The following is a post written by a fellow blogger. I found her blog while she, along with her husband and children, were working/serving women and children in Haiti. She is back in Texas now and while I've never met her, she is a kindred spirit!
The post is so well written, that I didn't edit it at all. I hope you will take the time to read the post and watch the video. It is overwhelming to me. As a mother, I truly can't comprehend the idea of losing my children in such a horrific way. To think that these mothers thought they were making a good decision for their children, only for them to become slaves. It's more than heartbreaking.
Please take time to watch the video and should you feel the need to act beyond that, know that the Mercy Project is a 501c3, so your donation to the freeing of child slaves would be tax deductible.
I've just recently learned of the Mercy Project, but this won't be the last you hear from me about it.
As a mother, it’s difficult for me to imagine my children
working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I’m unable to wrap my brain around the thought of my children engaged in
long, hard days of physical labor, eating one meal a day, and then falling
asleep at night on a dirt floor filled with other slave children. Yet this is the daily reality for kids who
have been trafficked into the fishing industry in Ghana, Africa. As with much of Africa, there is a great deal
of poverty in Ghana. Unfortunately, this leaves many mothers in an unimaginable
position: sell their children to someone who can take better care of them or
watch them starve to death. Most of the mothers are told their children will be
given food, housing, and an education. Instead, the kids are often taken to
Lake Volta where they become child slaves and their mothers never see them
again. Thankfully, Mercy Project is
working to break the cycles of trafficking around Lake Volta by providing
alternate, more efficient, sustainable, fishing methods for villagers –
ultimately eliminating the need for child slaves. Because of the work Mercy Project is doing in
Ghana, the first group of children will be freed this month from Lake Volta.
Learn more and get involved by
• Spending some time on Mercy Project’swebsite.
Although child trafficking, child
labor, and the unstable economies that result in these injustices are a
tragedy, we’re grateful for what Mercy Project is doing to protect the
vulnerable and for allowing us to be a part of this story. While we’re commemorating labor laws and
ethical work in our own country today, we invite you to follow along on this
journey with Mercy Project to protect and free children in Ghana.
The post is so well written, that I didn't edit it at all. I hope you will take the time to read the post and watch the video. It is overwhelming to me. As a mother, I truly can't comprehend the idea of losing my children in such a horrific way. To think that these mothers thought they were making a good decision for their children, only for them to become slaves. It's more than heartbreaking.
Please take time to watch the video and should you feel the need to act beyond that, know that the Mercy Project is a 501c3, so your donation to the freeing of child slaves would be tax deductible.
I've just recently learned of the Mercy Project, but this won't be the last you hear from me about it.
Mercy
Project Post
There’s an estimated 7,000 children who
work in the Ghana fishing industry. Some of
these children are as young as 5 and 6 years old. All of these children are slaves.
these children are as young as 5 and 6 years old. All of these children are slaves.
–Mercy Project
Today many in our country will take a day off from our jobs
to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. No matter if we’re celebrating at home or at
the beach, we’re entering into a tradition that has largely been shaped by
Labor Unions - organizations that are dedicated to protecting workers’
interests and improving their wages, hours, and working conditions. Today as we lounge around or hang out with
friends and family, we’re not only celebrating hard work, we’re honoring fair,
ethical working practices and the laws that prevent discrimination, abuse, and
child labor in our country. Without
these laws in place (and enforced), the most vulnerable members of society
suffer. Who are the most vulnerable? Children.
Today as we’re celebrating the systems in our own country
that strive to prevent injustices like child trafficking and child labor, we’re
mindful of the many child slaves around the world who are unprotected and the
organizations, like Mercy Project, who are working to free them.
We invite you to watch this moving, 10 minute documentary
about the issues surrounding child labor and trafficking in Ghana and most
importantly the hope Mercy Project is bringing to children and entire
communities in Africa. Mercy Project is
the only NGO working on Lake Volta addressing the injustice of child labor and
child trafficking at its root - by strengthening the Ghanaian economy and
eliminating the structures that cause the demand for trafficked children.
Whether these ideas of child labor,
child trafficking, and modern-day slavery are new to you or you’re aware of
these injustices, but need to hear some good news every once in awhile, we
invite you to become a part of what Mercy Project is doing in Ghana. When Mercy Project frees their first group of
children this month, we can all celebrate together.
• Following Mercy Project on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/mercyproject
• Connecting with Mercy Project via
Twitter. https://twitter.com/mercyproject
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