I am so excited about what is happening in the blogging world for Mercy Project today.
Just over 100 bloggers have committed to help us to raise awareness about the plight of the enslaved children in Ghana and what we are doing to eradicate it.
I am honored to join my friends on this Labor Day to share a little about what we are doing and why we are doing it.
Many thanks to the people who helped us to make this happen.
Special thanks to the bloggers who gave up time and space on their little piece of the internet for these children. To those I know well and to those I have never met but took a leap of faith on us and our mission at Mercy Project, thank you!
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.
As a momma, it is heartbreaking to me to think of these children working all day, every day--especially when I consider that one of them will be my child soon. 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.
Please take a moment to watch our 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.
There are many different ways for you to join us in our cause.
We believe that the invitation to help others and love others is extended to every human that inhabits the earth. If you feel compelled to learn more and get involved with Mercy Project, you can do so through these avenues--
•
Following Mercy Project on Facebook.
•
Connecting with Mercy Project via Twitter.
•
Spending some time on Mercy Project’s website.
•
Sharing about Mercy Project’s work in Ghana with your friends.
Today, in our part of the world, it's all about the children in Ghana.
We want them to be known--by us, by you.
They are already known by their Creator.
We want justice and mercy to flow like a mighty river for them.
I believe that the Lord does too.
Praying that Jesus will continue to break our hearts for what breaks His.
“When the
lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent
witnesses.”
Carol Bellamy
No comments:
Post a Comment