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MARCH BARREL OFFERING SUPPORTS
BREAKING THE CHAIN THROUGH EDUCATION
Many people believe that world slavery ended in the 19th Century when European nations and the United States finally abolished the African Slave Trade; the American Civil War emancipated four million African American slaves; and Tsar Alexander II freed millions of serfs in Russian. But the sad truth is that modern day slavery continues to exist today in many locations around the world, primarily in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Estimates of the number of enslaved people in contemporary society range up to 50 million, many of them children.
Over the last dozen years, one of Centenary's major mission projects has been Breaking the Chain Through Education (BTCTE), a charitable organization dedicated to freeing, uplifting, and empowering trafficked children in Ghana, West Africa. During that time, your special gifts and donations to the Mission Barrel each Sunday, supplemented by additional funds from our missions budget, have enabled Centenary to contribute more than $10,000 to BTCTE.
One of the things that first attracted us to BTCTE was that it was started by a Metuchen High School teacher, Evan Robbins, and his students after reading about the horrific conditions that trafficked young children were exposed to as work slaves in the fishing industry on Lake Volta in Ghana. What began as a high school club has grown into a charitable organization that today is helping 110 children and young adults transition from childhood slavery to independence and a better future. BTCTE's comprehensive support to these beneficiaries includes access to education, housing, food security, and healthcare. Its motto is "Every child should be able to live free!"
In 2024, BTCTE built and opened a new residential and educational center in Ghana, which can house 40 beneficiaries. The construction of the new facility was mainly completed by BTCTE beneficiaries who have graduated from its vocational sponsored programs, including electrical engineering, window installation, concrete mixing and preparation, tiling, and painting. Having so many BTCTE beneficiaries under one roof will allow social workers to spend more time working with students, and also will significantly reduce housing costs.
If you would like to make a special gift to support BTCTE's important work in Ghana, make out a check to Centenary UMC, write "Breaking the Chain" on the memo line, and drop it in the mission barrel on Sunday or mail it to the church. Thank you.
Bob Carlson
Missions Chairman
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