Ghanaian actress Lydia Forson has rescued a
child who was sold by his parents to engage in
child labour at Gasoekope. There are many of
such kids who are not attaining the life they are
expected to live but are going through trauma.
This boy whose name is only known as
Emmanuel was fortunate to meet actress Lydia
Forson according to a report by News One.
Ghanaian actress, Lydia Forson, has facilitated
the rescue of a 12-year-old boy who had been
forced into child labour at Gasoekope, a village
surrounded by water in the Volta Region.
The boy, who gave his name as Emmanuel, said
he was taken from his mother at Tema near
Accra to the Volta Region where he was forced
into child labour, together with several other
children brought from other parts of the
country.
Emmanuel, at a point, could not take the
treatment meted out to him and the other
trafficked children and therefore escaped from
the village, thinking he could find his way back
to Tema.
The young boy however got lost within the
cluster of villages in the area and was stuck
because the whole vicinity was surrounded by
water. He was wandering on the banks of the
Volta River when he met Lydia Forson.
The actress was in the Volta Region for an
outreach programme to rescue children
trafficked to the area.
She was working in collaboration with Right To
Be Free, an organisation owned by Eric Peasah.
Lydia Forson told NEWS-ONE yesterday that the
boy was standing at the shore waiting for an
available boat to get in when they found him.
"Our boat was the only available boat. He was
afraid to tell us he was running away so he lied
that he wanted a lift to the neighbouring village.
He didn't know who we were and we saw he was
afraid because he was lost and didn't want to
say it.
"We took him with us and in the boat we
questioned him. When we were far from the
village he finally opened up a little. When we got
to Kpando, he tried to escape from us, so he
started panicking and wouldn't talk.
"But we spoke to his master, reported it to the
police and social welfare and took him with us.
He finally started relaxing by the third day when
he saw we were leaving Kpando. All he kept
saying was he didn't want to work on the water
and he wanted his mum," Lydia explained.
She said the boy is currently at the Osu
Children's Home in Accra undergoing a process
to reunite him with his mother.
The beautiful actress relinquished her celebrity
lifestyle of makeup and other special treatments
to spend three days in the region to scout for
the trafficked children.
She visited villages like Gasoekope, Koala DDT,
Adzaboso and Abionikope via boat for three
days. She said all the children they met did not
talk unless their masters allowed them to. They
always had their heads bowed down and were
afraid.
"This year, our vision is to rescue 20 children
who have been sold or trafficked to be used for
labour. The plan is to visit the villages, talk to
the chiefs and 'owners' of these children to
convince them to release the children. We have
to make three visits per village and after that
when we get the children we reunite them with
their parents, and where the parents can't take
care of them we support the families. And also
try to find for the fishermen alternative
methods to fishing that won't require them
using children in this dangerous water," Lydia
added.
News-One
