Child labour continues to cast a dark shadow over Ghana, robbing countless children of their innocence and their right to a future.
Instead of playing, learning, or dreaming, children, some as young as 12 years old spend their days battling fierce waves to haul in fish.
For these children, school is a luxury they cannot afford, not just in money, but in time. How can they focus on lessons when their families depend on their labour just to survive?
Artist Maxel Adjei, deeply troubled, speaks of the harsh realities in Jamestown, where fishing and boxing are the primary professions. He fears that without support, many children will be pushed into crime in their struggle to make ends meet.
“This is Jamestown; we have boxing and fishing. But how many boys will ever take a world title? Many have talent, but without help, they end up in the markets sweeping for money, or worse. If they don’t find honest work, they turn to stealing, and soon, people label all Jamestown boys as thieves. We need to break these stereotypes and bring them off the streets and into safe homes,” Adjei urged.
An elderly trader Comfort Abbey watches with sorrow as generation after generation is swept into child labour, stripping them of their dreams and potential.
“When I see them, I worry. They are too young for such work. They should be in school, getting an education. Please help them,” she pleaded.
Founder of the Street Children Empowerment Center, Paul Semeh, calls for a united effort to restore hope to these children.
He emphasizes the need for the government to enforce protective policies, ensuring that children can escape this cycle of poverty.
“This is collective work. Civil society isn’t saying it’s solely the government’s job, but the government must lead and bring us together. We must learn from existing models and tackle this problem head-on. The way society treats children defines their future. If we allow poverty to shape their identities, this cycle will persist for generations. Only deliberate interventions can break it,” he said.
Adjei added that beyond the lost opportunities, fishing endangers these children’s lives.
“When their fishing nets get stuck under the sea, they dive down to retrieve them. Sometimes, they resurface bleeding from the nose. They don’t die immediately, but later, their bodies swell, and they pass away,” he lamented.
Additionally, the absence of a nearby harbour forces them into unsafe work.
“Without a harbour, they carry canoes on their backs. One careless move, and the canoe can crush them, leaving them paralyzed,” Adjei explained.
Will Ghana rise against this injustice, or will we continue to watch as more children fall victim to child labour, their futures stolen before they even begin?
