Kete-Krachi Update.

The beautiful six-year-old girl rescued off of Lake Volta this past weekend.

As previously mentioned, Emily George is traveling to the Touch A Life programs in Ghana, collecting statistics and writing reports on human trafficking. Most recently, she made the trek up to Lake Volta and to the Village of Life (located in Kete-Krachi) and was able to part of the rescue of a beautiful six-year-old girl.

In Emily's words, here is the account of the rescue and transformation:

• Yesterday, we rescued our first trafficked girl. She cannot be more than six years old and is an orphan. At first, she was very frightened and was crying. Johnbull (the Director of the City of Refuge) was holding her and she was lying listless on his shoulder. She did not understand English, so I stood there touching her arms and tracing her face and kissing her hands and whispering into her ear and I witnessed the miracle of love. She slowly came ALIVE. Her eyes started shining. She started smiling. When I would stop touching her, she would hold out her hand and grab me. If I walked away, she would look at me from afar and beckon me to come back to her. She then started kissing my hands and laughing and playing. Johnbull carried her to the boat and I sat with her as she consumed almost a liter of water in just a few minutes. We drove away as the sun was setting, and by the time we arrived back at the shelter, she was dancing and laughing and playing. It was a MIRACLE...and just like that, another child was free.

Emily also wrote about lead rescue volunteer, George Achibra, and about the graceful influence and gentle power he exerts in Ghana:

• During these visits [to the island communities], George would have all the community leaders and assemblymen sit in a circle and he would begin his teaching. He would talk to them about trafficking and slavery. He explained the law to them. He explained the work that he is doing--that the children he has rescued are now receiving an education and vocational training. He explained the way trafficking destroys the future of Ghana. He invited them to participate in his alternative livelihood and microlending programs. He honored several of the fishermen who are no longer using children and still doing very well in their business. George is a health and development dream. And my hero.

Thank you for checking in on our updates on Emily's trip.

Ghana: March 17.

Rachael, Rachel and Moses, having a blast on the 10-hour ride back to Tema.

On Tuesday, Rachael, Emily and I woke up at 4:45 a.m. to head out for round two on the lake with George and George, Jr. (See pictures from the Ghana: March 16 entry to see images of the kids we met on the water.) Instead of using the large boat we'd used the day before, we hopped aboard a modest boat that was essentially just a canoe with a motor. Because we were on a much smaller boat, we were able to get closer to the children working on Lake Volta's choppy waters. We were able to interact with them and their masters for extensive periods of time. It was so interesting to observe George's conversations with the masters. Since we do not pay to get the children back (that would technically mean that we, too, would be participating in the cycle of human trafficking), our Ghanaian volunteers must be extremely intentional in the words they choose and the conversations they have. All of the negotiations they do are conversation and relationship-based, so these interactions on the lake are extremely important. It was great to get the chance to see how the negotiations truly work.

When we arrived back at the Village of Life, the rest of the team was packing up their belongings and preparing to head back to Tema (an hour outside of the capital of Accra). Moses was coming with us, as he is too young to remain at the program at the Village of Life. After saying goodbye to the incredible teenagers at the Village of Life site, we embarked on our 10-hour journey to visit the City of Refuge program in Tema. Because the ride up to the lake had been rather traumatic, we had adequately prepared ourselves for the trip south. What made the trip 10 times more enjoyable was the fact that Moses was with us. He had such a sweet, patient disposition. He was so comfortable with us, which was so inspiring. We were worried that it would be difficult for him to leave Kete-Krachi but he was clearly ready for a change.

We received the most perfect welcoming when we arrived at the City of Refuge program in Tema. The houseparents had allowed the children to stay up late and wait for us to arrive. When our van pulled into the front gates, the children all began jumping up and down, so excited that we had finally arrived. They jumped all over us once we got off of the van, desperate for hugs and attention, which we were more than happy to give to them. They sang songs for us and climbed all over us, as if we were human jungle gyms. It was the most perfect greeting. 

The Rach(a)els loving on Moses.

Enjoying the drive.

The sweet kids who greeted us upon our arrival to the City of Refuge.

Singing and dancing.

Moses already had friends at the City of Refuge! These boys were on the lake with him and now they're reunited because of Touch A Life.

Rachel

Ghana: March 16.

Sweet Moses, moments after he was rescued.

On Monday, George led our group out to Lake Volta. We boarded the Krachi Queen and set out for an eventful morning on the water. We were able to witness the severity and the gravity of the child trafficking issue firsthand. So many children were working on the lake and it was shocking to see how small they were. They had such serious looks in their eyes, as if they were seasoned fishing veterans. Some of them looked as young as 3 or 4.

It was difficult to navigate our boat away from the children, knowing that we couldn't simply scoop them up and bring them with us. However, we were incredibly blessed with the opportunity to rescue Moses, a boy that George had tracked for nearly 8 months. Touch A Life was originally supposed to rescue Moses in the fall of 2008 but when George arrived at his island to pick him up, Moses's master had taken his children and fled. It took 6 months to find the master and his clan. The master had called George just a few days before our arrival and said that we could bring Moses home. 

