Support 50 Survivors of human trafficking

25 Trafficked Children Rescued from Lake Volta

1. Executive Summary

In August 2026, Challenging Heights rescued twenty-five (25) trafficked children, aged six to fourteen, from forced labour in the fishing industry on Lake Volta. The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service and the Department of Social Welfare, and the rescue was announced on National Children’s Day, 31 August 2026.

All 25 children are now safe at the Challenging Heights Recovery Centre, where they are receiving medical care and psychosocial support as they begin their recovery. This operation adds to the 144 victims of trafficking and modern slavery that Challenging Heights and its partners supported in rescuing in the first half of 2026, and to the nearly three thousand children and young people rescued over more than two decades of work.

We are grateful for your continued support, which makes operations such as this possible.

2. Background and Context

Child trafficking and forced child labour remain a serious challenge in Ghana. An estimated 3.4 million children in Ghana experience physical or emotional abuse, and nearly one in five children aged 5–17 is engaged in child labour.

On Lake Volta, approximately 20,000 children are trafficked or engaged in forced labour in the fishing industry. Available data indicates that almost 90% of children working on the lake suffer physical, emotional or verbal abuse.

Globally, according to the Global Slavery Index, roughly 50 million people are trapped in modern slavery on any given day, and about one in four victims is a child. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that forced labour generates annual profits of US$235 billion.

This year’s National Children’s Day theme, “Amplifying Children’s Voices on Abuse in Ghana: Promoting Child Protection, Participation, and Advocacy,” highlights the reality that many of these children suffer abuse, exploitation and neglect in silence.

3. The Rescue Operation

The rescue operation took place over the weekend preceding National Children’s Day. Children were rescued from several fishing communities across the Bono East and Northern Regions of Ghana, where they had been taken from the safety of their families, denied an education and subjected to hazardous work.

Of the 25 children rescued, eighteen (18) are boys and seven (7) are girls. The higher number of boys is consistent with the pattern Challenging Heights continues to observe in fishing-related child labour and trafficking on Lake Volta.

4. Immediate Care and Recovery

Following the rescue, all 25 children were safely moved to the Challenging Heights Recovery Centre. The children are currently receiving:

• Medical care to assess and treat injuries, illness and the effects of prolonged hazardous labour
• Psychosocial support to help them process trauma and begin to rebuild trust and confidence
• A safe, structured environment in which to begin their recovery

5. Partnerships

The operation was conducted in close collaboration with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service and the Department of Social Welfare. These partnerships are essential to ensuring that rescues are carried out lawfully and safely, that children receive appropriate care, and that cases can proceed to investigation and prosecution.

6. Cumulative Impact

For more than two decades, Challenging Heights has worked to rescue nearly three thousand children and young people from trafficking and exploitation, to support survivors through recovery, education and reintegration, and to strengthen families and communities to prevent exploitation before it happens.

In the first half of 2026 alone, Challenging Heights and its partners supported the rescue of 144 victims of trafficking and modern slavery. The 25 children rescued in August build on this progress.

7. Advocacy and Calls to Action

Alongside the rescue, Challenging Heights used National Children’s Day to call for immediate, decisive action from key stakeholders:

• Government of Ghana: Adequately resource child protection and anti-trafficking institutions, including the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service and the Department of Social Welfare, to ensure timely investigation, rescue, care and prosecution.
• Law enforcement and the justice system: Ensure that those who traffic, abuse and exploit children face the consequences under Ghanaian law.
• Parents and caregivers: Listen to children, take their concerns seriously, and reject practices that expose them to hazardous labour, abuse or exploitation.
• Every Ghanaian: Actively report suspected cases of child abuse and trafficking to the authorities. Silence enables exploitation.

8. Next Steps

In line with Challenging Heights’ survivor support model, the children will continue to receive care at the Recovery Centre as they progress through recovery, education and reintegration.

9. Acknowledgement

Challenging Heights extends its sincere thanks to all donors for their generous support. Your partnership directly enables us to rescue children from exploitation, provide them with the care they need to recover, and advocate for a Ghana in which every child is safe, heard and protected.

Links:

• News Article published by the state media