TexAgs & Mercy Project teaming to 'Strike Out Slavery'

Donate to "Strike Out Slavery" - LINK
Donate specifically for Gabe Bock's participation in the event - LINK

Story by Chris Field

Stolen joy, and teaching men to fish

I love baseball. I grew up going to games at Olsen. I remember listening on the radio when the Ags played in the ‘93 World Series, and I was there in person for every game of that unforgettable ’99 regional before following A&M all the way to Omaha as a 16-year old kid.

But I haven’t only organized 49 hours of non-stop baseball this weekend just because I love baseball. Heck, my only claim to fame in high school was that my first varsity hit was a three-run home run. Unfortunately, that was my only varsity hit, and I finished the season a salty 1-for-26 (that’s a .038 BA for those scoring at home).

Now, this weekend we’re attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest baseball game in the history of the world for something much bigger than our love of the game. The reason we’re playing this weekend starts with a little boy named Tomas.  

Tomas is one of seven thousand children who live as modern day slaves in Ghana, Africa. These kids are as young as five years old, and they work up to 100 hours each week in the labor-intensive fishing industry. They have been sold by their destitute parents for as little as $20 and their joy has been stolen, right along with their childhoods. I know you don’t come to TexAgs for sad stories about kids in slavery, so I won’t go on and on about the kids. But suffice it to say that the looks in the eyes of the children that I meet in Ghana still haunt me. It’s an eerie sort of emptiness.

When I met Tomas, I knew we had to do something. So my wife and I started a non-profit that we called Mercy Project.

Our purpose is to help these children have new life. Our method of doing that is to teach the fishermen who own the children how to fish better and more efficiently. We’re doing that through cage fishing (aquaculture) projects that allow just a few men to do the work of many children. We are literally “teaching a man to fish” so that these children can be rescued, rehabilitated and reintegrated back into their families. It’s empowerment and sustainability at its core.

Creating the change

So what does slavery in Ghana have to do with a world record baseball game?

For one, this game has given us a chance to tell you, and many others, about the kids in Ghana. That makes it huge in helping us raise awareness.

But, this event also helps us raise money for our work—quite a bit of money. This is actually the second largest fundraiser we do each year. With your help, we expect to raise between $35,000-40,000 in this year’s game. That’s more than enough for an entire economic development project in Ghana. That’s more than enough to help one entire village of slave children in Ghana become free.

Finally, this game carries a lot of symbolism for us. We are very intentionally playing a kid’s game that the children in Ghana don’t get to play. We will run and play and laugh and have fun for 49 hours. The children in slavery in Ghana haven’t had even one hour of those things in the entirety of their young lives.

We’re playing this game for them.
We’re playing it on their behalf.
We’re playing it because no human being should ever be sold to another.
We’re playing it with the hope and the dream and the prayer that they will soon be able to run, play, and laugh themselves.

TexAgs has played a significant role in Mercy Project’s success. Brandon Jones just went with me on my last trip and is already dreaming of economic development projects he can help with. Josh Oelze with myBCS.com is a generous sponsor at nearly every one of our events. Gabe Bock is playing in this weekend’s game and has already raised more than $10,000. Brice Jones is also playing in the game. Our two highest monthly donors are TexAgs posters that I have yet to even meet in person.

This forum, this site, is making a difference in the world. So thank you. From me, and from the kids, thank you. We hope to see you this weekend at the game. More importantly, we hope you will continue helping us as we work to make the world a better place.