By Megumi Ito | Ghana Project Team
Hello everyone, and thank you always for your continued support of ACE's work.
My name is Megumi, and I am part of the team working on our Ghana project. In December 2025, we visited cocoa-growing communities in Ghana as part of our collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), wupporting efforts to establish "Child Labour Free Zones."
In this report, we would like to share what we saw and experienced during our visit, the encouraging progress being made, as well as the serious challenges that still need to be addressed.
Mining Next Door: The Reality of Galamsey
Just a short walk behind a local community school, a narrow path leads straight to a galamsey site, an illegal small-scale gold mining operation. The school and the mining site sit alarmingly close to each other, side by side in the everyday lives of children.
Although it is illegal for anyone under 18 to enter these sites, the reality is quite different. Many galamsey sites have no barriers or safeguards, making it almost impossible for children growing up in these communities to avoid coming into contact with them.
"The Work Happens Outside the Site": Child Labour Hidden in Plain Sight
Child labour linked to galamsey does not always take place inside the mining sites themselves. It often happens in nearby areas within the community, making it far less visible but just as concerning. In some cases, excavated soil is carried away from the site and brought closer to people’s homes, where children are involved in sorting through it, often along riverbanks, in search of small flecks of gold.
We witnessed this reality during our visit. Near the community, and during school hours, we came across three boys who appeared to be around 10 years old. They were digging and carrying soil in a grassy area not far from their homes. When we called out to them, they dropped what they were carrying and ran but returned shortly afterward. They told us they were taking the soil home to sift for gold.
When we asked why, one boy replied, “Because they told me if I find gold, I’ll get 2 million cedis.” He then added something that stayed with us: “Even if you study hard, everyone in the village is poor and unemployed. Even teachers who are supposed to be respected don’t even have a car. I feel like going to school is a waste of time.”
His words reflect a deeper challenge—one that goes beyond enforcement. When children see little connection between education and a better future, the risks of child labour become even harder to address.
The Weight of 400 Cedis: Why Children Choose Gold Over School
One boy we met at the riverbank told us he could earn around 400 Ghana cedis in a single day through galamsey-related work, roughly six times the average daily income of a cocoa-farming household.
For families living on very limited and often unstable incomes, this creates a strong economic incentive. The immediate income generated by a child’s labour can outweigh the perceived long-term benefits of education. In practical terms, sending a child to school is not simply a social decision—it involves a real opportunity cost: the loss of income the child could have contributed that day.
In this context, the idea that “it is better to earn than to go to school” is not merely a matter of preference or awareness. Under conditions of significant income disparity and limited livelihood options, economic constraints exert strong pressure, making such choices more likely to occur.
Wounds Left on the Land and the Community
Once mining activity ends, the land is often left scarred with deep pits that fill with stagnant water, turning once-productive areas into barren landscapes. Soil erosion and chemical contamination, particularly from substances such as mercury, stain the water a reddish-brown, raising serious concerns for both environmental and public health.
The impact extends far beyond the mining sites. This environmental degradation threatens the livelihoods of entire communities, including cocoa farming, and its consequences are likely to be felt for generations to come.
Where Does the Gold Go?
Across the community, there are officially licensed gold buying points where miners can exchange gold for cash. In principle, children are not allowed to use these facilities.
In practice, however, the system extends beyond these formal channels. Unlicensed transactions often take place in private homes, where gold is bought informally and where children are also able to sell what they have collected.
This broader, largely informal network from extraction to sale makes it extremely difficult to separate children from the labour. Even when formal rules are in place, the structure of the local gold economy continues to draw children into the system.
Change and Struggle Inside the Schools
Schools are making efforts to educate students about the risks of galamsey, integrating the topic into subjects such as science, social studies, and ethics from the early grades through to junior high.
When we asked children why galamsey is prohibited for them, many initially repeated familiar phrases they had heard on television: “Galamsey will destroy our country” and “It’s destroying the environment.”
However, when we encouraged them to reflect on what it means for their own lives—their families and their friends—their responses became more personal and immediate: “Mercury.” “Children fall into the holes and die.”
"Come to School": The Role of Adults in Shaping the Community
The school principal emphasizes that behind children turning to galamsey lies the responsibility of adults in the community.
“Come to school. Don’t be the one who is exploited. Learn, and become the ones who lead businesses, manage money, and guide others. Understand how much you lose in your life for every day you miss school.”
Her words carry both urgency and hope. They are not only a message to the children standing before her, but a call to the entire community to reflect and act.
With a firm yet compassionate presence, the principal continues to reach out, reminding children of their potential, and urging them to choose a different path.
Getting Children Back to School
As part of the project, school uniforms and supplies are being provided to support children’s return to school. On the day of distribution, children lined up to be measured—some shy, others smiling—showing a mix of nervousness and quiet pride.
For a child, choosing to return to school is a meaningful and often difficult step. On the ground, practical support like this plays a crucial role in turning that decision into reality.
Toward a Child Labour Free Zone
Across the communities, efforts are steadily taking shape through monitoring patrols led by Child Protection Committees, the development of community rules to prevent child labour, and ongoing awareness-raising among residents.
At the same time, local leadership is driving creative action. One school principal has even proposed marching through the village with children, beating drums, to call on the community to support education and keep children in school.
Lasting change will not come from enforcement alone. It is this kind of locally driven initiative—rooted in the commitment of communities themselves—that has the power to create sustainable impact.
A Closing Note from ACE
The challenges of galamsey and child labour are deeply intertwined and cannot be reduced to a simple question of right and wrong. Addressing them requires the sustained involvement of entire communities—children, families, schools, and neighbours—working together over time.
Through our partnership with the ILO, ACE is supporting communities to build Child Labour Free Zones and to restore children’s fundamental right to education. We remain committed to walking alongside these communities, listening, learning, and responding to the realities on the ground.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. It is your support that makes this work possible and meaningful.
By Yuki Akahori | SMILE Ghana Project Manager
By Megumi Ito | Researcher
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