Child Trafficking and Exploitation on Lake Volta, Ghana
IJM Ghana’s team is led and staffed by Ghanaian nationals who support the Ghanaian authorities to bring trafficked children to safety.
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IJM USA
Our Collective Responsibility

IJM’s role in Ghana is to support government partners to achieve more successful investigations and prosecutions of child trafficking cases, following guidelines for trauma-informed care of victims. All decisions on when to bring children to safety, as well as arrests and prosecutions are made by the Ghanaian authorities. IJM supports the Department of Social Welfare with assessing and providing for survivors’ physical and mental well-being. Over 90% of the children in cases IJM has supported have been safely reunited with family under the supervision and guidance of the Department of Social Welfare.

The commitment and dedication of government officials in the police, judiciary and social welfare departments will ultimately be the force for good that ends child trafficking on Lake Volta.

Additionally, IJM is a member of CNACT, the Coalition of NGOs Against Child Trafficking in Ghana, a consortium of more than 20 organizations united in the cause of ending child trafficking.

“At the end of the day, you want to make sure that justice is served and you need to put a lot of resources together to be able to get a conviction… We should get to a point where the world will know of us as a beacon of Africa and even the world, in terms of dealing with issues of trafficking.”

— State Attorney Dodzi Andrews Adugu, in an interview with IJM

Courage Hope

“It happened that one day we went to fish on the Lake, and there was a strong wind blowing...I ended up falling into the Lake...The wind was blowing seriously and I could feel that I was going down into the water. I asked myself is this how my life is going to end?” Courage Hope did not die that day, helped to safety by another boy forced to fish alongside him. When the IJM team and police came to find Courage Hope, he was surprised to hear them calling his name. Godwin had told police about his friend, Courage Hope, and returned with the police to find him. “The moment the Police held my hand and took me inside the boat we travelled in, I saw [Godwin]...And that calmed me down.” Courage Hope is now a leader in the Global Survivor Network, with a message to those who are still trapped on the lake: “They should not be discouraged. When the right time comes, they will also be rescued just as I was rescued.”