It might take an outboard motor, a bucket of fish fingerlings or even 50-pound sack of salt.
It could take a day, several months or even years to convince a fisherman to release an enslaved child in Ghana, but 14-year-old Tyler Page of Brentwood is determined to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
The Heritage High freshman first learned of the Ghanaian children's plight four years ago while watching "The Oprah Winfrey Show." He went on, at 10 years old, to form a nonprofit to raise money to help end the human trafficking and exploitation, which continues despite Ghanaian legislation that has made it illegal.
Now, with the help of his mother, Laura, and a visiting African social worker, Eric Peasah, who first inspired him with his story on a TV talk show, Tyler is speaking to groups to raise awareness and making plans so he and a small entourage of friends can learn firsthand about the Ghanaian children's struggles.
"I thought it would be just one car wash and we would raise $50 and we would be done, but it just kept going," Tyler said of his first fundraiser to help the trafficked children. "It's the greatest job in the world to empower kids to try to impact someone's life, to try to do their best to help someone in the community."
The Pages and Peasah this week launched The Five Campaign, an effort to get as many as 1 million people to donate $5 monthly to help rescue and help sustain the untold number of children toiling away in the murky waters of the largest man-made lake in the world.
Laura Page called the donation "a small number with a big impact," noting it takes $4,300 to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate an enslaved child but only $240 a year to sustain a rescued child with enough for school tuition, supplies and medical care.
Peasah to date has rescued 651 Ghanaian children, some as young as 4, who were sold for as little as $20 to work as slaves in the fishing industry there. Some are sold because their parents cannot afford to feed them; others to pay for simple necessities such as a parent's coffin.
With small, nimble fingers ideal for untangling nets below the water, the children have been forced to work 12 to 16 hours a day, living in fear of an attack by crocodiles or electric eels, drowning in the chilly waters or being beaten by their masters.
Though others have rallied to raise money to free the enslaved children of Lake Volta, Peasah said he chose to visit Tyler, whom he has befriended, because his Kids Helping Kids nonprofit is unique. No one as young as Tyler has ever done what he's done to help the enslaved children, not to mention other disadvantaged children in his community and beyond, Peasah said.
"I'm really touched; he touched my heart," Peasah said of Tyler and his philanthropic efforts. "He's really reaching out to others and making his world a better place ... You want to come to give (Kids Helping Kids) new energy, to motivate them to go on."
The African social worker, who was wrapping up his fifth trip to Contra Costa County this week, spoke about the plight of the lake children at eight gatherings in 10 days from Brentwood to Walnut Creek, and to a group of doctors in Oakland, whom he hoped to convince to visit Ghana.
Tyler was only able to accompany him on one of those recent talks because of school and sports obligations. Heritage freshman football coach Doug Sanders, however, let him leave practice early last week to speak at an event with Peasah, because, he said, in his 17 years of coaching, he has never known a child who started his own nonprofit.
Although Tyler's mother, Laura, admits it is much harder now that her son is in high school, she said he still finds time to speak at public functions -- several engagements are lined up this fall in Washington, Los Angeles and Georgia -- and to help with Kids Helping Kids' fundraisers.
"It's definitely time-consuming but worth it in the end," Tyler said. "The fact that they only get one meal a day and are often beaten by their masters but keep on going and never lose hope -- if they can go that long without comfort, I can do something to raise money to help them."
Through carwashes, lemonade and root beer float stands, cookie sales and more, Kids Helping Kids has sent $50,000 to an intergovernmental organization that rescues child slaves in Ghana and raised another $100,000 for other children in need in the community.
Kids Helping Kids now sends its Ghana donations to Peasah's newly formed Right to Be Free nonprofit, which he says he formed to help all children in need, not just those who are enslaved.
"I want to reach out to more children who aren't being trafficked but still need help, like the son of the fisherman who was left behind but still works like a slave," he said.
Kids Helping Kids once sent more than 6,000 bags of candy to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan; has raised money for sick children and a local shelter; and founded a leadership academy that meets twice a month at REI in Brentwood.
"I never imagined it would grow so much," Laura Page said. "You just take one thing every day to make it move forward, and it seems to go."
Peasah called Tyler and his nonprofit a great example. "By the age of 10, Tyler can make a difference in someone's life ... My message to everyone is it's great to help the people of Ghana but also look into your own neighborhood for someone in need. If all of us make an attempt to reach out to others, it'll be a better world."
The Pages' next big challenge will be to raise money and collect enough donations for a planned two-week rescue mission to Ghana's Lake Volta during Tyler's spring break. While there, they will help negotiate the release of child workers, build a new playground, and bring soccer balls, toys and clothes to the children who eventually will be reunited with family members.
Though a rescue mission could be considered dangerous -- Peasah has been met with machetes before -- the African humanitarian says foreigners are welcomed with open arms.
He also says his organization does extensive research and outreach before venturing on a rescue, often meeting with members of a village for several months to identify the enslaved workers and masters and decide upon the correct approach.
To convince a fisherman, Peasah might offer an outboard motor to several men to share so they don't need the small children's help, or sacks of salt to preserve their catch or buckets of tilapia fingerlings as seeds for a fishery. After gaining their trust and having them sign a "social contract" not to enslave children, the nonprofit will continue to educate them about alternative livelihoods.
"My philosophy is to not just give them something but to teach them principles, how to manage their finances, business skills," he said.
For Tyler, who has long dreamed of visiting Ghana, the reasons to go on a mission are more simple.
"We're going to build a center of hope and do this fun stuff for the kids who are rescued so they know someone is watching over them," Tyler said. "My mom decided it was time to go. We need to expand our minds, see with our own eyes and love on the kids."
Reach Judith Prieve at 925-779-7178.
What: Kids Helping Kids, a Brentwood-based global fundraising nonprofit
Info: 925-759-4806 or www.kidzhelpingkids.com
SOURCE: www.insidebayarea.com
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