The world was stunned last summer, when newspapers revealed there might be as many as 15,000 children enslaved in western Africa. Journalists described the dreary lives of child slaves- some as young as 11 years old- in Ivory Coast and Ghana. The children are paid pennies a day to harvest the cocoa beans that American-owned companies buy to make tasty chocolate treats. Jan Kushner was shocked when she read about this horror, and she promised to help spread the truth.

"Writing isn't all self-fulfillment," says the 16-year-old student journalist from Lawrenceville, New Jersey. "It's getting information and ideas out to other people." In this case, the chocolate industry wanted to keep the explosive story quiet. They fought against a law that would require companies, such as Hershey and M&M Mars, to put a "slave free" label on their products. Eliot Engel, US Representative from New York and the author of the bill, told reporters that he was disappointed in the industry. "They are pouring money to continue their profits on the backs of children, and I think they should be ashamed of themselves."

Exposing the truth about child slavery in Africa was one way to shame the guilty parties into changing their ways, Jan explained. She was happy to lend her voice to fighting this injustice, and she enjoyed the challenge of researching and writing an article that motivated others to get involved.

Last October the chocolate industry relented to the pressure put on them by scores of journalists like Jan. They pledged to work with child labor experts, lawmakers, growers and unions to eliminate child slavery. "I didn't think a lot of people knew about this issue," she said triumphantly, "but people should know, and it makes me feel wonderful that my writing had an impact."

Although she loves writing fiction, Jan is pulled toward investigative journalism. "I love mysteries, and journalism is all about finding out who did it."

Thanks to Jan, we've found out the truth about child slavery.