Mission & Vision

Challenging Heights is a human and environmental rights organization that has been working across 14 regions in Ghana for the past 20 years. The organization was founded by James Kofi Annan, a survivor of child trafficking in the fishing industry in Ghana. James, the last of 12 children of his mother, was sold into slavery at the age of six. He eventually escaped at age 13, put himself through school, graduated from college, and became a banker. He quit his banking career to start Challenging Heights. James’ parents became internally displaced because of weather patterns which flooded and wiped out their entire village of Tuansa. The parents, who were farmers, lost their farms, were displaced, and never recovered from the disaster. Tuansa was a cluster of villages found between Sankor and Nsuekyir, in Winneba, in the Central Region of Ghana. The village was noted for its high crop (especially cassava, maize, and vegetables) yields. The name Tuansa was derived from its high crop yields, and the high crop yields were due to the naturally rich soil fertility. The people of Tuansa were also subsistent fishermen as they were surrounded by water. After the flood in 1961, the village was completely displaced, the soil and the waters became salty (because the surrounding waters merged with the nearby ocean), the village lost its vegetative cover, the soil fertility and most of its natural flora were gone, the soil was rendered unsuitable for any meaningful farming, and till date, the people of Tuansa were unable to return to their village even though the flood eventually receded. Members of the village became subsistent farmers and fishermen in faraway places, creating far-reaching vulnerabilities amongst their women and children. The story of Tuansa, and the subsequent vulnerabilities which eventually resulted in James Kofi Annan becoming a victim of child trafficking, form the foundations for the establishment of Challenging Heights. The work of Challenging Heights on human rights has centered on child rights (education, child trafficking, child labour and its worst forms, children affected by domestic violence and harmful environmental practices such as fishing and mining, child domestic work, and out-of-school children), youth development (vocational training, education, sports, and entrepreneurship), and women empowerment (training, livelihoods support, and entrepreneurship). Our work on climate change and the environment has centered on responsible mining (specifically forest, water bodies, cocoa, and human rights issues related to mining), ocean health, Ramsar sites, mangroves, water bodies, and agriculture. We have made strong contributions to research on climate-induced migration and modern slavery, in partnership with Anti-Slavery International, UK and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Our current staff strength is 115, and we are governed by two layers of boards – an Advisory Board, and a Management Board. The Advisory Board sets out the policies of the organization, including its constitution. The Management Board, which is made up of the various managers and unit heads within the organization, implements the decisions of the Advisory Board. We operate four large centers as part of supporting our work. With support from the Hovde Foundation and Many Hopes, we operate the largest child trafficking survivor’s recovery center in Ghana. This recovery center has the capacity to support over 250 survivors at any given time. This accommodates children who are affected by the negative effects of fishing, mining, and domestic violence. We also operate a mother and child recovery center (currently supported by the Max Stenbeck Charitable Trust), which is a safe house for young women, young girls, teenage girls, and their children. This 100-capacity female-only facility accepts females who have had children out of sexual and gender-based violence, young girls who are survivors of trafficking and the worst forms of child labour, female children who have been affected by harmful mining and environmental practices as well as young women and girls fleeing from harmful socio-cultural practices such as child/forced/early marriage. The young girls and women at the center receive vocational skills training as a way of empowering them to break the chains of vulnerabilities in their families so that their children do not become victims of exploitation and abuse. Again, we operate a school which supports our prevention and reintegration programs. As a preventive tool, the schools provide low-cost quality basic education to children from poor and vulnerable families. Keeping the children in school reduces their risk of being trafficked or engaged in the worst forms of child labour., Under our reintegration program, children who are unable to find families in our other projects above are enrolled and supported so that they can complete school. We operate a sports complex, which is used to achieve two main objectives: Development of sporting talents in children and youth, with particular emphasis on football and athletics. The Second use of the center is the application of sports for a change. In this regard, sporting programs are organized for communities and used as a tool for addressing social challenges such as drug abuse, environmental pollution, health education, ocean and sea pollution, child protection, civic rights and responsibilities, sexual reproductive health and rights sexual and gender-based violence, climate change, etc. Challenging Heights has an office in Tamale in the Northern Region, which serves as our Northern Ghana Programs Office. Prior to the establishment of the office, we conducted action research into child protection concerns in Northern Ghana which informed our operations in the sector. The Northern Programs Office is currently driving our child protection advocacy, WASH environment and climate change activities in Northern Ghana.