Saving Children Sold Into Slavery in Ghana

At the age of 8, Roland could have hardly imagined his life taking such a turn, and all because of a bicycle, or rather, lack of one.

It all started when his parents separated and Roland went to live with his uncle in a nearby community. His uncle enrolled him in school, but the distance – 6 kilometres – that Roland had to cover each day on foot to get to school was a major deterrent to regular attendance.

When his uncle was not able to afford the bicycle that Roland had requested so he could go to school easily, he was upset and went to live with his mother in Adjamansu, a fishing community. Things there were not any better, since the nearest school was six kilometres away and he ended up dropping out of school yet again.

With the intention of Roland making enough money to buy a bicycle, his mother gave him out to work for a local fisherman. However, after several years of hazardous and hard labour on the Volta Lake, Roland was not paid anything for his work.

His luck turned when he was identified during a screening for trafficked children in the region by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in April 2015. He was rescued with 19 other children caught in similar exploitative situations.

Roland underwent four months of rehabilitation which included medical screening, literacy classes, counseling and nutritional support, following which he was reintegrated back into his community, with his aunt. He enrolled in school again – but once more the three and a half kilometre walk to his school proved too much for him and his attendance and performance slipped.

Thanks to sponsors donating to the reintegration project, IOM was able to provide Roland with the bicycle that he had longed for and which had sent him on a fateful journey.

Now Roland attends school regularly and his performance is improving every day.