Kayayo means “girl-carrier” in the Ga language. In the capital of Ghana, 10 000 girls from the age of 6 work as real-life shopping carts carrying around large trays on their heads for women in the markets. The girls earn very little money and the massive weight of the trays often become such a strain on their tiny necks that they result in physical injuries.
The girls, who come from poor families in northern Ghana, are sent south and far away from their homes to financially support their families and help pay for schooling for their brothers.
Years can go by without any contact with their relatives while they are forced to live in the very dangerous and toxic slums of the Ghanaian capital. They are not allowed to return to their families before they have made enough money, but with limited to non-existent math skills the girls rarely know how much they’ve earned. More times than not their handlers stuff their own pockets from the girl’s earnings and as a result, many of them end up in prostitution to make ends meet.
