Engage Now Africa, an international NGO committed to ending poverty in Africa through the launch of its latest and innovative campaign strategy dubbed “Trafficking-free Road Campaign has empowered over 150 leaders of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in the Central Region with skills and resources ready to combat human trafficking on our roads.

The 1-day sensitization forum saw over 150 beneficiaries who represented 103 branches of the GPRTU in the Central Region sensitized and empowered on the tricks of child trafficking and how to curb it.

Aside the training, the participants were also handed anti-slavery branded stickers, certificate of participation including 30 minutes video documentary on child trafficking. They were also tasked to show the video to their drivers within the branches and also get them copies to show in their vehicles on daily basis.

According to the Director of End Modern Slavery of Engage Now Africa, David Kofi Awusi, “our goal is to record zero modern slavery or human trafficking on all our roads in Ghana”.

Speaking during the launch of the campaign at Oguaa Teachers Hall in Cape Coast on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, David Kofi Awusi said: “We believe the first step towards ending modern slavery is through sensitization and prevention hence the launch of our newest innovative campaign today”.

He further noted: “The greatest strength of this campaign is our strong collaboration with the GPRTU leaders and drivers so that the drivers willingly commit to showing the video documentary on their vehicles consistently and also report cases of trafficking at the police checkpoint for intervention”.

“This way, on daily basis, passengers and ordinary Ghanaian both in the cities and remote communities will be sensitized and empowered to know how to resist, identify and report cases of trafficking in its various forms”, David Kofi Awusi added.

At the forum most of the participants pledged support and willingness to get drivers within their respective branches to show the documentary video to passengers on daily basis to enable the campaign run smoothly. According to David Kofi Awusi, the level of commitment shown by the officers is clear evidence that the success of the campaign is guaranteed.

Modern slavery [or human trafficking] is rampant in Ghana growing at a fast alarming rate with over 190,000 people being victims of the barbaric act as we speak today. What is even so shocking is that over 49,000 victims mostly children are already engaged in the cruel act on the Volta Lake alone. Out of this number, over 21,000 of them are forced into hazardous labour like diving into a deepest depth of a river to remove a trapped net including other dangerous works that put the lives of these children at risk.

Engage Now Africa is currently working in Ghana with the mission “to engage and strengthen individuals, families, and communities to end poverty by instilling hope and teaching principles of sustainability in: education, micro-credit, clean water, medical services, orphan support, and eradication of modern slavery”.