14 Children Rescued from Volta Lake

At least 14 more children have been rescued from forced labour on the Lake Volta.

The rescue operation was undertaken by Challenging Heights in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Navy, the Department of Social Welfare, and its international partners, Abolish Slavery Now.

The rescued children comprised two girls and 12 boys between the ages of 8 and 16. They were rescued from communities such as Alhaji Akura, Kafaba Number 3 and Efutu. These were children who have been trafficked to the Lake Volta and are being used for hazardous labour.

All the children would go through rehabilitation, and subsequently be re-united with their families, in communities in the Central region.

Over the years Challenging Heights has been collaborating with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) with respect to rescues, policies and national advocacy aimed at putting an end to Child Trafficking in Ghana.

The organization which was founded over a decade ago, has rolled out a new five years strategic plan aimed at supporting government to address the issue of child trafficking in Ghana.

Challenging Heights works in several communities across Ghana to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate children who have been affected by worst forms of child labour, including trafficking in persons.

Last year, Challenging Heights, together with its partners, rescued 91 children made up of 74 boys and 17 girls, all from forced labour on Lake Volta.

The organization has so far rescued over 1,600 children from the Lake Volta since it was established in the year 2003.

“We call on the government to take action, to address the program of child trafficking in Ghana, and stop denying the existence of the program.

“To this end, we are asking for the Ghanaian government to invest at least GHC15million annually, to resource the Human Trafficking Secretariat, and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service, in order for them to have the capacity to do their work, as well as enforcing the Human Trafficking Law 2005,” James Kofi Annan, President Challenging Heights said in a statement.

Source: Starrfmonline