Former child slave from Ghana shares his story with high school students in New Jersey

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Friday, December 7, 2018
Michelle Charlesworth has the story from Metuchen.

METUCHEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- High school students in New Jersey learned an important lesson Wednesday from a former child slave.

He traveled to the US from Ghana not just to share his story, but also to see the man who helped save his life.

Michael Kwame Mikado is here for eight days from Ghana to tell his story to Metuchen high school students.

Like thousands of other boys in Ghana, he was sold into slavery for $6 at age 11 by his mother.

He would work for a cruel fisherman who beat him and forced him to labor from 4 a.m. until 7:30 at night.

For four years while he was enslaved, Michael would risk drowning as he dove to untangle fishing nets.

It was Evan Robbins who freed Michael. He is a history teacher at Metuchen High School who in 2006 started a grassroots charity to free child slaves.

The not-for-profit is called Breaking the Chain Through Education. He brought Michael to America to raise awareness and to talk to his classes.

Now Michael runs a broommaking and selling business, studies, teaches, and dreams of law school.

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