Stopping Child Slavery in Ghana

James Kofi Annan is a former child slave and leads West Africa's most prominent children's rights organization, Challenging Heights. The organization has rescued more than 1,400 children from slavery and supported thousands more through education and other empowerment programs. Annan was sold at age six to work in the dangerous fishing industry in Ghana's Lake Volta, where for years he was forced to dive deep into muddy waters to untangle nets, while facing sickness, starvation, and torture. Escaping as a teen, illiterate and without resources, he worked his way through basic schooling and later earned a university degree. In 2007 Annan resigned from a lucrative career in banking to dedicate himself to the mission of Challenging Heights. Part of the World Affairs Series: Redefining Global Security.