In 2009, three boys around the age of 10 were rescued from slavery in Pakistan. The boys, who had been working in a textile factory where they were likely sold by their parents, with very little food and water and nowhere to sleep.
The day they were rescued changed their lives. But the rescue was also the first of hundreds by what would eventually be the Children’s Rescue Initiative.
Based out of Pennsylvania, the Children’s Rescue Initiative has a second headquarters in Orange Beach. Bruce Ladebu founded the organization in 2009 and became an official non-profit in 2013.
“The main mission is to rescue children out of either sex trafficking or labor slavery,” Ladebu told 1819 News. “Secondary to that would be to create humanitarian efforts like drilling some wells and making sure there are feeding programs.”
“We have a survivor care program that's directly attached to the main mission,” Ladebu added. “So when we rescue a child, we make sure that we support them until they're 18 years old. That's a big undertaking.”
The Children’s Rescue Initiative has conducted tense and dangerous operations in Northern Asia, Africa, Ghana, Pakistan and more. An estimated 2,358 children and adults have been rescued from modern slavery thanks to the organization and its partners.
For Ladebu, it all started after he became a professional adventurer after his time in the military. He took part in large expeditions and saw the world. After joining a missionary, he came face-to-face with the evil lurking in the shadows.
“I learned about human trafficking,” he said. “There wasn’t much I could have done at the time but it opened my eyes. I started researching and there was nobody I could find anywhere that was doing this back in those days.”
By 2003, he took it upon himself to go underground in Kiev.
“We found just so many children under the streets, and we rescued a few there,” Ladebu remembered. “The girls would just disappear and never be seen again. Off the street, the boys would be recycled. They were used and recycled out on the streets.”
After coming up with a plan, Ladebu traveled to Pakistan to participate in a large pastor’s conference. He witnessed more modern slavery taking place. That’s where he and his team spent seven years. In 2019, Ladebu was poisoned at a restaurant. For a year and a half, Ladebu fought to recover after nearly losing his ability to stand.
READ IN DETAIL: Out of the Slave Fields: Liberating Children from Brick Kilns and Brothels
His wife, Aricka, who is also a pastor, said she has joined her husband on trips, and although it has been dangerous at times, she trusts that the Lord has a hand in what is happening. She said his zest for adventure and his need to help others are the perfect recipe for what makes her husband a true hero.
“It’s his calling,” she said. “It's his vision for his life and if he's not doing that, then he gets bored and he's not as happy. So, he really needs to be doing something risky.”
Ladebu said that calling has enabled him to find a solid team to help with missions. Board members Tim Harry and Angelo Fermo also share that vision.
“We’re warriors,” Ladebu added. “That’s just who we are we were born that way, I believe. I think it's God's design and there's no greater mission than to rescue children.”
Fermo previously worked with Homeland Security on human trafficking issues. He agrees. It's all about a vision.
"They asked me to be on the board but I told them if I was going to be on the board, I wanted to experience every aspect of it," Fermo said. "I got to experience it firsthand. You don't think that slavery still exists because look where we are in these times. But there are still people that are physical slaves."
While rescuing children in Nepal, Fermo said he was driven by seeing what humans are doing to other humans. That trip, he said, changed everything.
"To see a little girl jump into my arms that would've probably died in that field, it really kind of touches you in a different way," Fermo added.
“They're actually kids carrying enough mud to match their weight on wheelbarrows that are made of plywood and two sticks and a rudimentary wheel,” Harry said of what he has witnessed. “And they’re being whipped for dropping the mud and that’s just the reason we do this.”
Harry said a large part of the rescue is the post-rescue. The organization already has placement plans for children who are taken out of slavery.
“I think something very important is that part of the mission is always rescue, restore, raise up,” said Harry. “We don't just put them in the homes. We send them money every month to cover their expenses and Bruce sends out thousands of dollars a month to continue to take care of these kids.”
Along with the hundreds rescued, the Children’s Rescue Initiative also assists in the arrests of traffickers. Just in the last year, over 60 people have been taken into custody.
The average age of children rescued is between eight and 12 years old. However, the youngest girl rescued from a brothel was only three years old. The team said it can be difficult to keep their cool in those situations, but they know if they mishandle a situation, they won’t be allowed back into the countries to rescue more children.
While most of the rescues happen in other parts of the world, Ladebu said the border crisis in the U.S. is opening up the country to the same type of evil he sees in third-world countries.
“It’s way beyond concern,” Labedu said. “I think that it has been a superhighway. We had one of our main team members go across the entire Arizona border as close to the border as he could and he ever saw a border patrol agent and he saw tracks everywhere from people crossing the border.”
“In some places, it was like a superhighway,” he continued. “So, they've been bringing this here, there’s no doubt.”
Fermo said human trafficking is already happening, but due to the border crisis, he said it's getting worse.
"When I was with Homeland Security, there was a point where the traffickers learned the laws and they knew how to get around it," Fermo told 1819 News. "In 2022, they were just sending children with no parents or guardians just to get them across the border."
"With the mentality of, 'Hey, we're open, come on in,' it's going to get worse," he continued. "It's not a matter of it will happen but that it is happening. They come here with all this promise that there are jobs when there really isn't. They've got to eat so they are going to go to extremes."
In five years, Ladebu said he still sees himself on the frontlines fighting human trafficking across the world.
“It may be hard to get into some of the places that we've operated in the past, but hopefully we'll be continuing to rescue as many children as we can,” Ladebu said. “I mean, there are 40 million people in modern slavery and it's become the world's biggest illegal business now. So, the trafficking of humans is bigger than drugs now. There's no end in sight.”
The Children’s Rescue Initiative opened a gym in Pennsylvania to help with expenses, but volunteers such as Harry and Fermo are not paid for missions. They rely on donations to continue the vision.
“Nobody gets paid to do this,” said Harry. “Every operator is an operator of themselves and they take vacation to come here in Orange Beach every year when we do training. They take vacation to go on rescues.”
“Oftentimes we find ourselves in situations that are beyond our ability,” Ladebu added. “And it's just God's intervention that saves. If I could see a picture of it, I’d probably see lots of angels intervening and you know keeping us safe.”
Still, Ladebu said he has never felt fear in any mission because he is simply doing what God has called him to do.
“There's never been even the slightest fear even when I've had guns in my face or sitting there with a Taliban leader and trying to get kids out of a place,” he said.
There are multiple ways for anyone from any background to get involved. Learn more online at Children’s Rescue Initiative.
Charity Navigator rates Children’s Rescue Initiative as a four-star charity and says donors can give with confidence.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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