Traditionalists educated on child trafficking, other unconstitutional practices in Tefle

Some residents, traditionalists and fetish priests in Tefle-Fodzoku, an inland fishing community in the South Tongu District of the Volta region have been educated on issues related to modern slavery and ways to combat it.

People in Tefle-Fodzoku are known for practicing child labour and trafficking including Trokosi; a custom performed by giving out a female virgin child to fetish priests as an atonement for crimes committed by their relatives, and the practice has been identified as a modern slavery.

A Ghana based non-profit making organisation, Engage Now Africa (ENA) has identified the community and visited some shrines in the area on Friday, 30 July 2020, where they had dialogue with the fetish priests including the trokosi women on how to put an end to such practices, since it's unconstitutional.

The programme was held to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, and was marked in the country on the theme "Stakeholders Act Now to End Human Trafficking amidst Covid-19 in Ghana".

Fetish priests of one of the biggest shrines in the community, Koti shrine, where some women have been given out by their families to serve the gods, were educated on impacts of the practice, ways to eradicate it and the positive outcomes of putting an end to such practices and beliefs.

The Director of Projects and Operation at ENA, Mr Afasi Komla said, there was a need to educate the people involved in practicing modern slavery but themed it as a custom. He mentioned that, despite the law being against such practices in the country, authorities need to do more to end it.

Mr Afasi promised to render support to the community in the fight against the practice, and pledged to empower the vulnerable women with funds to enhance their small scale businesses.

He urged the general public not to take advantage of novel Covid-19 to exploit the vulnerable, especially children and women saying "We have to protect everyone against the scars of human trafficking in our country, collectively and proactively we can stop this".

The Assembly member of Tefle electoral area, Benjamin Amekudzi, told the media that ENA's coming to the community has enlightened them, because a lot of such practices are still going on in the area, despite it's legal abolishment. He commended ENA and pledged his collaboration to fight against the practices.

At the engagement with the fetish priests, they have agreed to sensitize the entire community and it's environs on the need to end modern slavery in their communities.

Some six vulnerable women in the Koti shrine were given an disclosed amount of money to support their economic activities. Receiving the cash, Madam Tordzro Lanyo, one of the beneficiaries thanked ENA for their kind gesture.

"I'm very happy for the support. I have been serving this shrine for the past 60years and no one has ever helped me like this before. All society could do is look down on us and see us to be evil people, meanwhile, my staying in the shrine for years is because of an offence my great great-grandmother had committed, which I know nothing of, but I'm paying for her crime. Thanks to ENA," she sadly revealed.

She called on the general public and the government to come to their aid by giving them empowerment.