Livestream: Poisoned Playground – Ending Child Labour in Galamsey
As Ghana battles the devastating impacts of illegal mining, children are increasingly trapped in the deadly underworld of galamsey. This livestream exposes the toxic playgrounds where children work instead of learn—and demands urgent collective action.
Ghana — July 30, 2025
Deep in Ghana’s gold belts, where the earth has been stripped bare and rivers turned brown with mercury and cyanide, children toil in the deadly shadows of illegal mining—galamsey.
This special JoyNews Livestream, titled “Poisoned Playground – Ending Child Labour in Galamsey,” unveils the horrifying realities faced by thousands of children who, instead of attending school, carry sacks of ore, breathe poisonous fumes, and wade through toxic pits.
The documentary-style broadcast follows investigative reporters into communities like Prestea, Tarkwa, and Bawdie, where the laughter of children has been replaced by the clanging of shovels and the growl of excavators. The team captures stories of young boys who have lost fingers in crude machinery, and girls who have dropped out of school to pan for gold just to survive.
“I wanted to be a teacher,” says 13-year-old Kwabena, now a regular at an illegal mining site. “But I have to help my mother eat.”
The program highlights how poverty, negligence, and profit-driven collusion between local leaders and illegal miners continue to rob these children of their futures. Despite Ghana’s ratification of international child labour conventions, enforcement remains weak, especially in the extractive sector.
Environmental activists, child protection advocates, and former child miners join the livestream to dissect the root causes of this crisis—and outline pathways for ending child labour in galamsey.
Policy experts are also calling for:
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Prosecution of child labour violations in mining areas
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Stricter enforcement of mining laws
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Community-based school reintegration programs
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A national rehabilitation strategy for affected children
“This is not just child labour. It is a slow, grinding genocide of our next generation,” said Nana Akua Serwaa, an activist and founder of the NGO Children First Ghana.
The livestream aims to spur immediate public discourse, civil pressure, and government response. Viewers are encouraged to share, speak up, and demand change—because no child should have to trade their childhood for gold.
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