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RESCUE 100:
Matching Gift Campaign
MAY 10 - JUNE 12
HELP RESCUE 100 CHILDREN FROM SLAVERY
Every dollar matched and doubled until June 12th (World Day against Child Labor)
$1000 rescues one child ($500 with match)
DONATE
Help get 100 children out of slavery on Lake Volta
£57,488.16 79%
It costs £1,000 (or £83.00 per month) to rescue a child from slavery on Lake Volta. We need £71,890 to rescue 100 children.

Total

£71,890
EVERY DOLLAR YOU DONATE WILL BE MATCHED 1:1 IN MAY AND JUNE. FOR £500 (£42/MO) YOU CAN PROVIDE FREEDOM FOR ONE CHILD.

Tell me about child slavery on Lake Volta in Ghana:

  • Lake Volta is the largest man-made lake in the world.
  • It is is the epicenter of the commercial fishing industry in Ghana, powered by child slavery.
  • 21,000 children are enslaved on fishing boats on Lake Volta right now.
  • Half of them are under 10 and 25% are under 6 years old.
  • Our partner leader in Ghana, James Kofi Annan, was enslaved from age 6-13 before escaping. He has gone back to the lake to rescue 100’s of others and train them to rescue others. He has made his journey from injustice to influence and wants to help 1000’s of others do the same.
Short video:
Hear from a survivor and a rescuer

What you can help us do in Ghana:

James and our partner team in Ghana know how to get children off the lake. They have been doing dangerous rescues for 10+ years. They just need us to provide the funds for them to do it.
100% of what you give will directly:
  • Rescue children from slavery
  • Provide immediate medical care and food
  • Transport them to our recovery center where they start their journey from Injustice to Influence
We’ll send you photos, video, and stories in 6 months and 12 months
BECAUSE EVERY DOLLAR UP TO $100K IS MATCHED IN MAY & JUNE:
£1000
(£83.33 per month)
Rescue two children from the lake
£500
(£41.67 per month)
Rescue one child from the lake
£100
Provide immediate food and care for a child after rescue
£40
Provide food for immediate care of a child after rescue
DONATE

HOW RESCUE WORKS

The process begins with an investigation in the source community (towns where children are sold or taken from parents tricked into believing their child is getting a job) where our partner investigators piece together who the child is, what they look like, and where they are likely to have been taken to.
Investigators take the information gathered and travel 10-12 hours to Lake Volta and search the lakeside towns or boats for the child and his/her slavemaster.
The rescue operation is an actual, physical rescue from either one of the towns on the lakeside, or from a boat where our partners’ rescue teams pull up alongside boats and remove boys from slavemasters. It can be dangerous and we always take at least one armed police officer. Rescue operations are for groups of approximately 30 children per rescue.
The freed child spends a few days at our partner home near the lake getting immediate care and food and calm. Then travels to our long term recovery center where healing begins and they start their journey to influence so they can rescue others. It costs $550 per month per child in our recovery center to provide care and counseling and education to a child
After 3-12 months the child is reintegrated with a family and we provide ongoing support and education and empowerment so they know how to prevent others suffering what they did.

MEET OUR LEADER THERE

JAMES KOFI ANNAN

“I was trafficked at the age of six. I was sold for the equivalent of ten dollars. This earned me the ordeal of working in about twenty fishing communities along the Volta Lake in the hands of fifteen slave masters.

Since escaping aged 13 I was the first to bring school to my community, the first to start transforming the lives of other children, getting children to high school and college.

With time survivors of trafficking become the solution to the problem. That brings me a lot of hope.”

MEET BEN

From Slave to Doctor:

Ben was sold for $102. He was rescued in 2012 and reintegrated with a family in 2013. He spent 5 years on the lake. He has been permanently damaged physically.

Ben is now in Senior High School. He is an anti-child trafficking ambassador in his school and community helping other children and families avoid what he endured. He hopes to become a medical doctor so he can treat others in physical distress.

We’re going to help him do that. Join us?

HELP US RESCUE 100 CHILDREN.

£42 A Month Provides freedom for one child with the match in May and June.

