Back to the Bracelet

My bracelet is here! This is going to just be post full of pictures of my bracelet. It is cute and I love knowing that this purchase has helped keep a young girl out of the bondage of the sex trade. I have more a lot to write about, but less time than I would like...so I will be writing more soon! For now, enjoy the bracelet pics and as you think about future purchases, consider buying Fair Trade!

Slavery in YOUR town!

So as many of you know, I am reading the book Not For Sale. (I should be done with it because it is a VERY interesting book, but I find that I am just so tired at night and don't get to read as much as I would like). Just a side note! Anyway, the author, David Batstone, runs the Not For Sale Campaign and also set up a Slavery Map online. This is a map of the United States that marks forced labor in towns around the country. It is shocking that this is taking place in our home towns. I urge you to click on your state and then your town (or a town close to you) and read about what is going on behind closed doors. Thankfully, all of the marked towns are cases where forced labor has been located and shut down. This is OUR country. Not some third world country that we never think about.

http://slaverymap.org/

Awesome Abolitionists!!!

As I am reading more and more, I am coming across the most awesome people! There is not other way to describe them. These men and women are dedicating their lives to abolishing modern day slavery. It is just too amazing. One of the women I read about recently is named Kru Nam. She lives in Thailand and I would describe her as a "go getter." Literally. Kru Nam is an artist who stumbled across kids that had escaped the brothels in Thailand. When they told her their stories she couldn't just sit back and hope for the best for the other kids caught up in the sex trade. She began going INTO the karaoke bars and brothels and grabbing as many kids as she could and running! She now has over 100 kids that she has rescued! Like I said, awesome. I have a video below that will show you more about where they live now. I love reading about such bold people. They are a real inspriation. Go Kru Nam!!!

Generation J

So the other night, I came across videos from the Freedom Summit held earlier this year. The Freedom Summit was a conference that brought together many different Christian communities with the same goal...abolish modern day slavery in its many forms. One of the speakers, David Barstone (author of Not For Sale, which I recommend!)was speaking about how he would like this current generation to be labeled Generation J or Generation Justice. I loved it. Hopefully, that will be what this generation is all about. His calling began when he discovered that one of his favorite restaurants in his town was multi-tasking. They were trafficking boys and girls for forced labor and sex acts. How crazy. Here in America? You would be shocked.
Ok, a few "numbers." There are about 27 million people enslaved around the world right now. This number is higher than 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. Human trafficking comes in third under illicit trade of drugs and weapons, but is growing faster than both of these. An estimated 50% of the victims are children and 80% are women. Why don't we hear more about it? I don't have an answer to that. Maybe it is because we don't want to know. There are times that I am thinking about these girls and reading about their stories and I just want to STOP. Maybe if I stop thinking about it it will go away? Or it won't be so depressing? But that's not what God calls us to. He doesn't say that when things look bleak or evil to just go about our day like it isn't happening. God would never turn His back on us and I KNOW that while we are here on this earth for SUCH A SHORT time He is simply asking us to help. Think back to Sunday school when you were little. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you were locked in the basement of a brothel, never seeing the light of day, and forced to have sex 10 times a day with different men, would you want someone out there to be looking for a way to help? I know I would. My first step is buying Fair Trade when I can. My next step...not quite sure. I am definitely praying about it. Maybe one day I will be blogging on my way to Cambodia or Thailand? I know that wouldn't be easy to do (for many reasons) but God doesn't ask us to do anything that's easy. Why would we need Him then? I like that about Him. He always knows how to remind me that I can't do it all on my own. It never works out right anyway....I'd rather do it His way.

Cute Bracelet!

So I bought the cutest bracelet yesterday!!! Do you care? Probably not. I didn't get it at Forever 21, or Ann Taylor Loft, or anywhere in the mall. Those are some stores that usually get my money. That was before I knew about Trade as One. This is a website that sells Fair Trade items. By buying Fair Trade you are helping support families and individuals in need. This is sometimes the only way to break the poverty cycle in their world. We have soooo much money here in America. Sometimes we don't even know what to do with it! I think of the little things I waste my money on each day and how much that little bit could make a difference in another part of the world. These people cannot change where they were born and as far as the sex trade goes, many of these girls had no choice in their "new career." If I can help by buying some of my gifts through Trade as One than why not do it?? This may not be for you, but just watch the video and think about it.

World Vision: Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls

World Vision: Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls

One way to start helping is obvious. Donating. Girls who are subject to this lifestyle are sometimes rescued and then GO BACK to their abusers in the end. Sometimes they are too ashamed to go home, sometimes they aren't wanted anymore. Some are addicted to drugs and others just have no where to go. Many of these girls aren't educated, therefore they cannot provide for themselves. I have been reading about many "abolitionists" who have started businesses for these women to work for in order to make a living. Supporting these girls through their new trade is one small way to help. This is all a foreshadowing for the future fundraiser that will be held locally this spring. I have too many thoughts in my head...I will need my friends to all help out! :)

Where to Begin?

I have thought about how to start this blog for weeks now. My "layout" was complete and ideas were scribbled on paper, but the words never seemed to express what my heart was feeling. So as I was researching more about the global sex trade, I came across "Ka's Story," from the Women of Vision blog. ( I will be telling you more about that very soon!) Anyway, this little video is a summary of what I have been reading about the past few months and what has kept me up at night. Praying for these girls is all I can do at the moment. I think about these girls that I have never met and cry when I try to imagine what they are feeling as they endure the horrible things that are done to them. Here is Ka's story. I hope that it grabs your heart like it did mine.