The U.S. and Ghana governments have signed a historic compact to accelerate the fight against child slavery in Africa. Free the Slaves has been chosen as one of the key organizations to lead the way.The four-year project will not only free more than 400 children in...
When you see what unlicensed gold mines look like in Ghana, you’ll be shocked to learn that children must endure these inhuman working conditions.“It’s not very easy,” says Isaac, who worked in the mines at age 13. “Sometimes you have to carry the stones on your head...
We’ve all heard the slogan about protecting the earth’s environment: “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Free the Slaves is applying that type of logic to our worldwide effort to protect the earth’s most vulnerable people from slavery.As a global organization, Free the...
Ghana’s gold mines are a source of prosperity and pain. Gold is a huge part of the country’s economy. But for children, mining can bring misery and death.“The conditions in the unlicensed gold mining sites are deplorable, especially for children,” says Free the Slaves...
One of the key elements of our front-line strategy is the protection of children. By helping adults recognize and respect that children have rights, we help communities safeguard their youngest from slavery and other abuses. Two recent success stories show how our...
Ghana is one of the world’s top 10 gold producers, providing international refiners with gold that is eventually sold to banks, jewelers, electronics manufacturers and others. But a new investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) unearths how gold extracted by child...
How do you reach thousands of Ghanaian families to spread the word that child slavery is wrong and must be stopped? Get on the radio! That’s what our front-line partner group, Challenging Heights, has just begun to do. They’re broadcasting a live weekly program called...
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to integrate anti-trafficking efforts into America’s development projects around the globe. That’s because modern-day slavery can reduce the success of international development efforts. USAID officials...
It is a familiar situation in West Africa. A child is sent to live with a relative and made to take care of all household chores, leaving them no time or energy attend school. It happened to Seth Boateng two years ago. His father left the 16-year-old with an aunt,...
Sometimes the experience of one person tells the whole story. That’s certainly true in the case of Mabel, a former child slave in Ghana.A film crew from the Discovery Channel has just released a mini-documentary that tells Mabel’s inspiring journey from slavery to...
Many children in informal mining communities in Ghana are forced to work in mines under dangerous conditions: carrying heavy loads and handling mercury to extract gold from ore. Young girls who go to these mining communities to sell food and water are often sexually...
The anti-slavery movement is at an historic crossroads. We must do more than awaken the world to the fact that slavery still exists. We must convince the world that slavery can be overcome. And to do that, we must prove that our work on the front lines is breaking...
It takes more that a bold vision and deep commitment to conquer slavery. It takes exceptional strategic planning and programmatic execution skills to actually eradicate trafficking in global hot spots. That’s why FTS is thrilled that three key staffers have been...
It isn't every day that a child slavery survivor from Africa is a featured speaker at a congressional briefing. But this week, Capitol Hill witnessed the award-winning advocate and child trafficking survivor, James Kofi Annan, speaking alongside long time anti-slavery...
It takes a special kind of person to fight for freedom and justice in dangerous hot spots where slavery still thrives. It takes a resilient and resourceful spirit to assist impoverished and marginalized people in their struggle to break free. But that's the job...
People who have endured the brutality of slavery are often the best ones to ask about how to end it. Five survivors brought their firsthand experiences to Capitol Hill this morning for a briefing on what the U.S. government should do. Survivor Sandra Woworuntu, who...
It’s an ancient abuse. But it persists throughout the world today. Slavery remains one of the greatest human rights challenges of history. Modern-day slavery looks different than the sailing ships and shackles we learned about in high school history class. Today, it’s...
The team from Stillmotion has wrapped-up filming for their new documentary, #standwithme. The film’s preview is now available online. You can also sign up now to attend premiere screenings of the film in 30 U.S. cities coast to coast early next year! This...
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz headlined a historic concert last year for 70,000 fans to show the power of music at MTV Exit’s unprecedented anti-trafficking concert in Myanmar. You can now see part of Jason's performance online: The Freedom Song. It has...
I’d like to introduce you to five of the most passionate people I know. They are the Free the Slaves country directors – our key front line activists. They supervise our organization’s fieldwork in the world’s worst slavery hotspots. Why do these courageous staffers...
