I have had an incredible opportunity to meet people from all walks of life on this trip. I’ve met people who believe the same as I do and people who do not. I have also met people who are passionate about teaching, who passionate about justice and everything in between. if you know me well, you know my heart is for justice, which is restoring the dignity and worth of the people around me; to people who are hurting and broken. I met a lady here in Ghana and wanted to take a minute to spotlight the organization she works with.
The organization is called Duamenefa which means “let us Coexist in peace”. According to duamenefa their purpose is to be “a voice for the voiceless, for those in spiritual or physical bondage under the auspices of tradition and culture.” They fight for the basic human rights of a specific people group, the Trokosi.
The meaning trokosi broken down is: “Tro” which means diety or fetish and “Kosi” which means female slave. There is a traditional practice in different parts of West Africa which starts with an infraction against another person. The person who was impacted by the infraction will invoke the “wrath of the gods” against the perpetrator causing them to “get sick, go mad, become crippled, blind, or death”. To apepase the gods/ idols, the paymemt is in the form of spiritual human sacrifice to the gods. This type of payment is in the form of a young virgin girl given to the shrine. She is then “married to the idol” and used as a sex slave and made to work in the fields in order to make money for the shrine. This is human trafficking. Most families cannot afford the monetary payment that is also required. They stay stuck in these practices of abuse under the guise of tradition.
Duamenefa and several local government agencies are working together to educate the people on human rights and free the trokosi (the young girls and women) from bondage. They have created a training program to give these women and children the opportunity to build skills in order to gain independence once free from the life. These agencies are working with them on the road to healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They are not forcing a change of religious beliefs but are fighting for human rights. This organization has received the names of 205 women in servitude and 195 of them have expressed interest in freedom and restoration. Sexual abuse and servitude are not okay. Duamenefa believes that the love of Jesus breaks all oppression and that these women’s lives matter to Jesus. I have heard some beautiful stories of both freedom and justice being served.
Back home I got to work with several women and young girls living very similar lives.They were told their worth was in how much money they can make and that love comes from using their bodies as a commodity, typically by force or coercion. Physical, spiritual, and emotional bondage is not only in West Africa, it happens at home too.
I learned how incredible it is to watch restoration happen when we come together as a community putting our disagreements aside in order to fight for the benefit of another. I learned how real spiritual warfare is and how different it looks in places outside of the States. It reassures me that my God is so much bigger than the darkeness in this world. There truly is nothing to fear because Jesus restores and brings unity and freedom.
If you are interested in learning more feel free to reach out to me. There are also a ton of local organizations that fight to end human trafficking in your area.
