Patience and Mercy

Many times we have been asked why we do this. There have been some occasions where we have been asked (in not so many words) if we have lost our minds. As far as we know, we have not :) People want to know why we're doing this.

Last night we met with one of those reasons.

Mercy is a woman from Ghana. When Diane, Cheryl, Kim and myself (Kara) left the restaurant we met her at last night; to say we were inspired is a huge understatement. And, let's not forget the woman accompanying her, Patience. This woman has devoted her life for more than 20 years working to emancipate enslaved women and children caught in a horrible cultural and tribal practice in Ghana.

There are many different tribes within this country in western Africa. Almost all are in rural areas, submerged in poverty. They have their own practices, rituals and beliefs. In many of these tribes when a crime is committed, whether it be the theft of a small object, to a rape or murder, there must be atonement for that crime. In order to stop the village priest from putting a curse on the accused family, a virgin must be taken to the shrine of the village to be the slave to the priest for the rest of her life. Should she die in captivity another virgin must replace her. She is a domestic slave and a sex slave. Should she bear children while enslaved those children remain enslaved and uneducated and likely end up in child labor.

At the age of 9 Mercy was chosen to replace her 14 year old sister who had died in the shrine as a result of harsh treatment metered out by her captors. When her sister died, a virgin replacement was needed to continue to appease the anger of the gods. Mercy was left to atone for the sins of her grandmother who had shoplifted a pair of earrings. Mercy recounts how terrified she was to be taken to the shrine, she was beaten into submission after trying to resist. She became a slave to this priest and eventually his personal sex slave.


Obtaining freedom is no easy task. Patience works with the I.N Network to speak with village priests about the fact that there is a better way to atone for sin and crime. Obviously the priests resist and Patience worked for 20 years before ever seeing anyone freed. There has not been a release of girls in 5 years. But today, while in the US, Patience received a call that another release may soon be coming. It is important to understand that a release in one of these villages can consist of hundreds of girls. The priest receives a slave for every single person who has committed a crime. As these women have children the number of individuals the priest holds in captivity multiplies quickly.

When a liberation is to take place, the village participates in a liberation ceremony, conducted by the priest and this includes “reversing” the “curse” on the family. The notion that if an enslaved girl returns to their family, then something horrible will fall upon the family needs to be erased. It is essential that the priest make it clear and known that nothing will curse this family. It is still so ingrained in this culture and this has been going on for centuries. Even Mercy’s mother is fearful to have her in her home, even though she has been liberated.

Because a liberation consists of so many people, when a liberation is going to occur there will be a flood of single women and their children released into the community. They most often cannot stay in their own community because there is still much shame, they are shunned and very stigmatized.

The children of these women must be educated upon release. If not there is a huge risk that they will end up in the trafficking industry in the form of child labor. As in so many countries, in Ghana, if you do not have a uniform, you do not go to school.

Patience does not stop at negotiating the release of slaves. She has built 3 schools for these children and 3,000 children have received an education in those schools. That is 3,000 children that did not end up in the human trafficking industry. Patience helps these newly freed women to begin to rebuild their lives. This includes helping them to learn a trade. When they are ready to graduate, Patience gets them set up with a small business, providing them with all the necessary equipment to begin. The cost of this post graduation process is $325.00. Yes, it only cost $325.00 to give someone the ability to begin to rebuild their lives and regain their livelihood. As soon as I heard that figure I immediately began to think of where I have spent $325.00 in the last month.

There are so many components to this situation in Ghana. It is complicated and overwhelming and it was a lot of information to get in an hour and a half. It is so much more than liberating women. It is about getting others to understand human rights, justice issues, and to see that holding a human in captivity is a blatant disregard to their dignity and rights as a human. In these cases it means changing a practice that goes back generations. It means changing a part of a culture. It means convincing a village that these enslaved, destitute are people. It means putting programs and schools in place, and seeing the success of that. It can very slowly spread from village to village. People start to see that maybe, just maybe, there is a better way. But, slow is the key word. Remember, Patience worked for 20 years before ever seeing a single woman freed. But, when that first liberation took place it was certainly a day to celebrate. That day, sixty women were given their freedom. They ranged in ages from 4 through 80. That 80 year old woman had been enslaved since she was 5 years old. Yes, 75 years in slavery. But, Patience does it, and she is changing lives. Thousands of lives.

It was such an honor to sit with these two truly extraordinary women. We were afforded the opportunity to listen to their stories and ask questions.

Question 1: How much is a plane ticket to Ghana?

Question 2: When can I go?

Patience was so kind as to tell me I could stay with her :)

At the end of the conversation we sat for a minute digesting all the information. We looked at each other and asked what do we do from here? We are not sure yet what that means. We will be meeting soon to discuss how Be the Change can fit into all of this information. We’re not sure how yet, but somehow, we will.

As for Mercy...12 years ago, after having three children and being pregnant with her fourth baby, she was freed. Her last child is the only one who was not born into slavery. She now lives in her own home, works and is raising her four children. She is currently traveling in the United States, telling her story to raise funds and awareness on the issue of slavery in her own country…using her story to bring freedom to others.