DONATE

GO TO GHANA FOR 90 SECONDS

PLAY VIDEO
"I was introduced to Challenging Heights while learning about the societal issues of child slavery within the Ghanaian fishing industry and importantly, the ongoing challenges that both the children and their families face across rescue and rehabiliitation. Challenging Heights relies on donations in order to rescue, rehabilitate and critically, to empower mothers with skills to earn an income where families become self-supporting. I specifically choose to support the children's shelter where the rescued boys are fed, clothed and educated; as a mother and educator, this area of support aligns with my thinking and values. What's more, 100% of the donation is allocated to this cause, where even a cent provides an egg, essential protein for growth and renewal."
Fiona R.
"I looked for a couple of years to find out how I could make a permanent difference for the children of Ghana. Most help seemed so temporary. Then I met James. His vision, dedication and stature were so extraordinary, I became committed to his cause. We had an opportunity to get together with the US. Ambassador to Ghana and his staff. We asked them what organizations in Ghana were doing lasting, dedicated child rescue work. Their answer was simple -- "only James Kofi Annan."
Mark H.
"We had the opportunity to visit Ghana in 2014 and spend time at the home where rescued children are prepared to reenter normal society and still more time with the community and school where they come from and return. The work of Challenging Heights and the vision of its founder, James Koffi Annan, have motivated our support ever since. "
Chuck and Kathy G.
"A number of years ago, we had the pleasure of meeting James Kofi Annan and learning of his heart's work to rescue children from trafficking and forced labor in the fishing industry on Lake Volta in Ghana. With time that vision bore fruit not only in rescuing children from slavery, but also in providing housing, education and eventual reunification of the children with their families. Supporting the work of Challenging Heights brings freedom and hope to those who have been enslaved. We count it a joy to continue investing in these precious lives."
James & Marion Boy
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What can Happen?

We believe that children rescued from injustice are not a problem to be solved but a solution waiting to be unleashed. Here’s why:
“They can get seed money from a slavemaster to be a trafficker, or we can give them seed money to set up a fishing business.” We need survivors to come back and be advocates. Historically the strongest advocates we have are those who come back from university. There are inspirational and key to prevention because they become advocates in their community”
– James Kofi Annan, Partner Leader in Ghana
DONATE

HOW YOU CAN HELP RESCUE CHILDREN IN GHANA

THE RESCUE PROCESS

THE ARC TO INFLUENCE

How we work in Ghana

The process begins with an investigation in the source community (towns where children are sold or taken from) where our partner investigators piece together who the child is, what they look like, and where they are likely to have been taken to and the situation that led to them being taken in the first place.

The rescue operation is an actual, physical rescue from either one of the towns on the lakeside, or from a boat where our partners’ rescue teams pull up alongside boats and remove boys from slavemasters. It can be dangerous and we always take at least one armed police officer.

It costs an average of $1000 to rescue one child from slavery (based on a rescue operation for 30 children at once)

The rescued boys are taken for a few days to a safe house near the lake for immediate medical and emotional care and food and rest while the rescue team continues to look for the other boys in the operation. When the operation is complete, all the boys are taken to our recovery center where they will live for several months rehabilitation until they are ready to be reintegrated with a safe family member.

This involves healing of the whole child: physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual. The total cost of all care from the point of rescue to the point of reintegration is $4000-8000 depending on how long the child stays with us full time.

In our recovery center children receive literacy and numeracy and I.T. skills to prepare survivors for mainstream education during reintegration. For older youth who find it difficult to join mainstream education, we provide technical vocational training (e.g. sewing, carpentry, breadmaking skills that they can use to get a job)Following reintegration with families, survivors either join mainstream education or technical vocational skills training and we monitor their progress.

We provide encounters with professionals in different careers to widen horizons and elevate ambition help every child see what is possible.

We help open doors for them to get there and to step into what they are capable of.

They learn about their rights and the law and how to identify and prevent abuse and start anti-trafficking clubs in their schools and take action in their communities to protect others.

Youth Empowerment Programme provides both capital and network supports to its graduates. The state programmes provide temporary employment to beneficiaries to provide them with job experience and skills to apply for permanent jobs in the public sector or private sector.

Want to do more?

DONATE RIGHT NOW
A £500 donation will rescue one child with the 1-1 match until June 12th (World Day Against Child Labor)
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JULY 2021 (COMING SOON)

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GIVE IN STOCK

We’re able to accept donations in the form of stock, government (including municipal) debt and corporate debt. This can be arranged from most brokerage accounts.

Please contact donations@manyhopes.org for more information on making a stock donation

GOVERNING BOARD

MAXINE FRIEDMAN – BOARD CHAIR

Senior Vice President Growth, Bionic Solution

A Silicon Valley native, Maxine Gisinger Friedman has over 20 years of leadership experience in strategic consulting, executive coaching, business development, and marketing at consulting, agency, startup, and Fortune 500 companies. Maxine is Principal and Founder of Maxine Ventures and plays an independent C-level growth and transformation partner role working with Chief Innovation, Strategy and R&D Officers of some of the world’s leading brands.

