Making Risks Associated with Child Labor Visible in Schools and Communities in Northern Ghana: Preliminary Findings from a Participatory Research

Background and Purpose: Unaccompanied child migration for work remains a pervasive challenge in low-income countries like Ghana, disproportionately affecting adolescent girls in the country’s poorest northern regions. Each year, many adolescent girls migrate to Accra and other southern cities to engage in head porterage (“kayayei”), exposing themselves to exploitation, health and safety risks, and gender-based violence. Unlike children who work locally, these girls face greater vulnerabilities due to their invisibility and lack of parental or community protection. While approximately 24% of Ghanaian children are involved in child labor, with a significant proportion being girls, awareness of the immediate and long-term psychosocial and developmental risks and dangers of kaya work remains limited in schools and communities. This study responds to this critical gap by developing age-appropriate, context-relevant visual messaging co-created with adolescent girls to deter migration and promote school retention. Key research questions include: 1) what are the reasons for, and dangers associated with, unaccompanied migration for work among adolescent girls in Northern Ghana, and 2) what are some good suggestions of visuals on risks associated with independent child migration for work?

Methods: This study employs a qualitative design involving focus group discussions (FGDs) and a participatory design workshop with adolescent girls. FGDs were conducted with 32 kayayei returnees, 8 junior high school teachers, and 40 junior high school girls (ages 11-14) in Northern Ghana; collaborating with local NGOs for participant recruitment. Discussions explored motivations for migrating, perceived benefits of kaya work, associated dangers and risks and appropriate educative messages and visuals. All qualitative data were analyzed thematically to identify key themes, with data triangulated to generate comprehensive knowledge around the risks and dangers of unaccompanied girl-child migration.

Results: Preliminary findings from the study have shown that poverty, peer influence, the lack of basic educational accoutrements were primary drivers of girls’ migration, often compounded by caregiver maltreatment and family pressures (e.g., early marriage). While many girls initially viewed kaya work as a chance to earn income to support their education and flee oppressive cultural practices, the severe risks and dangers of labour-related migration outweigh any perceived short-term benefits. Participants described numerous dangers accompanying kaya migration, including sexual and physical abuse, unintended pregnancy, injuries from heavy labor, illnesses from poor sanitation, death, permanent school dropout, and homelessness. Adolescent schoolgirls suggested poster images, depicting scenes such as a girl threatened by an attacker and another struggling under a heavy load, paired with cautionary messages urging peers to rethink migrating for work.

Conclusions and Implications: Independent migration for work in Ghana is reinforced by structural, social, and economic forces, and would require concerted efforts to remediate. This study contributes to the broader body of research on child labor and independent child migration in Ghana and offers potential pathways for policy interventions targeting school retention, child protection, and the mitigation of exploitative migration. Future research should also examine community-based approaches to supporting adolescent girls’ educational retention and protection, with a focus on integrating local stakeholders in the development and implementation of intervention strategies.