March 2016
In This Issue: Christian's Courage
RTBF Club Advocates with Art
Christian's Courage
At the age of five, Christian, along with his older sister, age seven, and their younger sister, age three, lost their father. Their widowed mother later became ill and struggled to provide basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, healthcare and an education. As a result, extreme poverty forced the family to beg for food. The mother's health worsened and she believed she would pass on at any time. A kind man in their village offered to let the children stay with him. He promised he would take good care of them. The mother agreed. The man took Christian and his sisters to live with him in the northern part of Ghana, about a day's drive from where they had been living with their mother. He subsequently "rented" the children to a fisherman friend to work on Lake Volta.
Despite their young ages, the three children were forced to work long hours doing hard labor and were mistreated. Christian worked tirelessly for his master, fishing on the lake and also as a "cowboy," herding cows to graze in the bush. If he did not return with all the cattle, he was forced to search for the missing cows at night. His sisters salted and smoked the fish and sold them at the market. They also cooked, cleaned, and fetched water. The children were the last to go to sleep and the first to wake up each morning.
Eventually, Christian and his sisters could no longer bear the harsh treatment of their master and his wife and they decided to escape. Unfortunately, Christian was caught, punished and received several beatings.
In 2005, at the age of eight, he began planning another escape, despite the risk of severe punishment. Fortunately, a man from Accra (capitol of Ghana) who was visiting his master's village, helped Christian escape by connecting him to RTBF, who was researching and rescuing trafficked children in the village. He talks about his experience in the video Making A Difference which was featured in our November 2015 newsletter.
Christian, post rescue at the Rehabilitation Christian attending high school.
Center.
Now 18 years old, Christian is studying science as a second year student in senior high secondary school. He was recently appointed School Prefect and aspires to be a doctor one day. He is a serious student and dedicated to his studies. He lives in a partially completed structure without electricity with his mother who is unemployed, so she cannot support him in school. RTBF helped with Christian's school fees since he sometimes went to school without food and walked a long distance back home. He searched for odd jobs over the weekends to help pay for his weekly transportation to school, food and other basic needs. Fortunately, RTBF was able to secure a sponsor for Christian to help support his education so he can continue to pursue his dream of being a doctor.
With the support of RTBF, Christian's courage and perseverance have helped him achieve his dream of being free and going to go school. We will continue to monitor his progress to ensure he succeeds in reaching his goals.
If you would like to learn more about sponsoring a rescued child, please contact RTBF at info@righttobefree.org.
Right To Be Free Club's Art Workshop
We have enjoyed featuring Lincoln Community School's Right To Be Free Club and their wonderful series of art workshops to raise awareness of child trafficking and funds for RTBF. The final workshop took place this month with Lincoln teacher Andrew Shutteworth, who has taught art in schools throughout the world. Participants in his workshop created beautiful collages in the style of Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar).
Workshop participants collaborate to create colorful collages.
The artwork created by the participants will be displayed at an art exhibit fundraiser "The Art of Freedom" at Alliance Francaise in Accra, Ghana on April 6th.
The exhibition will display the work of all students who participated in the RTBF Club workshops, as well as those of local artists who led the workshops and donated their time and art. Proceeds from the sale of the artists' works will support RTBF's mission to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate, trafficked children in Ghana. The event is open to the public. If you are interested in starting a RTBF Club and/or organizing a fundraiser, please send inquiries to info@righttobefree.org.
Children like Christian who grow up in extreme poverty are vulnerable to traffickers who prey on their family's desire to provide them with a better life. They struggle to survive while working for their masters, enduring physical and emotional abuse. Christian was a brave young boy with an invincible spirit who was willing to risk everything to be free. With the support of RTBF, rescued children strive to move beyond their impoverished conditions, determined to go to school so they can achieve their dreams. Your tax deductible gift to Right To Be Free will help us rescue more children who long to be loved, safe and free.
All operating costs are funded internally, so 100% of every donation directly supports victims of child trafficking.
If you are an Amazon shopper, please support RTBF when you shop online. Amazon’s Smile Foundation will donate .05% of your purchase to Right To Be Free. Your account is exactly the same on Amazon and AmazonSmile and your shopping activity and purchases remain private. Use AmazonSmile's link once to shop for the benefit of RTBF and in the future, type “Smileamazon.com” (instead of Amazon.com) in your browser and your Amazon purchases will help save a child’s life!
