27 million people are enslaved. It is estimated that human trafficking generates around 32 billion annually. This makes trafficking of persons the second most lucrative crime in the world.
Over 1.2 million children are trafficked annually.
2 Children are sold every minute.
Over 100,000 U.S. children are forcefully engaged in prostitution or pornography each year.
This girl is wearing the same dress for 3 months. She calls it The One Dress Campaign. Why? Because she has to do something. She has to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. This is how she is raising awareness of this injustice.
I cried when I read her story.
I want to share this email she sent me the other day. Please read it. This is real. This is an injustice in our world and we can do something about it!
Jennifer,
I cannot claim to be an expert on human trafficking but I would be glad to share a bit of my heart with you. Ever since I first heard about modern day slavery I have been heart broken about how rampant the problem really is. I saw a video from the Organization 'Love 146' in church before I knew Jesus, and even then God broke through my hard shell and I wept for women and children who were being abused. Sexual slavery is the most heinous crime. Women and children are mutilated physically, emotionally, and psychologically-and most times this type of abuse causes victims to feel guilty and dirty, as if they were to blame for this hideous behavior.
The very idea of commercial sex is a testament to the distortion of our world. My sisters boyfriend Teddy told me about an organization called The Daughter Project, which is a nonprofit organization in Northeast Ohio that is building homes for survivors of human trafficking. In these homes the girls can find healing and restoration. I was drawn to the hopeful and proactive mission of The Daughter Project. When dealing with such a dark issue it is very easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless-but God is good and faithful, and the Daughter Project is showing the love of God to a broken world.
It is people who are obedient to God's call on their lives who make an impact in this world. We are called to walk humbly, do justice and love mercy-I am simply trying to do that in anyway I can and for me that meant wearing the same dress every day until June 4th, blogging and engaging in conversations with people about human trafficking. I'm so thankful that we serve a God who does not abandon us to the hopelessness of this world.
The ways I would suggest people get involved in the fight against human trafficking is to be educated about it, spread awareness, and partner with existing organizations. We are all gifted in different ways so I would encourage everyone to exam their own talents and see where God might have them use those unique talents-we need to get creative! But my experience in talking with people about my One Dress Campaign is that most people are not aware of the issue. Human trafficking is so tragically under the radar that many young women and children are also slipping under the radar. I am struggling through the issue myself and I don't know any quick or easy ways to get involved, other than volunteering time, money and talents to wonderful existing organizations. To name a few, here are some links:
The Daughter Project - a project based in Ohio
Love146 - Abolition and Restoration! They combat child sex slavery & exploitation with the unexpected and restore survivors with excellence.
The Polaris Project - Their vision is a world without slavery
If I can share any thing else or clarify anything please let me know Jennifer. I would love to answer any specific questions you have to the best of my ability.
God Bless,
Emily Ewing
You can read more of her story on her blog, She Breathed Deeply. I promise you will leave her page convicted!
We are incredibly blessed here in America, but there are so many people who are taken advantage of in this world. As a Christian, I cannot pretend that these things don't exist and continue in my affluence. I cannot stay silent. I've been praying about what I can do to help in this area. I hope you share it with you all soon.
Here's a few more links you can check out as well:
Compassion
Invisible Children
World Vision
Here's to loving justice and mercy.
20 comments:
going to her page right now! this is amazing what she is doing :) thanks for sharing this with us!
i love your blog and Jesus is definitely calling each of us to a personal ministry. Maybe God is asking you to help be an advocate and speak for the unspoken. I don't know but I know His spirit is definitely communicating through you and I pray that He would speak clearly in answer to your prayers on this matter, whether through the Word, a divine appointment...etc. I just pray you hear His calling in this area. Thank you girl~!
I really have a heart for ministering to women who have been abused sexually and girls with eating disorders. This is something that the Lord has really transformed and put in my heart and sex trafficking really just breaks me because that could easily be me or you. And thankfully by the grace of GOD it isn't. I don't know what I'm trying to say but we need to be on our knees for the women and children of this world... Prayer changes things and if that is all I can do I know it is more than enough in the sight of the God we serve. uhhh. I'm going to stop now before I cry. hehe
god bless you sister!
♥cheche
Thank you so much for sharing. Praying now and ready to do something.
This is the problem that constantly tugs at my heart, that enrages me and shakes me to my core. Thank you for sharing it with your blog community. I find hope in the truth that healing and restoration are found in Christ and that He uses us in that process. The Not for Sale Campaign is another organization dedicated to ending human trafficking and I wanted to share it with you. Their website has so much information and so many resources. I hope you find it useful.
Together we are a force for good to fight injustice in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Thank you soo much for sharing Jennifer. I am going to research more and more of this asap! xox!
We really don't know how good we have it here, and I can't imagine being in that position. We need more people like Emily in this world
Oh my word! That's my amazing sister! I'm so happy you visited her blog, were touched and then shared on your blog! Thank you!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing. This is something that even happens in affluent countries, but the women and children to whom it occurs are often so marginalized that their voices are never heard.
wow, that is so awesome. thank you so much for sharing. so sweet to see her taking a bold stand for such a cause! definitely checking out those organizations!
I promise you won't regret checking out Love146. I spent almost an hour on there last night. Breaks my heart.
Thank you for sharing this letter. I am so encouraged by her words and her efforts! You never know the impact that you can have on someone else. If you've never heard of the International Justice Mission, you should check it out! I think you would really like learning about what they do.
--Scout
This is amazingly inspiring. Thanks for sharing this.
Fantastic post!!! I'm definitely gonna be checking out some of the links!!
Thanks!
Elizabeth
Jennifer! Thank you for sharing this! I had to change my tune this morning after reading it!
Followed her and I'm so inspired by the both of you!
what a touching story. thanks so much for posting and bringing awareness.
i'm a new follower! love your blog :)
Human Trafficking has been something that I have always been interested in ever since I did a research project on it in high school. It's terrible and hard to believe that something this disgusting goes on in our country. Thanks for sharing this story.. great post!
xx, Brittni
@ With Love From Michigan
What an incredible young woman. I wish I had known that kind of relationship with Jesus when I was her age... the kind that would actually motivate me to live beyond myself instead of so selfishly as most teens do. Thanks for directing us to her blog. I will definitely be passing it on.
What an lovely blog you have :) Beautiful post to!
http://mirelamededovic.blogspot.com/
Wow...amazing how God is using you to work in this world! This is a topic that has become close to my heart lately. I have a friend who is a social worker and going through graduate school and this has become her heart. She truly feels that God has called her to work with those affected by human trafficking. She has really opened my eyes to something that I honestly didn't even know was going on. Thanks for sharing this topic. It's amazing what Emily is doing!!
Linked here from Chanin's blog.
Thanks for writing on this topic. I've noticed more blogs mentioning the problem of human tafficking (ht). Of course, talking about it on our blogs won't stop it, but it will 1) raise awareness and 2) lead more people to pray.
I have written two posts about ht, particularly about a little boy who was kidnapped and trafficked in this country. His mother wrote a book about the experience. Here is a link to it if you get a chance to look.
http://warrenbaldwin.blogspot.com/search/label/Human%20Trafficking
BTW, I listened to your song and thought it sounded good.
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