OUR STORY
Our mission is to deter the flow of vulnerable girls and women trafficked for sexual exploitation, both internationally and within Ghana.
Being held in a basement flat for four years, forced to work as an unpaid prostitute is not the image young girls and women envision when they are lured away from their villages and cities. The push factors of poverty, being less educated, familial breakdown and greed are set against the pull of money, glamour and status that women are promised they can obtain.
The profile of Ghanaian victims of sex trafficking is complex, affecting girls and women from a broad range of ages, familial & cultural backgrounds and economic circumstances. The ECOWAS agreement and easily obtainable visas for Gulf states have facilitated a rise in external trafficking. The push factors of poverty, being less educated, familial breakdown and greed are set against the pull of money, glamour and status. Our mission is to deter the flow of vulnerable girls and women trafficked for sexual exploitation, both internationally and within Ghana. Consequently, our integrated approach is to then introduce our target audience to our regional and national partners who can present local alternative resources for skills training and education.
The Hope Education project provides a web-based long-tail, scaleable solution to educate potential victims and educators against sex trafficking delivered in person.
HEP’s vision is to launch a small community pilot project in Walewale, North East Region, that once proven, can be scaled throughout the country and ultimately into West Africa. Ghana is the ideal pilot location because of the safety and freedom of movement that the country affords. Crucially, we are motivated by the integrated approach between NGOs and the government as the government acknowledges the problem and seeks to extends the work of NGOs.
BBC News
BBC Victoria Derbyshire
Arise News Nigeria
our story began in dubai
Young girls and women are trafficked to work in the clubs and hotels of Dubai –facing severe punishment if they refuse to have unprotected sex. Living in appalling conditions they are fed a meagre breakfast and resort to begging for food on the streets. Many suffer severe physical injuries as a result of the work and punishments; some are infected with the HIV virus and other STDs.
After rescuing and repatriating the woman, Angus was interviewed by the BBC. That coverage enabled him to crowdfund the project and set about successfully saving the other 22 victims. The project revealed a complex web of deception and corruption: from the pastors, friends and relations recruiting young women, to corrupt border, consular and police officials assisting the traffickers. The media scrutiny and subsequent rescue missions resulted in a number of criminal prosecutions being taken up by NAPTIP in Nigeria. It soon became apparent there was a significant stream of West African victims trafficked to Dubai and that the problem had to be tackled at the source.
The purpose of The Hope Education Project is to educate and raise awareness among girls and women being targeted for sex trafficking. HEP will be working at the source with the launch of a pilot project in Walewale, North East Region, Ghana. By educating potential victims, educators and community leaders we aspire to raise awareness, engage survivors and shape policy. The project will be specific in its focus and set the standard for long term, replicable sex trafficking education and awareness programs.
Imagine being approached in a supermarket by a starving, frightened young woman tugging on your sleeve in a foreign country. Angus learned that upon arrival in Dubai, the girl’s passport was confiscated and replaced with a fake whereupon she was told she had to earn $10,000 to “repay” her debt to traffickers.The woman had been trafficked to Dubai for sexual exploitation. She was held with 22 other victims across two locations in the Deira area of the city. That chance encounter with a young Nigerian woman in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 led to the creation of the Send Them Home campaign by Angus Thomas.
Young girls and women are trafficked to work in the clubs and hotels of Dubai –facing severe punishment if they refuse to have unprotected sex. Living in appalling conditions they are fed a meagre breakfast and resort to begging for food on the streets. Many suffer severe physical injuries as a result of the work and punishments; some are infected with the HIV virus and other STDs.
After rescuing and repatriating the woman, Angus was interviewed by the BBC. That coverage enabled him to crowdfund the project and set about successfully saving the other 22 victims. The project revealed a complex web of deception and corruption: from the pastors, friends and relations recruiting young women, to corrupt border, consular and police officials assisting the traffickers. The media scrutiny and subsequent rescue missions resulted in a number of criminal prosecutions being taken up by NAPTIP in Nigeria. It soon became apparent there was a significant stream of West African victims trafficked to Dubai and that the problem had to be tackled at the source.
The purpose of The Hope Education Project is to educate and raise awareness among girls and women being targeted for sex trafficking. HEP will be working at the source with the launch of a pilot project in Walewale, North East Region, Ghana. By educating potential victims, educators and community leaders we aspire to raise awareness, engage survivors and shape policy. The project will be specific in its focus and set the standard for long term, replicable sex trafficking education and awareness programs.