Since 2002, IOM has rescued 684 children who had been trafficked to work with fishermen in Ghana, West Africa.

The children, trafficked for forced or bonded labour into fishing communities in Kete-Krachi and Yeji along the shores of Ghana's Lake Volta had been sold for little money by impoverished parents in the belief that the children would be adequately fed, educated and taught a useful trade.

Instead, the children had been forced to work extremely long hours by their fishing "masters", including doing heavy and dangerous work such as retrieving nets caught under water.  While most of the boys are made to work in the fishing industry, the girls act as cooks, servers and porters.  Very poorly fed, never paid or sent to school, the children are also physically and verbally abused by their "masters".

A Chance at a Normal Life

Andrew Kwetsu was rescued by IOM this year. Andrew was living with his maternal grandmother after his parents died. A few years later, his paternal grandmother came for him under the pretense of sending him to school; instead she gave him to a fisherman.   » Click here for the full story

The IOM 2009 rescue operation began in mid-February with the release of a first group of 22 children who were taken to the Department of Social Welfare rehabilitation centre in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.  The children are spending three-and-a- half months in comprehensive rehabilitation through psycho-social counselling, medical assistance, educational instruction and creative art therapy.

In preparation for each rescue mission, IOM and its government and local partners carry out numerous visits to the fishing villages to identify trafficked children, gather information, and raise awareness with support from village chiefs.  In the villages of origin, IOM works with the chiefs, the parents and the community to raise awareness of the dangers of child labour and human trafficking and to identify income generating opportunities for the parents so they are not forced to give their children to the fishermen. Fishermen who release children also receive training and micro-credits to enable them to carry out alternative livelihood ventures or improve their fishing techniques without using child labour.

Once IOM secures their releases, the children are taken to a government rehabilitation centre where they are given counselling, medical assistance, educational assistance and art therapy for three and a half months.

It Took Six Years to Secure His Freedom

Stephen Akwetey, a 13-year-old boy had been identified for rescue by IOM and its partners three years ago, but his master had refused to release him. In 2008, IOM staff tracked down his mother. Most of the people in her community believed that Stephen had been missing for 6 years. But after much investigation, IOM learned that he had been trafficked six times in his short life, travelling as far as Benin and Cote d'Ivoire. His mother, faced with severe economic hardship, had resorted to trafficking him for small sums of money. 
» Click here for the full story

"The 2009 rescue mission took more time than usual because we had to engage in very difficult negotiations with the fishermen to convince them to voluntarily release the children," explains Eric Peasah, Manager of the IOM Counter-Trafficking Project in Ghana. After their initial rehabilitation, the children are reunited with their families and communities and enrolled into schools or given vocational training in order to restart their lives.

The rescue of the children has been possible due to continued support from the US State Department Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (PRM) and private donations and sponsorships from individuals and organizations from various countries.

However, since 2008, it has had to limit the number of children it can rescue to 36 each year in order to provide adequate reintegration assistance that includes continued medical follow up and educational assistance, such as mentoring and tutoring, education and other needs.  Post-rescue health assessments usually reveal severe levels of malnutrition, stunted growth, Bilhazia as well as other long-term health related diseases.

For more information, please contact:
Eric Peasah
IOM Ghana
Tél. +233 24 217 0827
E-mail : epeasah@iom.int