A sought-after thought leader on building growth capability strategies and systems at the enterprise level, Maxine also advises multiple startups and is an active angel investor. Prior, Maxine was on the co-founding leadership team of Bionic, an army of entrepreneurs that installs a Growth Operating System that creates a permanent, always-on capability for organic and inorganic growth. As SVP at Bionic, she built and led the Partner and Services team as well as led enterprise partnerships for brands including P&G, Nike, Anheuser-Busch and TD Ameritrade.

A seasoned entrepreneur, Maxine helped build multiple startups (Contently, Syncapse, Clickable, Brandimensions) and always played an early cofounding leadership team role. Maxine earned dual MBAs from Columbia University and London Business School and B.S. in Journalism from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Maxine and her family are currently based in the Hamptons after 20 years in NYC.

BECKY WELDAY – BOARD TREASURER

Becky grew up in Texas and graduated from Baylor University with degrees in Economics and Finance in 1990. A former credit analyst and commercial lender at Bank of America, Becky stopped working in order to stay home with children, Richard and Layne. She met her husband, Rick, at Baylor and got married shortly after graduation. The Weldays have lived all over the world including periods in Switzerland, Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Saint Louis, and all over Texas.

Her extra time is spent volunteering with churches and other organizations and she enjoys reading, traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

SUE VERITY – BOARD CLERK

Liberty Mutual, Director of Financial Analysis

Sue joined the board as clerk after volunteering with the Boston Many Hopes chapter for several years. She studied Business Administration at the University of Vermont and has an MBA from Boston College. She works as a Director of Financial Analysis at Liberty Mutual in Boston. Sue visited Many Hopes in Kenya and was thrilled to meet the girls and see the impact in person.

PATRICK MURPHY

President, John Hancock Financial Services

CEO, New York Life Retirement Plan Services

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Patrick has spent the past 25 years in the financial services industry helping companies and their employees achieve financial security. He is currently the President of John Hancock Retirement Plan Services. Pat has also spent significant personal time as a coach and mentor, helping young people realize their potential on and off the athletic fields.

He became a believer in the Many Hopes mission after meeting Thomas for lunch in 2012. He was a private donor and helped with fundraising before joining the board.

DANIEL GRANT

Global Staffing Lead, Google Search and Assistant

Daniel joined Google in 2015, after a career in recruiting across the non-profit and education industries. At Google, Daniel initially managed five teams of recruiters, primarily supporting Software Engineering hiring in the Bay Area. Daniel then spent a year leading Google Cloud’s Americas Sales recruiting teams in a hyper growth market. For the past two years, Daniel has been the Global Staffing Lead role for Google Search and Assistant, leading all staffing efforts for all global hiring of these technical businesses.

Before Google, Daniel was the Vice President of National Alliances at Teach For America, based in new York City. With his experience serving under-privileged children in South Africa and Namibia, Daniel launched our Many Hopes New York Chapter and served as Regional Director for our first year in NYC. Daniel first visited Mudzini Kwetu in 2009 and fell in love with our vision for long term, transformative change through the lives of the girls he met there.

NELSON MILLS

Columbia Property Trust, President

Nelson has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate investment and financial services industries. He is responsible for overall strategy, operations, and financial performance of Columbia Property Trust, a $6 billion public real estate owner/operator. He also serves as a director on the Columbia Board. Prior to joining Columbia in 2010, he served for five years as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Williams Realty Advisors, LLC, managing and advising a series of real estate investment funds.

Previous roles included CFO of Lend Lease Real Estate Investments and Partner at KPMG LLP. He received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia. Nelson and his wife, Judy, live adjacent to Madison Square Park in New York City.

JOSEPH ZITO

(X)form Coaching and Consulting, Founder

Joseph is an Elite-Performance Strategist dedicated to transforming professional lives of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity into realities of clarity, control, calm, and continuous improvement. He previously spent 20 years in the corporate realm, serving as an operating executive in both early-stage startups (including two successful exits) and large global enterprises.

He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his amazing wife and their two incredible children.

JOSEPH MCKNIGHT

Blackstone Credit, Managing Director

Joseph McKnight focuses on mezzanine lending and private equity investments in the energy and power sectors.

Before joining Blackstone Credit, Mr. McKnight served as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he focused on private equity and proprietary direct investments in power generation and renewable energy within the firm’s J. Aron commodity division. He previously worked as an Associate in the Natural Resources private-equity vertical at Apollo Management.

Mr. McKnight received a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with academic honors

UK GOVERNING TRUSTEES

David Scott

Alice Scott

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