Jack James Dawnson has been in the forefront of the fight against the nonconsensual exploitation of Ghanaian children, particularly trafficked children in any part of the country.
His foundation-Association of People for Practical Life Education (APPLE) which operates in Atitekpo in the Volta Region is working hard work to stamp out the activities of child trafficking among communities along the Volta Lake.
Indeed, child trafficking, according to human rights activists is the trade of children aiming to exploit them sexually, as domestic slaves, as drug traffickers or other forms of illegal labour.
Globally, child trafficking exists and in many forms which is often caused by poverty- desperate parents sell their children hoping to earn some money for a better living. But the children end up being abused.
It also happens without consent of the parents or they can be forced to sell their children. Sometimes children leave ‘voluntarily’, seduced by false promises of a better future elsewhere.
In Ghana, the practice is widespread in the fishing, coastal and farming communities in the Volta, Central and Brong Ahafo regions, despite government’s efforts to stop it.
For instance in the Volta Region, Yeji, a small fishing community by the Volta Lake is the notorious hotspot of trafficking, with many of the children trafficked from the poor coastal areas to that part of the county.
In many cases, the children ranging from four to 16 are sold for less than GH¢300 with the parents being tricked into believing that the children will be treated well and integrated into their new homes or communities.
In practice, most of the children work as helpers for the fishermen, living in brutal conditions where beatings are commonplace and the idea of going to school is abandoned prematurely.
Watching Mr Dawnson from TV set when his humanitarian activities were aired, revealed a man who is bent on using his limited resources to stop the inhumane practice in the Volta Region and the country at large.
His APPLE project was featured prominently on the eighth episode of the ongoing season III of the MTN Heroes of Change which is MTN Ghana Foundation flagship project.
It was initiated in July 2013 to recognise and reward persons who have provided significant humanitarian services to their communities through personal sacrifices.
The MTN Ghana Foundation is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of MTN Ghana, the leading telecoms service provider in the country.
Mr Dawnson, a graphic designer by profession was nominated by his people to participate in this year’s MTN Heroes of Change which is currently aired on GTV every Saturday at 5:30pm;Multi TV on Sundays at 5:00pm;TV3 on Sundays at 6:30pm; and GhOne on Sundays at 7:00pm .
The purpose of the TV shows is to highlight the humanitarian activities of Mr Dawn and the nine other contestants for the ultimate cash prize of GH¢100,000.
The ultimate Hero of Change winner will receive GH¢100,000 to support his/her community project. Three selected winners for the various categories will receive GH¢20,000 each, while the remaining six finalists will also take home GH¢5,000 each.
Explaining the harrowing ordeals the trafficked children go through, Mr Dawn said the children sometimes worked on empty stomachs on the sea, while others fall into the water and die.
He revealed that the fishermen are also interested in the service of children ranging between four to five years old because they are able to remove small fingerlings from the fishing nets. “That is why the fishermen buy them”, Mr Dawnson stated.
On who to blame the bondage slavery on, he said: “Parents, close extended family members, community members and strangers are all implicated in the trafficking of children for forced labour”.
But we must work hard to stop the undignified practice, he stated.
Impacts of the project
Since the inception of the APPLE project about four years, over 2,000 trafficked children from 18 communities have been rescued and sent back to their parents to continue their education.
“Although there are a lot of children out there to be rescued, we consider the prevention of trafficking and child labour more critical in the development of the child and in the elimination of worst forms of child labour in the area”.
The interventions they used for these short time achievements are integrated, according to Mr Dawnson. “We focus on rescuing the trafficked children, sensitization and awareness creation for changing mindsets and giving educational support to at risk children, involving children in the whole process, building the capacity of community actors and strengthening community governance structures for dealing with the problem from source”.
We also support the communities in poverty alleviation and food security schemes, especially for the mothers so they can take better care of their children, he added.
Mr Dawnson who is also a devoted social worker wants to do more but his efforts are being hampered by resource constraints.
He therefore needs more resources to enable him see his vision through. So, Mr Dawnson needs your votes to enable him win the ultimate prize. You can do so by texting his short code name (Jack) to 1406.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
