We're ending child trafficking and slavery in Ghana, but in order to do that we have to care for more child survivors than ever before. Our rehabilitation shelter is the best in the country and we want to expand to be able to accommodate 100 children at a time.
There are 49,000 children working on Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world, and 21,000 of them are in hazardous labour. Children, as young as 4 years old, from coastal Ghana are trafficked to the Lake to work as fisherboys and domestic servants. For more than 10 years Challenging Heights has rescued and rehabilitated child survivors of modern slavery, and with the goal of ending trafficking, we need more space to care for more children.
The Challenging Heights Hovde House has been rated the #1 rehabilitation shelter in Ghana. There we have provided physical, emotional and psychological care for hundreds of children. We've provided nutritious food and warm beds. We've taught them to read, write, and think critically. This expansion will allow us to care for up to 100 children at a time. Phase 1 of the expansion will build a block of 6 new classrooms and a dedicated library. Phase 2 will expand the dormitories.
By being able to care for more children at the Challenging Heights Hovde House, we'll be able to end child trafficking and slavery in Ghana's fishing industry that much faster. We'll be able to care for more children who have been rescued from modern slavery, give them the care they need and reintegrate them with their families. Thousands of children are working on Lake Volta and most of them have been trafficked there. We'll be able to bring those thousands of children home.
