By Dennis Peprah
Abesim (B/A), Aug. 24, GNA – The ActionAid Ghana (AAG), a non-governmental organisation, has rescued two children trafficked into the country for exploitative work.
They were 14-year-old Togolese girl rescued about two months ago at a farming community in the Jaman South Municipality, and a Burkinabe boy rescued in the Banda District of the Bono Region within the same period.
Nana Afram Denkyira, the Bono East/Ahafo Regional Programmes Manager, ActionAid Ghana, said through the support of the Department of Social Welfare and other relevant institutions, the minors had been sent back to their respective countries.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a media engagement held at Abesim near Sunyani on Wednesday, Nana Denkyira expressed regret that child
trafficking was still common in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions and some parts of the country.
The NGO organised the engagement to sensitise the media and collect their inputs on a project being implemented in the Bono Region, titled: “Combating Modern Slavery”.
It is a three-year multi-country project in the Tain and Jaman North districts and the Jaman South Municipality of the Bono Region, being implemented by the AAG. Ethiopia is also implementing a similar project.
Among other objectives, it seeks to identify, prevent and strengthen policies on anti-slavery, child trafficking, labour and exploitation.
“Slavery is still going on in parts of the country. The ancient disgusting practice has taken a modern trend, mostly common in cocoa and cashew growing communities,” Nana Denkyira said, and called on all to help bring the situation under control.
“In fact, we need a collective, concerted and decisive approach to tackling the growing trend of this modern slavery in a more proactive manner,” he stated.
Nana Denkyira expressed regret that innocent and unsuspecting children recruited or trafficked for farm work went through the worst forms of human rights abuses, hence the need for everybody to support to curb the unacceptable practice in the country.
He acknowledged the immeasurable contributions of the media towards the implementation of the project, and expressed the hope that they would continue to play their advocacy roles to ensure its successful closure in December 2023.
GNA