At the age of seven, Mercy’s family chose her to become a Trokosi to atone for the sins of her grandmother, and left at the shrine. A Trokosi means “wife” of the gods. “In the initiation ceremony, my clothes and beads were stripped off. This symbolized that my soul now belonged to the spirits. It was terrifying to enter the secret place of the shrine and see the fetish gods,” says Mercy today.
At age eleven she was beaten into submission and sent to her “marital bed”. Her life was one of physical, sexual and emotional abuse with no end in sight.
I.N. Network Ghana staff began traveling to the remote villages and shrines involved in the Trokosi practice in 1990. I.N. Network gently insisted there was a better way to atone for sin than through innocent little girls. It wasn’t until 1996 that the first 30 women along with the children they had given birth to as a result of abuse, were released.
In September of 1998, Mercy was released. To date I.N. Network Ghana has secured the release of over 3,500 female slaves, young an old, and their 14,000 children. I.N. Network Ghana started a school and job-skill training center to help the women.
Enter Mollie Carnes and friend Renee TerBeek.
Because of the book, The Hole in Our Gospel, they both believed they had to do something.
Using their creative talents, they made cards to sell and raise money. The idea to have card parties to make more cards to sell in mass resulted.
That’s where I was introduced to Mercy, Mollie, Renee and the I.N. Network. A friend hosted a card party and we had a great time. We each made four different cards that would be packaged, sold and the proceeds would go towards the work in Ghana.
I was impressed with the quality and creativeness of the cards.
Some of the cards are created with batik fabric made by the women in Ghana. The material is unique and adds distinctive beauty to each card.
There are many, many ways to help with this project, from hosting a party to preparing packets for the party. This is a great way for you to get together with a few of your friends, have fun, be creative and know you are making a difference. For more information on how you can help contact Mollie at 3shelities@msn.com.
I urge you to take a minute to check out the I.N. Network site at www.innetworkusa.org.
Let’s shower Mercy with mercy. It does a body good!
