Three Children Freed from Exploitation by IJM Partners in Ghana
In February of this year, IJM Ghana provided training and mentoring to CARITAS Ghana on how to support local authorities to carry out investigations, conduct operations and provide social support in cases of child trafficking.
At the end of June, CARITAS, Department of social welfare and the police brought three children to safety.
The two boys and one girl had been forced to weed, plant and harvest crops from a farm. The boys had also been forced to fish while the girl, Angel*, processed the fish and prepared food for selling.
One of the boys, Charles,* had been working for one and a half years, six days a week. He said that he was emotionally and physically abused, and has a scar from a knife thrown at him by the fisherman.
Justin* had been trapped in slavery for three years. In addition to fishing and farming, he was expected to cook for the fisherman and his entire family. He expressed anger that while he was forced to work, the fisherman’s own children were cared for and sent to school.
The children are receiving medical care for ailments including malaria and ringworm, and have been placed in a safe care home where their immediate needs can be met. One suspect has been arrested in this case
*A pseudonym. IJM uses pseudonyms and blurs images to protect these young survivors' identities.
Read more about the work of IJM Ghana to combat child trafficking in Ghana's fishing industry.