When you think of the Discovery Channel, you probably think of documentaries about sharks, bears and fishermen. But Discovery has teamed up with others to produce a series of short video segments highlighting barriers to education for girls and women in sub-Saharan...
FTS is proud to share the news that slavery survivor and Ghanaian frontline anti-slavery activist James Kofi Annan has been awarded the 2013 World's Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child. The prize is determined by children who vote for one of three nominees....
The first ever Global Online Counter Child Trafficking Conference will take place October 16-18th, and two FTS frontline partners will be featured speakers, alongside many global experts about the latest anti-trafficking techniques and innovations. Based completely...
Boys as young as 12 are working with dangerous chemicals to extract gold dust from ore. Girls as young as 10 are prostituted in mining camps and are pushed into relationships with older men. These deeply moving stories of children losing their childhoods and freedom...
It isn’t often that all five FTS country directors are in the same place at the same time. But it happened last week in Washington, as our overseas staff briefed the U.S. State Department’s "J/TIP" anti-trafficking team. The presentation was called “Innovations on the...
Editor’s Note: Early this month, FTS frontline partner group Challenging Heights conducted one of their largest rescue missions ever, targeting 20 villages along 125 miles of shoreline on Lake Volta, looking for Ghanaian children reported to be enslaved on fishing...
Readers of the FTS Blog may remember the heroism of Ghanaian slavery survivor James Kofi Annan. He received a 2008 Free the Slaves Freedom Award for his work to rescue children from fishing slavery, as well as his work to educate children to prevent the spread of...
Could you answer this question: Which country was the first to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty establishing civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children? Many middle school kids in Ghana know the answer....
They carry heavy loads of sand, tirelessly pound rocks in intense heat, breathe poisonous dust and handle mercury with their bare hands. They are children, forced to endure unsafe working conditions as mining slaves. Their situation is documented in a new film by...
It's back to school soon for students in Free the Slaves student chapters. We've been receiving dispatches from student chapter members about how they are confronting and combating slavery even during their summer vacations. Here are thee stories that we thought you'd...
FTS frontline work is focused on community organizing, and our partners in Ghana are no strangers to doing it effectively. One technique is to form a “CCPC,” a Child Community Protection Committee. These community watchdog groups protect children from various forms...
Ghana celebrates 55 years of independence today. As the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve autonomy from European Colonialism, it has much to take pride in. To most Ghanaians, this day symbolizes freedom. Ghana may be politically free, but not everyone...
A terrific opportunity has come from our friends at the Global Fund for Children. To help raise awareness about modern slavery, and to help child slavery survivors, the fund will donate one book to the Challenging Heights rescue shelter for every book that you buyby...
Editor's note: Free the Slaves College Coordinator Laura Murphy recently visited FTS programs in Ghana. This is the first of her four-part blog on her reflections. To learn more about how you can start a Free the Slaves chapter at your school, you can contact Laura at...
2008 Frederick Douglass Freedom Award winner James Kofi Annan's continued humanitarian work has garnered yet another prestigious award! It was announced last month that James is the 2011 recipient of a Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice award. The...
Editor's note: This post is written by musician and activist Jason Mraz. In 2010, Jason traveled to Ghana with Free the Slaves to visit our frontline partner organizations. He also performed at the most recent Freedom Awards. Watch the awards in their entirety here....
2008 Freedom Award winner James Kofi Annan is a survivor of childhood slavery. He was enslaved in Ghana's fishing industry, forced to work in hazardous conditions on Lake Volta, beaten and subdued, given little to no compensation. See video of James Kofi Annan...
Ghana is the 10th biggest producer of gold in the world. A 2003 report found that the exportation of gold garners “approximately 50%” of the country’s GDP. But much of the mining industry is made up of “galamsey” operators—artisanal miners who often operate in...
Last June, Jason Mraz traveled to Ghana with Free the Slaves to see the work we do with our partner organization, Challenging Heights. Challenging Heights is founded by Freedom Award winner James Koffi Annan—a survivor of childhood slavery who now dedicates his life...
Back in June, Jason Mraz went to Ghana with Free the Slaves to visit with our partner Challenging Heights—an organization that helps free and rehabilitate child slaves. Challenging Heights' founder, James Kofi Annan was himself sold into slavery when he was just six...