The Story of Christina Elangwe

Christina Elangwe is a former slave. She grew up in Cameroon, Africa with her family and was enslaved in the United States. She dreamed of a better life and jumped at the promise of an education in the United States in return for some babysitting work.

The promise of education soon turned into a nightmare. She was tricked; forced to be a domestic slave. For five years she worked without pay, seven days a week, up to 20 hours a day. Her captors lied, telling her they were sending money home to her parents. She never had a day off or contact with her family back home.

When she realized that her traffickers weren't going to help her better her life she knew she had to make a change. Two months after her only friend Rosaline (who was in a similar situation) escaped her enslavement, Christina decided to escape as well. With the help of a brave man named Louis Etongwe, she found a safe place to go as well as the support she needed to get her life back. Her traffickers were prosecuted, and plead guilty and received five years in prison.

Read an interview with Christina
Source: Free the Slaves