A 13-year-old boy who was trafficked by a neighbour from Rwanda into Uganda with the intention of having him work was intercepted and safeguarded before he could be exploited.
Peter* was with three young adults and the trafficker on a bus and they had managed to cross the porous border into Uganda easily. They were on their way to the capital, Kampala, when a highway patrol stopped them and checked their documentation. Peter, because of his young age, escaped arrest but when the others were taken away, was instead was left to fend for himself in the capital city.
Fortunately he was found by a nighttime police patrol and eventually brought to a Hope for Justice Lighthouse shelter for care and protection.
With the support of the Uganda Immigration Office and Rwanda government officials, our social workers were able to return Peter back to his country. He was handed over to the responsible government official on the Rwandan side.
*Name changed and image blurred to protect identity
