Boys as young as five were subject to backbreaking toil from dawn until dusk, day after day, casting fishing nets into the water and dragging them back in. The boys had been trafficked into the area and many of them did not know where they were from.
Likely some of the boys had been sold into slavery by their families, though often the "sale" happens because traffickers mislead the parents into believing that their children will be taken care of.
These are three of those 1,200 boys.
Dr. Taylor and the International Organization for Migration have worked on freeing many of the boys, and it appears that their efforts are being rewarded. IOM has taken on the entire 1,200 person caseload to free the boys, and, consequently, public awareness is growing in Ghana as more people realize the devastating effects of slavery. Dr. Taylor found that only after he began to free the boys did the slave masters begin to realize the immorality of their actions. Apparently, the wickedness of slavery is not easily recognized by the human heart, or, if it is recognized, is quickly chilled by the icy rationalizations and justifications of human pragmatism.
Check out the photo album of the boys of Lake Volta. Perhaps it sound cheesy, but say a prayer while you're at it. I think it may make up for in sincerity what it lacks in duration.
For more info about IOM's work, click here.
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