The Country Director of International Justice Mission Ghana (IJM), Mr. Will Lathrop, has charged Ghanaians to rise up, speak, report and be responsible for every child to end child trafficking in the country.
Mr. Lathrop said the time is now for every Ghanaian to raise an awareness against child abuse and also to understand that child trafficking causes poverty and a serious problem in the country which need concerted effort to fight it.
He made these statements last Sunday, November 8, 2021, in an interview with the Republic Press, after his outfit organised a Gospel Concert themed ‘Arise Concert’ to create awareness about the fight against child trafficking which is a major abuse against children on the Volta Lake.
As a former State Attorney in the United States, Mr. Lathrop said Ghana has pockets of abuses such as sexual violence, defilement, physical violence, child marriage and child trafficking against children which policy makers and every Ghanaian must help to fight.
“Child trafficking is something we can easily erase from Ghana if we all come on board to resolve either than that it will breeds poverty because it is the adults that need to work and not children.”
“As a country where unemployment situation is high, we don’t need this industry crime where instead of the unemployed to be working to earn wages, children are rather used because of free labour,” he stated.
Mr. Lathrop said his outfit has so far prosecuted 28 people who were directly using trafficked children on the Volta Lake and are serving various jail terms. He, therefore, called on every Ghanaian to support IJM with funds, resources and information to help end child trafficking in the country.
The Director of Operations at IJM, Ms. Anita Dudu said since their operations in Ghana in 2015, IJM Ghana has been able to rescued 300 victims of children trafficked on the Volta Lake with 100 arrests been made and 28 convictions.
Ms. Budu said the ages of the children rescued on the Volta Lake ranges between five to twelve years who are made divers to go deep into the water to remove nets which have been staked in the water.
She said the chilling and sad stories of these young ones who sometimes had to eat left over foods, subjected to all manner of abuses and have no hope for the future.
The aim of this concert is to have a movement of Ghanaians to raise their voices in Ghana for change to happen for children who are rescued as a result of human trafficking, enforce the laws on areas where these inhumane acts are committed and get a better future for them,” Ms. Budu stated.
Some of the rescued children mounted the stage to share their experiences on the Volta Lake and how ignorantly their parents were lured into accepting to push their wards into this risk and deadly activity.
The concert saw performances from Eugene Zutta, Bethel Choir, Pastor Ben Rosenbush from the United States and many other great singers who thrilled the audience into good music and the day was also used to marked ’20 Years of Observing Orphan Sundays’ in Africa.
