Freedom For All calls on local Ghana Government official Samson Abbey Armah to Allow Ghana NGO to resume saving children.
Freedom For All, the Freedom Fund, and Free the Slaves are anti-trafficking organizations dedicated to ending child trafficking. We urge local government official Samson Abbey Armah to stop actions against our local partner, Challenging Height.
Challenging Heights (CH), is an internationally respected NGO that frees children from slavery and reintegrates them with their families. James Kofi Annan, the President of CH, read the interfaith Declaration against slavery at the Vatican last year. Challenging Heights' tireless work on behalf of trafficked Ghanaian girls and boys has improved the lives of hundreds of children and their families.
However, this work is being threatened by the Mr. Armah, District Chief Executive of Awutu Senya, who has been threatening Mr. Kofi Annan and the staff of Challenging heights with arrest if they continue with their valiant work. On March 30, 2016, Challenging Heights was scheduled, with Mr. Armah’s permission, to conduct a rescue on a local beach to identify school-age children being forced to work in the fishing industry in Ghana. Unexpectedly and without reason, Mr. Armah stopped CH from saving these children. Instead he threatened James Kofi Annan, the president, and staff of CH with arrest if they tried to help these children.
It is irresponsible and incomprehensible that CH continues to receive threats and to be barred from conducting beach rescues. This has had an immediate effect on the community. Two weeks ago, CH received a tip from a Community Child Protection Committee member about a boy being trafficked and taken away from his community. CH collaborated with the police and was able to intervene at a checkpoint to rescue the child and bring him to the shelter. Mr. Kofi Annan said the child had been on the beach on March 30th, the day that CH was prevented from intervening.
If CH had been able to go through with the rescue, this boy would not have been trafficked. How many children will be trafficked due to the District Leader Armah’s prohibition of beach rescues?
We call on District Leader Armah to stop his threats, and encourage him to protect the girls and boys in his district and the anti-trafficking work of Challenging Heights.
Sign the petition here!