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RIGHT TO BE FREE
Rescue        Rehabilitate      Reintegrate


A New Year of Freedom


We hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start! In January, the U.S. celebrated National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which leads up to National Freedom Day on February 1st. RTBF is grateful to our supporters who help us bring the gift of freedom to children and defeat the forces that lead to their enslavement. Some believe human trafficking is impossible to solve. Most people also believed it was impossible to land on the moon. Yet human determination proved otherwise. If we embrace the same collaborative mind-set that landed us on the moon, we can conquer the global trade of human beings. RTBF continues its role in the prevention and eradication of modern day slavery by expanding our educational outreach and advocacy work and bringing the gift of freedom to more trafficked children. 

January 2015


In This Issue:

A New Year of   Freedom
 
Celebrating the   Gift of Giving

Educational       Outreach

Reintegration     Update

Valentine Gift 

Celebrating the Gift of Giving
Last month, Eric Peasah (Executive Director, RTBF/Africa) and a group of volunteers, visited the village of Kpala Abionukope on Christmas Eve to provide food and clothing. This holiday party celebrated the spirit of giving and helped deliver hope to the trafficked children in the village. During research visits and rescue missions to villages along Lake Volta, Eric often brings donated clothing and other items to help foster his relationship with the villages and to give hope to the trafficked children, that their well being and freedom are his greatest concern. 
 
Eric was accompanied by a team of volunteers, including Ghanaian actress, Lydia Forson (right), who assisted Eric on a previous rescue mission. Lydia is passionate about the plight of trafficked children and her celebrity brings much needed attention to this issue. Jeneba (left) and her 15 year old daughter Ariana (second from left), traveled from the U.S. to help deliver food, clothing and sunglasses. Ariana plans to start a project at her high school to support this annual event. 
 
Ariana and Eric serve food to the village children. 
      Eric gives a young boy a pair of sunglasses. A perfect fit! 


Educational Outreach

Last October, Eric gave a presentation on human trafficking to The Blake School, a private college preparatory school in Minnesota. His presentation included a brief video of a rescue mission on Lake Volta, which featured trafficked children working in the hazardous fishing trade. 

Eric was invited by Kira Leadholm, a senior at Blake, who wanted to support RTBF's mission to rescue and rehabilitate trafficked children and increase awareness of the illegal trade of human beings. She organized an art show fundraiser featuring the works of every student enrolled last fall in an Upper School visual arts class. The "Art To Be Free" exhibition was held last November in the Martha Bennett Gallery and culminated in a reception at which guests could purchase the art work with all proceeds benefiting RTBF. 
Eric speaks at an all school assembly at The Blake School. The art show fundraiser was lead by Kira Leadholm (right). 
The art show was a great success in raising funds and knowledge about human trafficking and RTBF's work to address this global criminal industry. We are very grateful to Kira, the Leadholm family, and The Blake School for their support and partnership in elevating the consciousness of the modern day slave trade and how this travesty affects millions, especially women and children. 

This month, Lori Dillon (President, RTBF/USA) was invited to speak to members of the Abolitionist Project Against Human Trafficking, a student run activist club at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She shared information about the link between human trafficking and terrorism and how it affects the health, safety and security of nearly every nation. 
Volunteer team on rescue boat
Kathleen Devlin (left), Vice President of the club, organized the event which took place via video conference. 

The Blake School and the University of Western Ontario are wonderful examples of students actively engaging in human rights issues and taking a proactive role in the advancement of these subjects. RTBF appreciates their partnership in our global educational outreach and we look forward to working with them and other schools in the future. RTBF welcomes the opportunity to give complimentary presentations to any group.
 

Reintegration Update
 
The children that were rescued last year are enjoying their second semester in school! Instead of working 14 hour days on Lake Volta under dangerous conditions, while enduring physical and emotional abuse, they are free to pursue their education, which will open unlimited doors for them in the future. Meanwhile, RTBF continues to monitor them during the reintegration process and work with their families to foster private enterprise opportunities, enabling them to become financially secure. 

One rescued child, Senyo (below), who was featured in previous newsletters, continues to recover from the physical and emotional trauma he suffered as a trafficked child laborer. He has been treated for spinal tuberculosis and will undergo further testing to confirm he is finally free of this disease. Given his inability to walk without assistance and his incontinence, he is unable to go to church or school. RTBF has been seeking donations for his surgery, which will cost an estimated $23,000. There are also post operative care and housing expenses since Senyo is essentially an orphan. His father is deceased and his mother is mentally ill. 
 

RTBF will provide for his needs, which are great at this time, yet Senyo's strong spirit, optimism and faith enable him to carry on despite his daily pain and physical challenges. If you would like to help Senyo go to school so he can fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer to help other trafficked children, please make a tax deductible donation below. No amount is too small to help Senyo walk again. RTBF is grateful to those who have already made a gift to help Senyo and we hope he can have surgery this year, if the necessary funds can be raised. 
 
Gift for Senyo's Surgery

Valentine Gift

Valentine's Day is February 14th and you can honor your Valentine, or the memory of a loved one, with a special Gift of Freedom by making a donation to RTBF. Your Valentine will receive a heartfelt thank you note, acknowledging your gift in their honor or memory of a special person. What better way to share your love, than by extending it to a trafficked child whose only wish is to be free. 
 
Valentine Gift
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Right To Be Free/USA
1130 Old Colony Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045
righttobefree.org      LDillon@righttobefree.org

Right To Be Free/Africa
                       P.O. Box SD 111, Stadium-Accra, Ghana, West Africa                              rightobefree.org       EPeasah@righttobefree.org
  +233-24-2170827    +233-20-8126696

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