LABOR day…EVERY DAY.

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

Today is Labor Day….

a tradition that has largely been shaped by Labor Unions - organizations that are dedicated to protecting workers’ interests and improving their wages, hours, and working conditions.

Sounds great right?

Time for some beach time with family, or maybe a BBQ?

Time to take a moment to RELAX?

We should.  We should enjoy our lives and all the blessings that come with them.

BUT………….

you know who else should enjoy life?

These children:

These children deserve to enjoy life too.

But they don’t…because they are barely treading water(literally) in a system that keeps them enslaved for sometimes almost their entire lives.

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.

I invite you to watch 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.

Want to DO SOMETHING?

Here is what you can do:

1.  Watch the video and SPREAD IT.

2. “like” Mercy Project on Facebook

3. Spend some time on Mercy Projects website HERE.

4. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Give….of your money, your time, and/or your effort.

C’mon …I know that some of you always wanted to be an abolitionist…here is your chance.

( If you want to be involved with OUR effort….we are planning an art sale soon…. Start thinking of what you/your kids would like to enter as an art piece.   Ill let everyone know SOON)