Kejetia: Teenage Prostitutes Appeal For Support

Teenage girls engaging in prostitution at the Kumasi Kejetia bus terminal are appealing to NGOs and other agencies to come to their aid.

According to them, they are willing to further their education or learn a trade but they lack the wherewithal.

They claim they wish they would have been in school but have no one to take care of that responsibility.

Kumasi Kejetia bus terminal and its environs have been turned into breeding grounds for prostitution as children as young as 12 and 16 years are engaged in such acts as their major source of survival.

Children of such age have been sleeping with drivers and their mates at night, and are ready to accept anything at all to make a living.

These children, mostly live at the Kejetia station as their home where they do all these things because they are homeless.

The information further reveals that these young have their male counterparts who roam at the terminal during the day, picking pocket, and stealing items such as mobile phones and other materials which they sell at cheaper prices for cash.

These girls with their male age counterparts, sleep in front of people's stores at night which they sometimes pay fifty pesewes as sleeping or accommodation fees to shopshop owners.

A fifteen year old girl, a gang leader, name (withheld), in an interview with ModernGhana disclosed that, that is what she has been doing for the past three years to survive.

According to her, their age group male counterparts and drivers mates have sex with them and give them money at night.

"Sometimes, they give us between Ghc5 - Ghc10 per night". She indicated. Adding that, "they sleep with us on tables, on the ground or sometimes in a car".

She emphasized that, there are many among them who have no parents, whiles others too have single parental care but have left home to join their colleagues at Kejetia.

"During the day, we go round to steal people's items and sell them at cheap prices for money", she confessed.

Sometimes some notorious guys bamboozle these girls sleep with them without giving them anything.

When asked whether they take time to bath she said that, "no we don't, all we do is to buy sachet water and wash our face and our feet, that is all".

She expressed that she wished to be in school but has no one to take care of her.

However, in an interview with some traders at the terminal, they said, the situation is really worrying and disturbing.

They said, sometimes some of these children steal from them, but can't take them to police because they feel passionate about the problem.

They called on KMA and other stakeholders to come and help these children since the situation is gradually getting out of hand.