Lake Volta, located in the southeastern part of Ghana, is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world based on surface area. The lake is about 250 miles long and covers 3.6% of Ghana’s area and supplies most of Ghana’s electricity. Human Trafficking along Lake Volta shares links with fishing activities on the lake. To secure free labor, fishermen resort to exploiting child labor. Traffickers specifically target children due to their smaller stature. Once on the water, traffickers force these children to dive and untangle nets. Moreover, their compact size enables them to occupy less space on the boat and they are less likely to raise objections to working without compensation. While some of these children are given out by their parents, others are bought by traffickers or traded for a farm animal by relatives.

Trafficked children work rigorously, day and night, for their masters, with or without food. They often face the dangerous aspects of the work. During an interview with the Cable News Network (CNN), humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine reported that every child she spoke to during a visit to the lake knew someone who had drowned. At that time, children who had died through trafficking were declared as dying from natural causes and policemen refused to initiate criminal charges against the culprits.

Risk Factors

Certain factors plunge young children, as young as 5 years old, into work. While for some parents, it is more about letting their children acquire important survival skills, for others, it is cultural. Certain ethnic groups, especially the ethnic groups closer to the sea, deem the involvement of children in fishing as a sociocultural activity.

The National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Human Trafficking in Ghana

Ghana has made certain efforts in its fight against trafficking. In March 2022, the 2022-2026 National Plan of Action (NPA) for the Elimination of Human Trafficking in Ghana was implemented to curb human trafficking through direct and indirect actions. According to the foreword of the plan, the NPA is a five-year strategic plan that serves as an interface and a guideline for all stakeholders working in the field of human trafficking. The NPA has 12 objectives: three for protection, prevention and partnership; two for prosecution and an objective for Monitoring, Evaluation and Research.

The Torkor Model to Curb Trafficking

A partnership agreement involving the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) of Ghana, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Inland Canoe Fisher’s Association has been trailblazing in their effort to fight child labor prevalent in the fish supply chain in Torkor. Torkor is located on the eastern coast of Lake Volta. The Torkor model encompasses four key projects: the installation of a public address system that raises the community’s awareness and sensitivity to child labor; the establishment of ‘bridge’ schools to integrate child laborers; an efficient monitoring system to track the activities of children in and around the lake and the setup of women’s fish smoking and processing cooperatives that address the vital socioeconomic roles of women in society.

Help From Elsewhere

Apart from the government, nonprofit institutions like the International Justice Mission and Free the Slaves are actively contributing to the ongoing fight against child trafficking on the Lake in Ghana. Free the Slaves, through its Growing up Free Initiative, reorients survivors of trafficking on the Lake. The program encompasses strategies aimed at building the capacity of civil society organizations through training, education and community mobilization. The goal is to empower communities to recognize trafficked children, meet their basic needs and spearhead a change in attitudes within communities facing high rates of trafficking.

The IJM, on the other hand, advocates for trauma-informed justice in Ghana, collaborating with authorities and survivor-led groups to eradicate child trafficking through awareness and action. Ghana may not have made giant steps in its efforts to curb child trafficking on Lake Volta, but just like the ocean, these small drops of progress are pooling together to make a notable impact.

-Angela Agyeiwaa Darkwah
Photo: Flickr