A YOUNG ICON FOR GHANA

It is a Saturday morning and as I flipped through the TV channels a proggrame on NBC caught my attention. It is "The Young Icon" one of America's TV shows which celebrates children who are doing exploit with their talents in various forms. It was a 14 year old Tyler Page who was telling his story of how he is helping kids in Ghana- West Africa. According to him, he was watching one of Oprah's shows at age 9 with his mother about children trafficked into child labour to work in fishing communities that he felt he should do something to help. Narrating his story on the Young Icons, Tyler said he felt very sad that children of his age are mistreated and made to work as adult under extreme hazardous conditions. He then decided with the permission from his Mum to start raising funds by selling his toys and other items in a garage sales and car washing etc with his friends to save some of these children. That led him to establish a Non-Profit Organization called Kids Helping Kids. He thought he would try to raise $240, the amount it would take a one to rescue a Ghanaian child for one year. In 6 months, they raised $19,000! an amount much more than the 240 they expected. And by a year later, they had raised $50,000! However he felt the need to do more because he knew there are many more children to be recued. So far through the help of other philanthropists and some volunteers,he has realized his dream and has gone to the aid of several children in Ghana. Realising his simple dream of raising money to save just a kid turned into a project gave him the urge to do more. Kids Helping Kids dose not only save these children, the also put them in schools and provide them with basic needs such as school uniforms, books bag packs among others.

Now though as a teenager who lives his life as any other kid, he is a Young Icon whose life is an inspiration. "people tell me I'm an inspiration but I don't feel like it..." he humbly said.Putting smiles on the faces of these children is his way of life. Tyler hopes to raise $500,000 to save more children not only in Ghana but in other African countries as well. He also expressed his future plans of building a center of hope for these under privileged children. His story like many other NGOs in the Area of helping Children particularly the needy caught my attention. I have worked as a journalist in the field of child labour and child trafficking and I know what it means to give hope and put a smile on the faces of these children who through no fault of theirs are made to work against their will while their childhood is stolen away from them. This article is to encourage Tyler Page of Kids Helping Kids for his good works in Ghana.