By Albert Allotey
Accra, March 7, GNA – The Hope Education Project (HEP), has launched a pioneering pilot project in Tamale of the Northern Region, to prevent human trafficking through education and community empowerment.
The HEP will deliver trafficking awareness programme to three Junior High Schools in communities of Tamale: Gumbihini, Sagnarigu and New Gbolo.
This was in a press release by the HEP and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
It said the programme was aimed at disrupting the flow of vulnerable Ghanaians exploited by traffickers both within Ghana and internationally, in line with its slogan: ‘Be Smart! Be Strong! Say No When Things Feel Wrong.’
The release said the HEP was hoping “to achieve the gold standard for human trafficking education and awareness programmes to be deployed across Ghana.”
It said the pilot project which commenced in February 2025, had been implemented in partnership with local organisation, Norsaac, who had designed the monitoring and evaluation programme.
The programme educates participants about their rights, and obligations, trafficking recruitment techniques, online safety, how to report trafficking and crucially the concept of three trusted adults.
The release said data collected from the pilot project will allow HEP’s research partners to study participants’ awareness of trafficking risks, recruitment patterns and child exploitation through pre ad post testing, structured focus groups and community engagement.
The programme targets three key demographics in Tamale: JHS1 school students aged 13-16, out-of-school girls aged 17-20, and parent groups.
Tamale was chosen as the pilot location due to its rapid growth, emerging as West Africa’s fastest growing city, with its population doubling in the past decade to nearly 800,000 residents, the release stated.
It said, “With the Northern Region facing severe economic challenges, young people in Tamale contend daily with all of the risk factors associated with vulnerability to trafficking.”
The International Labour Organization estimates that 50 million people are trapped in modern slavery worldwide, with human trafficking being one of its most pervasive forms.
The release said West Africa has long been a hotspot for these crimes, where individuals were lured by fraudulent job adverts promising lucrative opportunities abroad.
It stated that after months of careful preparation with Norsaac, HEP has secured crucial Institutional Review Board approval from the Navrongo Health Research Centre.
It said, “This milestone enables HEP to proceed with the research component of the pilot, which is essential for developing evidence-based interventions and securing future funding.
The research will also help HEP measure the impact of the educational programmes and refine the approach for maximum effectiveness.
The HEP is funded by Angus Thomas, an activist, who also established Stop Trafficking Africa (STA) to repatriate African women trafficked to the UAE for sexual exploitation.
“HEP was born out of Angus’s ambition to not just rescue victims, but to educate vulnerable communities so that they could protect themselves from being trafficked,” the release stated.
It said human trafficking was fuelled by poverty, unemployment, economic and gender inequality, and lack of education – all of which were prevalent in Tamale and across northern Ghana.
“This is why we have chosen the region for the launch of our pilot project. The HEP is a critical step in disrupting the exploitation of vulnerable Ghanaians. By equipping young people and parents with the knowledge to protect themselves from traffickers, we aim to empower them to make safe, informed migration decisions,” the released stated.
It said the programme’s materials will be delivered in both Dagbani and English to ensure full accessibility and engagement for all participants.
“We are eager to implement this initiative and gather valuable research data in collaboration with Norsaac and the University of Texas at Arlington.
Angus Thomas, the Funder of HEP and STA explained, “This data will enable us to refine and further develop the programme, maximising its impact in the fight against human trafficking.”
GNA