Russell: Football is Life

Russell  •  Ghana

The man at the door promised his parents he would take Russell to school. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, the man said, knowing Russell’s parents were too poor to ever send him themselves. So they allowed Russell to go with him.

Instead of school, the man trafficked Russell to Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world, where he was enslaved in the fishing industry. Forced to work from three am till eight pm, seven days a week, Russell went days without food and nights without shelter. He was beaten and verbally abused regularly. Miraculously, he survived. Many children around him didn’t.

Rescue team with new rescue boat which allows us to rescue more children, like Russell, than any previous year.

ON THE RISE

Our Ghana partner rescued Russell at age eight. He was malnourished, scarred, and sick from malaria. After immediate medical care and a set of new clothes, we brought him to our Recovery Center.

For the next ten months we provided Russell with medical care and counseling, food, clothes, a bed, and the fun of being a child, not a fisherman. He started school and kept getting better.

Then he discovered something that changed his life: football. As a child he’d never learned to play any games and hadn’t seen a ball before. He became obsessed with football and wanted to learn everything he could. From it he garnered important skills: teamwork, communication, creativity, and most importantly, how to be a kid. Off the field, Russell learned how to talk to his friends about his experiences and became both physically and emotionally strong.


Playing is forbidden for children who are enslaved on Lake Volta. At the Recovery Center, they have the freedom to play for the first time in their lives.
Now Russell is at his healthiest and his happiest. Also, he’s at his fastest. Russell got his childhood back.

You are making it possible for Russell to be in school. Because of you, he will be able to help others.