In Ghana, a sanctuary provides a second chance at life for child slaves, offering rehabilitation services and a safe haven. The home, founded by an ex-child slave, embodies a shocking yet inspirational narrative.
Charity, a mere eight years old, was thrust into a life of servitude not by her will. Without an education, barely fed, and enduring constant abuse from her cruel employer, she was trapped in a life of relentless labor. Sold by her father to a woman residing by Ghana’s Lake Volta, Charity and her younger sister were cruelly separated from their family.
“Our days were consumed by washing and cleaning, sometimes delivering food to her husband who fished on the lake,” recounts Charity. “Any mistakes were met with a cane, and severe punishments involved ground ginger in our bottoms.”
Child trafficking in Ghana traps thousands of children like Charity and her sister into forced labor or oppressive employment. It is a widespread problem, especially prevalent in labor-intensive industries like farming, mining, and fishing.
Rosemary Afedzie, coordinator at a safe house for rescued children run by the Ghanaian charity, Challenging Heights, blames poverty for this issue. “Deceived by traffickers and middlemen with false promises of luxury lives for their children, impoverished parents are easily convinced. In other cases, they hand over their children to pay off debts,” she explains.
Challenging Heights identifies children caught in abusive work situations through tips from the community. In collaboration with the police and other authorities, they coordinate rescue missions. “The sight of our uniformed men scares the slave masters into handing over the children,” says William Ayaregah, head of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service.
The majority of the 81 children presently in the home were rescued from fishing communities around Lake Volta. When they first arrive, the children are withdrawn and traumatized. “With the help of our team of eight social workers and counselors, the children slowly open up and share their experiences, and that’s where the healing begins,” explains Afedzie.
Apart from emotional healing, medical checks are prioritized. Most children come with skin diseases due to consistently poor hygiene, rotten teeth, ear infections, and blurred vision. Malnourishment is a universal condition among the children. The home, equipped with a small sick bay, conducts check-ups and tests.
Despite their harsh pasts, it isn’t long before cheerful laughter from cartoon-watching children fills up the home. The space is filled with evidence of creativity and joy, with brightly colored handprints adorning almost every wall.
“Every child is assigned an adult caregiver, referred to as the ‘mothers’ and ‘fathers’ of the house. This recreates a sense of family for them,” elucidates Afedzie.
The ultimate goal is to reintegrate rehabilitated children, who usually stay from six months up to two years, back into the community. This policy is rooted in the story of Challenging Heights’ founder, James Kofi Annan, a former child slave who escaped and dedicated himself to education.
A successful graduate who gave up a job at Barclay’s Bank of Ghana to establish Challenging Heights, Annan has committed his life to rescuing survivors like himself. His anti-trafficking efforts have earned him numerous international awards.
If returning the children to their parents isn’t viable due to risks of re-abuse or inability to locate them, Challenging Heights collaborates with state agencies to find adoptive homes.
Although the future for some children remains uncertain, their hope remains undiminished. As Mohammed, a twelve-year-old resident of the home, puts it, “I’d like to earn lots of money so I can help other children who face hardships.”
