwankwo denied any allegation of maltreatment on the girl, saying that she is her uncle’s daughter that she brought few months ago to help reduce the burden of bringing her up on the parents.
She said that she planned registering her in a less expensive private school by next academic session, because as at the time she came, the last academic term had already gone far.
Meanwhile, members from the Child Protection office were satisfied that the woman didn’t tell lies and that the child did not show signs of one being maltreated or abused.
They only cautioned the woman to disallow the girl from doing house chores that are higher than her capacity while urging her to continue to treat her as her own child.
It could be recalled that a concerned neighbour had sent a video of the girl carrying a big iron bucket of water, which suggested that she was being used for child labour.
While the girl admitted to doing some domestic work like sweeping and fetching of water alone, she said she only used bigger bucket to fetch water when she broke the smaller plastic bucket, which invariably she was advised against the use of it by her guardian.
