A recent series of reports produced by JHR-trained journalists has shut down a girls’ orphanage in Buduburam, a Liberian refugee camp on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana, that was being run as a child brothel.
During a visit to the refugee camp in April, JHR-trainer Danny Kresynak, working alongside Philip Kofi Ashon and Karim Mahamad of CITI FM, discovered that orphaned refugee girls were being sold for sex and their orphanage had become a hub for sex-trade activity.
Kresynak, Ashon and Mahamad worked tirelessy for three months to investigate the story. Working with reliable sources, they made repeated visits to the camp and made their way through what seemed like endless red tape to get to the bottom of the story.
When the investigation went public on June 26th, 2012 it fuelled a public outcry throughout Ghana.
It wasn’t long before the United Nations High Commission for Refugee’s (UNHCR), along with several other organizations, were forced into action.
On Friday June 29th, a group of law enforcement officers went into the camp, extracted the girls from the orphanage and placed them in safe homes. More of the girls are now beginning to speak up about the abuse they suffered and three people have been charged and arrested for their involvement in managing the child brothel.
Ashon and Mahamad are continuing to follow the story to ensure all those involved in running the brothel are prosecuated and that the girls continue to receive the care they deserve.
In July, CBC picked up on this incredible success and spoke with Danny Kresynak about the story. Listen to the interview here – http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting (Exposing sex crimes in Ghana – Thu, Jul 19, 2012′ on CBC Radio One)
