By Doris Yiboe | Counter-Trafficking Field Coordinator
Thanks to generous private donations from donors like you, IOM Ghana is set to conduct a rescue in late March 2015 to free 20 children from forced labour on Lake Volta and provide them with rehabilitation and reunification support. The first step towards achieving this rescue is to assess various fishing communities along Lake Volta.
In December 2014, the Counter Trafficking (CT) Field Coordinator (FC) led the first pre-rescue assessment mission and visited a total of 9 lakeside communities over a 4-day period. Three communities were found to have child protection concerns related to child labour while the remaining 6 communities were all identified as prone to child trafficking.
The FC, in coordination with officials from the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and Community Development (CD), visited each of the communities to speak with community members and opinion leaders about the use of child trafficking victims. From these discussions it was clear that child trafficking exists but most of these children were out fishing at the time of the visit and were not expected to return until late in the evening. The assessment team also found that most of the communities they visited had no schools and bad roads, forcing children to walk long distances to school in another community. Additionally, many people living in these communities originate from three different tribes located in the southern part of Volta Region and they resettle to the North along Lake Volta to engage in fishing.
To address the child protection concerns, including child labour, observed in these communities, there is a need to provide community sensitization such as through the use of the IOM/UNICEF Child Protection Toolkit.
The IOM Ghana team thanks you for your continued support as we finalize preparations for the rescue, stay tuned for more information in the coming months. By working together we can make a difference and help to prevent child trafficking.
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