Achibra wins 2011 Martin Luther King award

Saturday, January 22, 2011 (The Mirror)

By Rebecca Kwei
FOR his commitment and courage in stopping child trafficking and promoting child welfare in communities in the Volta Lake area, Mr George Achibra has been awarded the US Embassy’s 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award.
This is the fourth year the embassy has presented the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Peace and Social Justice to a Ghanaian citizen who has best personified the philosophy and actions of Dr King Jr.
The award is to recognise a Ghanaian citizen who has been engaged in building a culture of peacemaking through activism for non-violence, social justice and stabilisation while promoting human rights and peace in the communities where he or she lives and works and has shown sustainable results from his or her actions.
Mr Achibra founded the Partners in Community Development Programme (PACODEP) in Kete Krachi in 2003 to work with partners toward protecting the rights of all persons, especially vulnerable children, and supporting them to build their future.
Since then, Mr Achibra and his volunteers with PACODEP have continued to rescue trafficked children working on the Volta lake and provided them with long-term care solutions when reunification with the children’s families was not an option.
So, Mr Achibra says PACODEP and its partners have rescued about 355 children between the ages of four to 15 years. Sixty-eight children are currently at the Village of Hope, Gomoa Fetteh, 22 at the Village of Life, Kete-Krachi while the rest have re-integrated into society or reunited with their families.
The rescued children are at the moment either schooling or engaged in skills training such as soap making, basketry, weaving and jewellery.
Asked how he felt about the award, Mr Achibra said “I’m lost for words but I thank God for how far He has brought me. Little did I know that the work I was doing on the Island district will be recognised. But there was a ‘bigger eye’ somewhere watching. I’m highly elated.”
According to Mr Achibra, the award would spur him on as well as the volunteers to put the issue of human trafficking on the national agenda and the world at large so that “we can give a voice to these voiceless children”.
He said he was very passionate about children and would continue to work hard to see to it that rescued trafficked children were given hope and most importantly, formal education since they were the future leaders of the country.
Since the inception of PACODEP, it has reached out to 33 fishing communities and sensitised fishermen and students in senior high schools on human trafficking and child labour laws; sponsored widows to undergo skills training in soap making; formed anti-trafficking groups to sensitise communities, provided fishermen and spouses with financial counselling and business management skills; opened an account in Kete-Krachi Community Co-operative Credit Union Financial institution for clients to access and develop businesses among others.
Mr Achibra said it was important for other NGOs working in the same area to work passionately from their heart devoid of politics.
While calling for a total education on issues bordering on human trafficking, he also called for greater collaboration among government, the forces, human rights institutions and private organisations to curb the menace on human trafficking.
Fifty-four-year-old Mr Achibra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Basic Education from the University of Education, Winneba, and is married to Anna with seven children.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum, who presented the award to Mr Achibra said if people looked at Martin Luther King Jr as standing up only for civic rights then they were mistaken since he stood up for all the vulnerable and marginalised in America to bring about change.
He said Mr Achibra had also taken a bold stand to say child trafficking is wrong and working to do the right thing.