Mercy Project

There’s an estimated 7,000 children who work in the Ghana fishing industry. Some of

these children are as young as 5 and 6 years old.  All of these children are slaves.

–Mercy Project
We recently got an email from Heather of Mercy Project and it was so eye opening.  We are so thankful to be in a group with other bloggers bringing attention to this amazing group of people helping free children from slavery.  Today, as we’re celebrating the systems in our own country that strive to prevent injustices like child trafficking and child labor, we’re forwarding information on of the many child slaves around the world who are unprotected and the organizations, like Mercy Project, who are working to free them.

As a mother, it’s impossible for me to imagine my children working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When I showed this video to my kids, they could not even fathom what was going on.  They kept asking when they got to go home or where their parents were.  It is just so inconceivable to them in our world that not everyone has this life that we lead.  I want my kids to understand that at an early age, but so often I don't know what to say.  I am so thankful for the Mercy Project and the people that are changing the lives of the people and children of Ghana- and how they are bringing attention to these poor children so that we can help.  We are unable to wrap our brains around the thought of children engaged in long, hard days of physical labor, eating one meal a day, and then falling asleep at night on a dirt floor filled with other slave children. Yet this is the daily reality for kids who have been trafficked into the fishing industry in Ghana, Africa.  As with much of Africa, there is a great deal of poverty in Ghana. Unfortunately, this leaves many mothers in an unimaginable position: sell their children to someone who can take better care of them or watch them starve to death. Most of the mothers are told their children will be given food, housing, and an education. Instead, the kids are often taken to Lake Volta where they become child slaves and their mothers never see them again.  Thankfully, Mercy Project is working to break the cycles of trafficking around Lake Volta by providing alternate, more efficient, sustainable, fishing methods for villagers – ultimately eliminating the need for child slaves.  Because of the work Mercy Project is doing in Ghana, the first group of children will be freed this month from Lake Volta.

We want to share this moving, 10 minute documentary about the issues surrounding child labor and trafficking in Ghana, and most importantly, the hope Mercy Project is bringing to children and entire communities in Africa.  Mercy Project is the only NGO working on Lake Volta addressing the injustice of child labor and child trafficking at its root - by strengthening the Ghanaian economy and eliminating the structures that cause the demand for trafficked children.

Whether these ideas of child labor, child trafficking, and modern-day slavery are new to you or you’re aware of these injustices, but need to hear some good news every once in awhile, we invite you to become a part of what Mercy Project is doing in Ghana.  When Mercy Project frees their first group of children this month, we can all celebrate together.

You can learn more and get involved by watching Mercy Project’s short documentary,  following Mercy Project on Facebook, connecting with Mercy Project via Twitter, visiting the Mercy Project’s website and telling everyone you know.

Although child trafficking, child labor, and the unstable economies that result in these injustices are a tragedy, we’re grateful for what Mercy Project is doing to protect the vulnerable and for allowing us to be a part of this story.   While we’re commemorating labor laws and ethical work in our own country today, we invite you to follow along on this journey with Mercy Project to protect and free children in Ghana.