|
Frederick Douglass Award Winner:
James Kofi Annan of Ghana
 Sold Into Slavery
At age six, James Kofi Annan was sold into slavery. He worked in Ghana’s fishing villages 17 hours a day. Food and shelter were scant. Abuse was constant. Seven years later, James escaped back home to his parents. His mom was overjoyed. His father? Not so much.
From Illiteracy to College
At 14, James couldn’t read or write. Somehow he believed that if he could only learn English, his life would get better. He befriended kindergartners so he could use their schoolbooks to learn to read. He worked to feed himself and pay for school. On standardized exams his scores broke records that have yet to be topped. James persevered and graduated college. His academic excellence landed him a job at Barclays Bank. His English? You guessed it. Perfect. His Mission to Protect Children
With freedom and education came the responsibility to guard his community. James is fueled by equal parts anger and love. For the last 13 years, he has worked to end modern-day slavery.
In 2003, he started Challenging Heights to empower children through education. Every day, vulnerable children turn to Challenging Heights for homework help, sports and the arts. In some villages James has created innovative peer programs with children and adults approaching kids and parents to get local children in school and away from sweet-talking traffickers. James regularly funded Challenging Heights with more than half of his bank salary.
A Lifetime Commitment
Last year, James quit his lucrative job to dedicate himself to Challenging Heights  full-time. He opened a new school where dozens of former child slaves study with children vulnerable to trafficking. Former child slaves take refuge and begin to heal. The other children become less likely to be trafficked.
James is also back in school getting a Master’s degree in communication. He figures it will help him spread the word about vulnerable children in Ghana.
For James, ending slavery is a full-time, lifelong commitment. The children at Challenging Heights affectionately named him Senior James. Senior wants one of his students to break his longstanding academic records. Senior’s triumph paves their way.
About the Award:
This award will be given to one individual who has survived a form of slavery and is now using his or her life in freedom to help others exercise the purpose of their lives. This award will honor the tremendous resilience of the human spirit and emphasize that many of the survivors of modern day slavery go on to help others to freedom. The recipient will receive:
• $10,000 for a program of training and capacity building to continue and expand his or her work.
• $10,000 to be awarded over two years, and used as he or she feels appropriate. More>>
The Freedom Awards are underwritten by the John Templeton Foundation.
 "The Freedom Awards combine the best of two world-changing forces that are central to Sir John Templeton’s positive vision for the future: the power of noble purpose to inspire lives of great significance, and the central importance of enhancing and expanding individual freedom. In addition, the awards honor the memory of Sir John’s daughter Anne Templeton Zimmerman, who herself was a dedicated and courageous advocate for ending slavery and promoting religious freedom.”
-Kimon Sargeant, Ph.D., VP of Human Sciences, John Templeton Foundation
|