The Free the Slaves Blog provides a platform for dialogue about how slavery affects communities around the world—and what can be done to eliminate it.
Emmanuel endured years beneath the blistering sky of Ghana’s Lake Volta. As a child fishing slave, he faced the bare elements in a shoddy open boat. Sharp nets left deep cuts in his fingers. The blurry water left him fearful that he might not survive when forced to dive beneath the surface to untangle the nets.
“My life was in a total mess,” Emmanuel recalls. He had no access to medical care or education. “I thought that was the end of read more >
Thousands of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers are posted around the globe each year to promote world peace and friendship through projects that tackle international development challenges such as climate change, pandemic disease, food security and gender equality. They work in many of the same communities where slavery and trafficking are rampant.
So a few months ago, we were honored to train 10 new Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana to recognize slavery when they see it—and provide ideas on what they read more >
New Ghana compact leadership team's launch meeting in Accra | U.S. Embassy Photo
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 hot spots among Lake Volta’s fishing communities and the surrounding region, it will also train more than 2,000 community members, traditional authorities and government officials in ways to sustainably combat child slavery for many read more >
The story of Isaac and his mother is the focus in our final episode of the Face to Face with Slavery film series. | Photo: FTS/Timpy
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 to the surface. Sometimes when you go underground, you see dead bodies.”
Isaac’s story is the final installment of our 10-part Face to Face with Slavery series showcasing Free the Slaves work on the read more >
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 Ghana Director Joha Braimah. “There is a high preference for children,” he says, “because children do not have bargaining power” with mining bosses. Kids are forced to do some of the most dangerous work.
Free the Slaves is read more >
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 focus on children is taking root.
GHANA: A 9-year-old girl complained to her mother that teachers were hitting her with a cane for the most trivial of transgressions. “Teachers at my school enjoy caning,” she said. “The littlest mistake a read more >
Kailash Satyarthi at Lincoln Memorial | Photo: FTS/Li
Perhaps more than anything else, the legacy of Abraham Lincoln is helping to outlaw slavery in the United States. That’s why Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian social activist and winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, went to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Tuesday to deliver a powerful speech on freeing children from slavery.
“Every child should be free to be a child, be free to love, to play, to receive education and to have a dream,” read more >
We headed to Burkina Faso earlier this year for a training program that traditionally does not fall under the Free the Slaves model for intervention. Our mandate was to train 29 community facilitators on issues of child labor and slavery, social protection and data management systems for monitoring child abuse cases. It turns out that the same techniques we have developed to combat child slavery at mines in Ghana can be used to support other types of child rights projects read more >
Great news from our friend Maria Suarez in Los Angeles. She’s launching her own foundation to prevent child slavery in the U.S.
The Maria Suarez Foundation’s official launch celebration will be on Wednesday, October 22 at 6 p.m. at Burns Lounge, Fritz B. Burns Academic Center, Loyola Law School , 919 Albany St. , Los Angeles. RSVP here.
Maria’s own struggle to overcome slavery was featured in the FTS documentary Dreams Die Hard. She was sold for $200 at age read more >
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, with no promise of return.
Seth had to wake up at 4 a.m. to perform all the domestic chores for the house: fetching water, sweeping, washing dishes and cooking meals for read more >
Many businesses will match your contributions or allow you to make tax-exempt contributions directly from your paycheck. Email info@freetheslaves.net for help. Free the Slaves has been approved by the Combined Federal Campaign for U.S. government employees. The number is 11482.
A copy of Free the Slaves financial statements may be obtained by contacting us at: (202) 775-7480 or 1320 19th St NW # 600, Washington, DC 20036.
Residents of the following states may obtain a copy of our financial and additional information as stated below:
Colorado: Colorado residents may obtain copies of registration and financial documents from the office of the Secretary of State, 303-894-2860, www.sos.state.co.us/ re: Reg.No 20163039484.
Florida: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR FREE THE SLAVES, (REGISTRATION NO. CH43520), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING 800-435-7352 OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE WWW.FRESHFROMFLORIDA.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
Georgia: A full and fair description of the programs and financial statement summary of Free the Slaves is available upon request at the office and phone number indicated above.
Illinois: Contracts and reports regarding Free the Slaves, Inc. are on file with the Illinois Attorney General.
Maryland: Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401 (410-974-5534).
Michigan: MICS No. 57944.
Mississippi: The official registration and financial information of Free the Slaves may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by calling 888-236-6167. Registration by the Secretary of State does not imply endorsement.
New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charity/chardir.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.
New York: Upon request, a copy of the latest annual report can be obtained from the organization or from the Office of the Attorney General by writing to the Charities Bureau at 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
North Carolina: Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 888- 830-4989 or 919-807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the State.
Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of Free the Slaves may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling 800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
Virginia: Financial statements are available from the, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218.
Washington: Free the Slaves is registered with Washington State’s Charities Program as required by law and additional information is available by calling 800-332-4483 or visiting www.sos.wa.gov/charities, or on file at Charities Division, Office of the Secretary of State, State of Washington, Olympia, WA 98504.
West Virginia: Residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from: Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305. CONTRIBUTIONS ARE USED FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES IN SUPPORT OF Free the Slaves’ MISSION, AND ARE DEDUCTIBLE FOR FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW. REGISTRATION IN A STATE DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION OF FREE THE SLAVES BY THE STATE.
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