Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration
Dream On ensures that rescued victims receive rehabilitative assistance with dignity; have a safe space to recover and rebuild their lives; are provided with access to an appropriate group of service providers for immediate psycho-social, medical, and legal assistance; and obtain the necessary education or skills to guarantee a holistic reintegration into society. Dream On achieves this through its partnership with the Department of Social Welfare, sister organizations, or admission of a child to the Dream On Residential Home.
EXAMPLES OF CASES REQUIRING REHABILITATIVE CARE
Cross-Border Human Trafficking
This case involved a child who was kidnapped and trafficked across the border to a neighboring country where he was brought to a farm to work as a laborer. The survivor described a large-scale operation that involved approximately 200 children who had been trafficked to a farm that was under constant guard by many armed men. The survivor worked 12 to 14 hours per day and witnessed extensive physical abuse, including the murder of children who were caught attempting to escape. When the survivor himself attempted to escape, he was unsuccessful and was beaten severely. His second attempt to escape was successful; however, his journey back to Ghana took several months with frequent stops along the way to earn money by working on farms. Once in Ghana, the survivor contacted the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) to report his story of abduction. The survivor joined the Dream On Residential Home and resumed school; however after several years it was apparent that the combination of head trauma from beatings and absence from school made it difficult for the survivor to concentrate and successfully complete school. Dream On helped this survivor acquire vocational training. Unfortunately, the Ghana Police did not have the resources to pursue a cross-border investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
Orphaned & Abandoned
This survivor was found by DSW in the Volta Region laying on the street and severely ill. The officer at the Department of Social Welfare said at the time the survivor could not remember her name, who her family was, or how she came to be on the streets. Years later, the survivor recalled, “I had been selling pure water on the streets and was hopeless. My parents had died, my grandparents were old and could not take care of me. I was on my own trying to survive. I felt very weak and sick for many days and I remember lying down on the road and praying to God to take me. I did not want to live if this was what life was going to be for me.” The survivor was brought to the Dream On Residential Home where she was treated for her illness and started to regain strength. Today, her health issues must be monitored; however she has thrived in school and in our home. She graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and has stable employment. This survivor has an enormous sense of gratitude for her good fortune and has compassion for vulnerable children. Thus, she volunteers her time to manage the care for several at-risk children.
Child Labor, Sexual Violence, and Physical & Emotional Abuse at Orphanages
Several children were rescued from two different orphanages where multiple human rights violations have been reported. A large number of sources reported numerous incidences of defilement by the orphanage directors as well as rape by the older children residing in the orphanages; severe neglect; physical beatings; confinement to a room and starvation for days as punishment for breaking rules; forced labor that consisted of walking miles to a river to collect water, mixing cement, and carrying bricks to construct buildings; constant emotional terror: and financial fraud and manipulation of foreigners who donated funds toward the care of the children. This case is ongoing. The children who were rescued from these orphanages continue to be in the care of Dream On International and receive holistic care both in the residential home and in boarding schools throughout Ghana. Many have graduated from high school and gone onto various colleges and vocational training schools.
Trafficked to Lake Volta for Forced Labor
Lake Volta in Ghana is the largest man-made reservoir in the world. Approximately 20,000 children are enslaved on Lake Volta. Slave masters use the children to bring up fish from the water, dive under the water to untangle nets, and repair nets at the end of the day. Many children die under these hazardous working conditions. Those who are lucky enough to survive work 12 - 14 hours per day, suffer from various illnesses, are often physically beaten, and are deprived of basic human rights. Dream On rescued a survivor from an island in Afram Plains that is notorious for the fishermen’s brutal treatment of children and hostility toward outsiders. The survivor is a member of the Dream On Residential Home and overjoyed to be part of a family and attending school. He continues to contend with chronic illnesses contracted while enslaved.
Orphaned & Exploited
This survivor lost her mother at the age of 5 and her father at the age of 13. Extended family members refused to offer her a place in their home saying that she would be a burden. A member of the community offered to care for the teenage girl; however it turned out he had alternative intentions. The man exploited the child by publicly sharing her painful story in an attempt to raise money and advance his status in the community as a kind-hearted caretaker. These public speeches brought significant attention to the girl who was teased, called “orphan” by other children, and was made to feel shameful about her circumstances. She was unable to escape the label of “orphan” within her community. The man attempted to sexually violate the survivor who reached out to Dream On for assistance. The survivor was part of the Dream On Home for many years while she attended university to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Journalism and now is on her own. She writes and performs spoken word poetry to advocate for human rights and environmental protection.
Alleged Murder, Child Labor, & Human Trafficking
This survivor lost his father at the age of four and then a couple of years later his mother was murdered. He did not know at the time that it was the stepfather who had killed her. He was forced to live with the murderer and be his slave. Eventually, the stepfather sold the survivor to a corrupt social welfare officer who intended to traffick him to an American family. The attempted trafficking was exposed by Dream On and the young boy was returned to his village. Unfortunately, justice was not served. The murder was never investigated, the man was not charged with trafficking, and the boy was forced to live with the man who killed his mother until he was 18 years of age. Dream On continued to provide educational sponsorship for the boy since the stepfather refused to send him to school. At the age of 18, the young man walk through the door of the stepfather’s house for the last time and joined the Dream On Home. He has found acceptance, love, security, and family. He is now a second-year student in college.
Photo by Richmond Nyarko / RaNs Media