Ghanaian wins prestigious international award

Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel laureate and internationally acclaimed South African human rights activist, would on Monday September 15, 2008 present the 2008 Frederick Douglass Freedom Award to Mr James Kofi Annan, founder of Ghanaian-based Challenging Heights for his commitment to helping freed child slaves and their parents and guardians live purposeful lives.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency from the Ghana office of US-based Free The Slaves (FTS), noted that Mr Annan was selected for the prestigious award particularly because as a freed slave himself, he is using his life in freedom to contribute towards assisting others to obtain and enjoy meaningful lives.

As part of his award, Mr Annan would receive $10,000 for various capacity building programs and direct intervention to continue supporting deprived children and another grant to be awarded over two years, for a project of his choice. The award would be the highlight of the Freedom Awards for Free Slaves ceremony in Los Angeles, California, which is underwritten by the John Templeton Foundation.

The Frederick Douglas Freedom Awards is 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. It was instituted to honour the tremendous resilience of the human spirit and emphasises that many of the survivors of modern day slavery go on to help others to freedom, the statement said. The recognition of Mr Annan's remarkable life story comes on the foundation of his receiving the 2008 WANGO Education Award and a double of the overall winner for Africa and Global Barclays Bank awards in 2006.

Mr Annan, affectionately called Senior James, was nominated for the Award by Global Fund for Children, USA, and the award was decided after a number of field investigations of his practical work of fighting for the rights of the Ghanaian child.

Mr Emmanuel Otoo, West African Regional Coordinator of FTS noted that "in presenting this award to James Kofi Annan, FTS was struck by his overcoming of tremendous odds to not only bring personal success, but to use his own success for the sake of others," He indicated that whiles Senior James' story remained one of success, child labour and trafficking and all forms of slavery though illegal and harmful to the holistic development of the child continued to persist in some communities across Africa. Mr Otoo revealed that various studies and observations of the FTS indicated that there were about 27 Million slaves worldwide at the moment, a significant number of whom are children. "How on earth did we get to a situation where there are 27 million slaves in 2008?

"I mean real slaves, not workers with bad jobs, but people being controlled by violence or threat, working without payment, being economically exploited and unable to escape," he stressed. Mr Otoo noted that supporting the growth of new slavery was facilitated by many factors, among which were population explosion, extreme poverty, vulnerability, exclusion, and corruption. He added that it was important for all key stakeholders such as governments, the private sector, communities, faith-based organizations, traditional rulers, civil society organizations and the UN System to harmonize efforts in ending slavery. He said sustainable and progressive efforts in ending slavery in Africa and other parts of the world was imperative to the timely attainment of the MDGs Mr Otoo said that was why the contribution of people like Senior James to stem child slavery and provide a purposeful live for otherwise deprived socially excluded and vulnerable children deserved international recognition. Trafficked into child labour at the age of six, Senior James, like many children in slavery today, worked in some of Ghana's fishing villages long hours a day under very harsh , hazardous and abusive conditions.

Seven years later, he escaped back home to his parents. At 13, he could not read and write, but befriended kindergartners so he could use their school books to learn to read, and worked to feed himself and pay for his formal education.

Eventually, he broke still unsurpassed records on standardized tests, graduated university, and got a job at Barclays Bank. But Senior James did not limit his goals to self-improvement, but has devoted himself to contribute towards ending modern-day slavery and supporting the less fortunate. In 2003, he founded Challenging Heights in Ghana to empower children through education with his personal earnings. Senior James used his own means to fight against the things that militated against him as a child - poverty, disease, and child labour - to work for the empowerment of children and youth, paying for educational materials, scholarships, and health education for children.

Through Challenging Heights, he dedicated himself to promoting access to quality education and health for young people. As a result, Challenging Heights has made great strides in protecting the rights of vulnerable children and youth, assisting in the development of their talents, and striving to prevent child labour while offering support for its victims.

It has also provides educational scholarships and materials so that children could enrol in school. He has also built a school structure at Winneba in the Central Region that offers children between the ages of four and 15 years in surrounding communities the opportunity to attend evening classes.

Challenging Heights also offers about 80 per cent scholarships and organises community presentations for parents as well as protect children from child labour and the need to send their children to school. 5 Sept. 08