Community

Enforced child marriage generally conjures up images of young girls being wed under duress to older men. But on Ghana's Lake Volta, in the central region of the country, one charity is saving young boys from the practice. Saving some of Ghana's most vulnerable  © Challenging Heights Challenging Heights is a not-for profit organisation that focuses on rescuing and rehabilitating youngsters - mainly boys - who have been trafficked into various forms of slave labour. The list includes fishing and household domestic work. The charity's founder Dr James Kofi Annan was trafficked aged six and forced to work in various fishing communities along the lake but managed to escape seven years later. His story is remarkable because he not only taught himself to read, put himself through school. And in spite of his challenging beginnings, he ended up working for Barclays Bank - only leaving to establish Challenging Heights in 2003. Teen marriage So why is there this...

It may not be a new phenomenon in the UK but it is refreshing to see so many second-generation Africans embracing their cultural roots and turning that appreciation into successful businesses. The trend is most visible in the melting pot that is London where African migration easily dates back to Tudor times. Subsequent waves of migration have followed with people of African descent making an indelible mark on Britain's landscape over the last 60 years. Handmade products sold at Africa on the Square 2015  ©  MisBeee Writes The move for some of my parents' generation in the early 1970s came with an unconscious decision to assimilate and stay under the radar while they furthered their education or boosted their employment prospects. Many had every intention of returning home and that meant sucking up the racism they encountered, and not speaking out. However, for those that chose to make the UK their home, this mechanism of 'survival' was passed on to their childr...

Ghanaian writer Frances Mensah Williams is due this month to launch the sequel to her book about Ghana-born Faye Bonsu and her journey of self-discovery. Can't wait to read the sequel! Her new book is called 'Second Helpings'. Here's a sneak peek synopsis from Williams: Faye Bonsu seems to have it all; a drop-dead gorgeous and successful boyfriend, a bourgeoning career as an interior designer and a rent-free mansion in leafy Hampstead to call home. But with all her friends shifting into yummy-mummy mode, a man who seems to have no desire to put a ring on it, tricky clients, and a very attractive and single boss, things are not quite as simple as they might appear.   Hoping to escape from her suddenly complicated life and revive her wilting romance, Faye returns to sunny Ghana for what she hopes will be the time of her life. But life doesn’t always offer second chances and when disaster strikes, she is forced to confront the biggest question of her life and...