My Story Counts

On April 28, 2021, the Global Survivor Network launched its local chapter in Ghana called My Story Counts. The birthing of this chapter provides a platform for survivors of child slavery to come together and speak up against issues of violence against children. Perpetrators of violence often count on the silence of their victims to continue operating. My Story Counts is looking to break this silence and amplify survivor voices through the replication of similar chapters, all over Ghana.

Ghana's Lake Volta is the world's largest man-made lake. Thousands of children work in its massive fishing industry—and many of these children are held in slavery. Children, on occasion even as young as three, are trafficked in the fishing industry, forced to do hard and dangerous work to earn a profit for the fishermen who enslave them.

My Story Counts seeks to create a safe space for these survivors of trafficking, many of whom are children, with the purpose of allowing them to share their stories and empowering them to advocate for change.

Through this endeavor, the hope of this chapter is to create a safe space for survivors to engage in restorative conversations, build awareness and advocate against child slavery. Through My Story Counts, survivors and their communities will be empowered to speak up and act against issues of violence, such as labor and sex trafficking of children. The approach is twofold – giving survivors a safe space as well as training them to share their stories. Second, learning from these stories and survivor voices to influence program design and policy formulation as well as strengthen and transform communities that have been fractured by violence.

Survivors in Ghana come together for 'My Story Counts' launch day.