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Releasing my 1st collection of images taken on Lake Volta. 30% of proceeds go directly to freeing trafficked children and caring for their needs. The remaining funds will support my next trip-back to Volta, and hopefully a few other areas with similar issues. View the collection by clicking below and please pass on to anyone who may have an interest.
Note: You can navigate through the slideshow (stop, start, or email to a friend) by scrolling over the bottom of the window.
Note: You can navigate through the slideshow (stop, start, or email to a friend) by scrolling over the bottom of the window.
LAKE VOLTA SLIDESHOW
Special thanks to friends and family that have been a constant encouragement and to a faithful and loving God who is teaching me daily to open my eyes.
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trafficked children of lake volta collection
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Meet Moses. He was one of the first kids I met working on Lake Volta. I watched as George pulled the quiet boy aside and asked him vital questions that would need to be answered before the boy's release would be possible... What's your master's name?, Do you have any living relatives?, Where are you from originally?, etc. I vividly remember my heart breaking at one point in their conversation as I saw Moses flench as George raised his hand. You could see the relief on the boy's face when George placed it on his shoulder. Throughout the next few days we met countless other small children working on the lake, but the sight of Moses just wouldn't leave my head... to be honest it still hasn't. Each night, I, the non-crier, was in tears for having to just walk away from the situation. I felt completely helpless... George, having the ok from Moses's master, would still have to track down Moses's mother for the formal permission to take her son under his care, but he assured me that he would do everything in his power to find her. Months after I had returned to Texas, George did get the permission needed, but when he returned to the master's home he found that because of the rainy season, everyone had left. Frustrated and impatiently I waited and prayed for word from George on Moses's release. Months later, on my return to Lake Volta, to document more children working, we stopped at a familiar village. Peering out from behind a tree in front of his master's home, was Moses. With all the formal permission and paperwork in hand (although the jury's still out on whether not having it would have stopped me), we packed a small backpack with all of Moses's possessions. The next morning I left Lake Volta, headed for Tema, holding Moses in my arms.
Above: George Achibra in celebration with Moses. Below: Rachel Johnson (Director of Project Development at Touch A Life) with Moses, on the way to his new home in Tema.
Zyon:
This is very touching and I hope when i grow up to help kids as you did and lift their lives to the next level.
(01.14.10)
Nicole Salerno:
Rachael you are an angel.
(03.27.10)
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Meet Moses
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Delayed flight after cancelled flight + a missed flight + a terrifying cab ride + rain + some very angry New Yorkers = me slumped over against a wall on the crowed floor of JFK. Cue the dramatic, girl alone in the airport music now. (I was on my way to Ghana to visit the Village of Hope, basically to take pictures to update the people back home on the progress of the buildings and get some good shots of the art camp, The Children's Art Village, that would be going on there that week.) Just then, the clouds parted and two shining faces started walking towards me. Enter: Mai Lai, the director of the Children's Art Village, and Pam Cope, director of the Touch A Life Foundation. They were headed to the Village of Hope as well and were on my plane! They introduced me to those they were traveling with, and I noticed that one of them seemed just as tired and ready to finally board the plane as I was... Patrick Cone. Fellow Dallas-ite, Patrick had been through the same type of flight situation that I had, and carried with him an oversized carry-on, that I know all too well (as someone who travels with my own gear more often than not, and is waaaaay to paranoid to actually check it with my baggage). Pam informed me later that she and her husband, Randy, had hired the videographer to make a short documentary informing people about their foundation, and how it rescues children out of modern day slavery. Needless to say I was intrigued. Before night fell at the Village of Hope, I had agreed to accompany Patrick and Randy on the 10 hour (or in our case 16 hour, thanks to the rainy season) drive up to Lake Volta (a man made lake where numerous children are trafficked into the fishing industry) in order to help document the story with stills. The following are a few shots from that first trip to the lake that I hope will inspire you to keep reading, because the story is far from over!
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How did I wind up on Lake Volta?
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President Obama recently took a trip to one of my favorite places in the world... Ghana. While there, he visited one of my least favorite... Elmina Castle, an old trading post known for being the last part of Africa a slave would ever see. To say this place is eerie doesn't begin to describe it. Gut wrenching and horrifying are better, but still don't do it justice... as in currently, years after the imprisonment has ended, the coloration and stench cannot be removed from the slave dungeon walls, serving as a constant reminder to all who visit of the torment that occurred there. Unfortunately, as Obama said in his CNN interview with Anderson Cooper at Elmina Castle, "the capacity for cruelty still exists". Even in Ghana with an epic reminder of this cruelty erected for the world to see, slavery still exists.
At this point you're probably thinking, "ok, thanks for the update and history lesson Debbie Downer, but I thought this was the HOPE section... and by the way what's with the random picture of kids? and what do they have to do with anything?" Well, since you are so antsy... The 7 kids pictured, (left to right) John, Richard, Kofi, Kojo, Mark, Hagar, and Sarah, have emblazoned an all too realistic picture of slavery in my head and ignited a burning passion in my heart. All of these children were rescued from slavery by God through a woman named Pam Cope (Director of the Touch a Life Foundation), who is currently teaching me how to daily pursue the hope that slavery will end. Check back often for more on these kids and the daily pursuit.
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President Obama in Ghana
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To anyone who knows me, it wont be a shock to find that the Village of Hope is included in my first "hope" entry, as it is one of the places I find myself dreaming of and praying for daily. Located in Ghana, West Africa the VoH currently consists of an orphanage, primary and secondary schools (that is K-9), a clinic, and both a street children and vocational training program. The Village now educates over 600 students and is home to over 200 orphans. Needless to say, every time I visit I come home inspired. I absolutely love the kids there and know that they are destined to do incredible things. Check back regularly for new stories of the children of the Village of Hope.
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Village of Hope
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This is great Rachael! Hey everyone, buy these prints and send Rachael back to Ghana, she's kind of a celebrity there! Seriously, very proud of you. -Patrick
(01.21.11)Thanks Patrick!
(01.21.11)Great article!!!
Good job, very interesting post,
Excellent article, bookmarked for future referrence.
Hope you'll have great articles like this again.
Thank you!
David.
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