We pulled up to Moses's island and weren't surprised to see that his community was extremely small. A group of five or six adults sat mending nets. George interacted with the master and asked for Moses. The shy 12-year-old (with a severely protruding hernia) peeked out from around a tree, and George enveloped him in a hug. After a few minutes of discussion and deliberation, Moses was brought to his room (an incredibly tiny space in a mud hut that was probably shared by at least 3 slave children, none of whom were present) to gather his belongings. He managed to fit all of his earthly possessions into a small red backpack. Since Moses was so accustomed to this lifestyle (he was sold into slavery when he was 8), and because he was so overwhelmed by all the changes happening at once, he cried when we left the island. The moment he settled in on the Krachi Queen, though, Moses was all smiles. The transformation was incredible. 

Moses was instantly at ease when he arrived at the Village of Life. The teenagers there were so welcoming. He was given fresh clothes and good food to eat. He enjoyed playing soccer, taking pictures with Rachael and my cameras and observing all that was going on at the Village of Life. He was quiet but content.

That evening, George invited local community members, including government officials, over to the Village of Life for a party. He honored Pam by praising her efforts in Ghana, and introduced us to numerous members of the community, many of whom are extremely influential. We watched the Touch A Life documentary, created by Patrick Cone of C1 Entertainment. Moses is actually in it, and his face lit up when he saw himself on screen. 

As the party wound down, I looked around at the amazing people gathered together to celebrate this momentous occasion. Another sweet child had been saved from a life spent eternally on the lake. It was an incredible day.

George, Jr., helping Moses board the Krachi Queen. Time to go home.

George Achibra, the leader of the rescue missions, with Moses when we learned we could take him home with us.

Three slave children on Lake Volta. The boy in the foreground most likely has that scar on his face due to a beating from his master.

These children are so young and so little.

Join the crusade to free the trafficked child. 

The Day Two lake group: George, Rachel, Rachael, Emily and our driver. See the Ghana: March 17 entry for more details about the time spent on the lake.

Friends of the trafficked child.

"All days are not equal." Clearly.

Too much seriousness and sadness in such a young face.

Rachel

Ghana Trip: March 15.

At 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, the Touch A Life team embarked on a 10-hour journey to Kete-Krachi (in the Lake Volta region). Try as they might, the Touch A Life team members struggled to get cozy in their 15-passenger van (which thankfully had air conditioning). Things got extremely uncomfortable when the driver hit the halfway point, in which the semi-paved roads turned completely to dirt. Needless to say, the rest of the drive was...eventful. For more traumatizing stories, contact me personally, as I'd like to spare the details for those with weak stomachs...

Truly, though, we were blessed with a driver who was able to get us from Gomoa-Fetteh to Kete-Krachi in one piece. Upon our arrival, we headed straight to George Achibra's house. George is the Ghanaian volunteer in charge of both the Village of Life program and the actual rescues themselves. He is an education official in Kete-Krachi and is incredibly well-known amongst the residents of his community, as well as in Ghana as a whole. It was amazing to get to spend time with an influential leader like George. We spent time partaking in the Ghanaian tradition of sitting under the mango tree, discussing where we all have been and where we all are going. 

The Achibra family had prepared breakfast for us, and we inhaled our food and our coffee. We headed over to the Village of Life. This program was designed for teenagers in the 14-18 age range who have been rescued off of Lake Volta. Because they are too old to enroll in school, they have tutors teach them to read, write and speak English. Additionally, they receive vocational training so that they can create income-generating programs for themselves and for their community. For example, they're currently learning basket-weaving and jewelry-making.

As we pulled up to the Village of Life, we all simultaneously noticed that the dormitory building had been given a name: Jantsen's House, dedicated to Pam and Randy's son who passed away in June of 1999. George and his family had decided to name the house in Jantsen's honor and wanted to surprise Pam upon her arrival. Needless to say, it was an emotional welcoming.

The Touch A Life team members spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know the teenagers at the Village of Life. The 10 kids who reside there are incredible. They are talented, gracious and smart. They all have incredible leadership potential. We taught them to make jewelry and how to play card games. I spent a majority of the afternoon interviewing them to obtain their biographies and to learn their stories. Like the rest of the children rescued by the Touch A Life Foundation, these teenagers have devastating backgrounds. In particular, the story of Doris, a 16-year-old girl, really struck me. She was impregnated by her master's son at the age of 14. While living in wretched conditions, she gave birth to a daughter. Doris's daughter didn't live past a few days. Stories like these are sadly common but regardless of the situation, these teenagers (and all of the children in Touch A Life's ministries) are kind, happy and content. Their circumstances don't determine their joy.

In the evening, the Touch A Life team members returned to George's for another home-cooked meal. The Ghanaian people are so hospitable. It was great to unwind with good food and great company. 

All of the team members went to bed slightly anxious, knowing that the next day would be the time to venture out onto Lake Volta. 

Rachel

Ghana Trip.

On March 11, seven women will depart to Ghana to chart the progress Touch A Life is making in Africa. Pam Cope, Tara Seidman, Leah Cypert, Sheryl Gaskie, Dana Rector, Emily George and myself will fly out of New York into Ghana. We will have the opportunity to first stop at the Village of Hope Orphanage to check on the children in school there. From there, we will move up to the Lake Volta region. We will be able to observe the new buildings at the Village of Life, as well as connect with George Achibra, the director there. We will then move on to Tema to note the progress being made at the Touch A Life program in that city. 

I'm so excited to explore parts of Ghana that I've never seen. Out of our group, Pam is the only one who has been to all three locations so it's clear to me that so much learning is going to be accomplished while in Africa. My hope is that we can return to the States with a greater understanding of the needs of the children our organization serves.

Rachel