In commemoration of the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, Patroness of human trafficking victims, which Mother Church celebrates every February 8, Consecrated Persons in the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom, in Ghana’s Eastern Region, under the auspices of the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious, Ghana, sensitized the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, on the dangers of human trafficking.
The awareness drive which happened during the February 9, 2025 Sunday Mass, was championed by Sr. Joy Abuh, MSHR, Coordinator of Anti-human trafficking activities in the Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate, together with other Religious from the Parish holding placards against human trafficking.
Addressing the Christians, Sr. Abuh drew their attention to the alarming prevalence of human trafficking activities within the country and beyond, which is strongly frowned against by the Consecrated men and women in Ghana, and called on all to be extra vigilant and not fall victim to such dehumanizing ill.
She further educated the faithful on some of the tricks used by perpetrators of human trafficking to get their targets, such as giving them the false impression that they are being taken to the cities to be offered good jobs or better still, sent to good schools, but who, sadly enough, end up being abused in one way or the other by these so-called helpers. Most of the young girls end up being pushed into prostitution while the boys are forced into hard labour in various plantations, with little or no room for them to reconnect with their families back home, which are both forms of “modern-day slavery”.
Sr. Abuh strongly urged parents to “shine their eyes;” be very vigilant and follow-up on their children’s wellbeing. “If your child is taken to the city, do a follow-up; go and see where your child is staying, go and see what your child is doing,” she emphasized, adding that parents must not just sit back, believing the ‘lies’ told them by the perpetrators that “all is well; their children are doing fine”.
She further admonished the youths to exercise extra caution, in order not to fall prey. “Please our youths, the women and men religious in Ghana are telling you today to be careful,” she said.
“All of us are going to campaign against this ill. No to Human Trafficking, No to Human Trafficking and No to Child Abuse,” she sensitized.
Josephine Bakhita, born in 1869, was a black girl from Southern Sudan who was trafficked to Italy at the age of seven, and sold into slavery. She suffered grievously in the hands of her multiple captors, and later became a Catholic Religious Sister with the Canossians, after she gained her freedom. She served in Italy for 50years until her death in 1947, and was canonized on October 1, 2000, becoming the first female black Catholic Saint in the modern age.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate \ Sister Communicator)
