Anti-trafficking responses in West Africa have historically focused on rescue and repatriation after exploitation has occurred. While these efforts remain essential, they intervene only after harm is done. This presentation introduces the Hope Education Project (HEP), a survivor-led prevention initiative designed to shift anti-trafficking work upstream through structured education and community engagement. The model emerged from frontline rescue work conducted in Dubai in 2019, where direct repatriation efforts revealed the recurring pipeline of recruitment from specific source communities. That experience underscored the limits of reactive intervention and prompted a strategic shift toward prevention. In 2023, HEP was established in Northern Ghana, a region linked to documented trafficking corridors, to address vulnerability before recruitment occurs. HEP integrates classroom-based learning, participatory theatre, survivor-informed testimony, and a Student Ambassador framework in which youth are trained as peer educators. Complementary sessions engage out-of-school youth, women, and men to address community-level risk factors. The pilot program has reached over 1,000 participants and is currently supported by academic partnerships focused on documentation and evaluation. This presentation outlines the conceptual foundation of the rescue-to-prevention shift, the core components of the HEP model, and key implementation lessons. It concludes by inviting practitioners and policymakers to consider how survivor-led, education-based programming can complement rescue efforts and strengthen long-term prevention strategies.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Angus Thomas is a lived experience practitioner and Founder of the Hope Education Project (HEP), a survivor-led trafficking prevention NGO operating in Northern Ghana. His work began in frontline rescue and repatriation efforts in Dubai in 2019 and evolved into education-based prevention. HEP partners with academic institutions to document and strengthen its programming.