Diving into the dark

Our actual day out on the lake was Tuesday, August 19th. I'm not sure I will ever forget that day.

We pushed off in a motor-powered canoe and immediately started coming across other canoes in which men and boys were about their business of retrieving their nets. It was an overcast morning with a cool breeze blowing across the lake.

One of the first boats we pulled up to was a boat with an older (18 or 19 year old) boy and three younger boys – probably ranging in age from 9 to 13, most likely all trafficked. We saw that the leader was hoping down into the water to untangle the net. I had heard stories of this but it was very uncomfortable to watch as the boy disappeared into the dark water of Lake Volta for what seemed like several minutes.


As he was underneath the surface the youngest boy pulled on the net, although he had one eye on the strangers that had pulled up next to the boat. When the older boy made it to the surface and saw the young boy distracted he barked at him, probably to focus on his job and pull harder.

Seeing that they were in no mood to talk we slowly backed away and headed to another boat. Finding others was not a problem as they were everywhere. It was difficult to navigate the lake because of all of the nets. So many boats, so many nets that the once productive lake has now become over fished and it is hard for the masters to make a living. Their answer, it seems, is more boats, more nets – which require more trafficked children.

As you read this story please be thinking with us on how to solve this problem. Touch A Life is committed to help them, but it is overwhelming to think about how you change the whole culture and move this remote economy away from this downward spiral.

Tomorrow – Emmanuel.