Stop Child Slavery

I stumbled on another great website today, Free The Children.

Free The Children is a truly unique charity. Unlike most charitable organizations, it is driven and funded by kids. “Our mission is to free young people from the idea that they are powerless to bring about positive social change, and encourage them to act now to improve the lives of young people everywhere.”

Craig Kielburger founded the organization at the ripe old age of 12. He was so impacted by the story of a boy sold into slavery for $16 that he was driven to action.

“When Craig was 12, he was shocked to learn about the murder of a child labourer-turned-child rights activist. Eager to take action, he established Free The Children to help free children from poverty, exploitation and powerlessness. The organization began as a small group of classmates and quickly evolved into an international phenomenon.”

He is now 23 years old. And his organization has With the help of organizations like Oprah’s Angel Network, they’ve been able to build over 450 schools. It’s a truly amazing story.

I was asked by the hosts of this site to be a guest author. I have to tell you that I was absolutely honored.

The easiest way to describe my desire to support humanitarian causes is simple. It came down to following the examples of people who have already made the sacrifice. The act of being selfless. The act of empathy.

Human is human.

Strip away the material things… and what kind of person would I be?

I think I know… but now it’s time to prove it.

My contributions to this site will be from the ground up. I am armed with nothing but my ability to learn, and the desire to teach. I have no great insight to the world beyond my own doors, but starting today my world is going to change.

I believe that sharing my journey, and the insight I acquire may be the most generous contribution I can make to any humanitarian cause. I hope to teach the world that a “common” housewife, and mother of 4, can make a difference in the life of another person.

If my efforts can make a difference in just one person’s life… well then, this journey is more than worth it.

Please join me in the posts to come. I hope to inspire you, and cause you to act. I hope to stir a reaction from deep within your soul, that causes you to make a difference in the life of another human being.

My journey starts today.

I found a new organization to link to, ZOE Children’s homes. A well executed YouTube Video by Shanie Evans led me to their website. You can view the YouTube video here. The description on YouTube reads:

“WE CAN ALL do something to help… this VIDEO is my small contribution in bringing awareness to people that this is happening right under our noses… we CAN help stop it! For more info on how, go to www.zoechildrenshomes.org (this video is in no way affiliated with the mentioned organization) These are friends of mine who gave up everything to fight for our children so I support by donation & help spread the word…”

The ZOE Children’s homes were created to rescue children who are at risk of being sold into human slavery and/or child prostitution. In my mind, there is no difference. I don’t care about the religious affiliation of helping organizations. This one happens to be a Christian organization and it is one of the best presentations I’ve seen on the global problem of child trafficking and prostitution. PLEASE WATCH!

Want to help?

Forward a link to this blog to everyone you know. Spread the word. Awareness is the beginning!

I literally weep for Africa.

It started as disgust. But as time passed and evidence mounted, the pain has worked it’s way deeper into my soul. There is no way to fully describe the anguish that comes form watching, listening, or reading reports of the atrocities committed against our world’s innocents. Young children are the targets of unthinkable cruelty. They’re easier to manipulate, brainwash and abuse. And while the attacks are bad enough, the lingering effects of their abuse are overwhelming. These children will never be the same again. They are forever scarred. Our world is forever scarred.

“About 30% of the child soldiers in the Liberian civil war were girls, most of whom were used as sex slaves. Many of them became pregnant or contracted HIV/AIDS. Because they were used for sex, their families cannot ask for a dowry for them when they marry.” - Hannah Baldwin, From Memory To Action

Read More Here

Don’t think it’s NOT going on here…

A great deal of the news floating around the internet is indeed coming from third world countries. The vast majority spring from the poorest parts of our world. But we are not immune from the scourge of slavery here in the U.S. We need to make sure, as we turn our eyes to other countries, we don’t overlook our own injustices.

A quote from Jamie Dean’s report:

“A well-educated, 29-year-old Mexican woman paid an immigrant smuggler to bring her illegally to the United States, where she hoped to find better paying work and send money home to relatives. Instead, when she arrived at the border, smugglers transported her to North Carolina, placed her directly in a brothel, and forced her into prostitution.”

Slavery At Your Door | Jamie Dean

If it is true
that I am what I do,
and I do nothing,
then I am nothing.

India is struggling to overcome a culture rooted in slavery.

Some in the middle class in India view their practice of taking poor children from their families as a “noble” cause. They tell themselves that they are saving them from hunger and extreme poverty. And they use ridiculous euphemisms that conceal the truth of what they are doing.

Here are some excepts from a well written article by Amelia Gentleman of Internation Herald Tribune | Asia - Pacific.

“Most argue that they are doing something noble by helping feed and clothe poor village children,” he said. “But the maids are usually badly dressed and hungry.”

“A lot of euphemisms are used,” she said in an interview. “These girls are known as ‘playmates’ for babies and ‘household helps.’ We have to repeat the message that this is a crime.”

“I know about the legislation, but it doesn’t apply to me,” she said. “I’m a good employer. I’m not doing anything criminal.” As to why children make such good servants, she said: “It’s easy to order them around. If they make a mistake, you can twist their ears.”

Clearly this is an issue that is not going to go away easily. Enforcement alone will not be enough. A massive public awareness campaing is needed to drive home the severity of the issue.

As I’m reading, the stories I’m finding are chilling. Some of the writers are brilliant. Too brilliant perhaps. Their words make my skin crawl. Yet it spurs me to read further, talk more, SHOUT if I have to. It is forcing me to open my eyes  - wide -  and never shut them.

Then suddenly my Indian friend touched my arm. “Look,” he said. “There is the prostitute village.” And I was shocked beyond words. The road we were on was a major traffic artery but it was just two vehicles wide and it shot right through this wide-spot-in-the-road. There were trenches on each side of the road, with boards placed across the trenches at intervals. No side streets, no sidewalks, just a few dusty huts, some men squatting around, trucks and buses streaming by on the highway — and beds. Rickety cots lined the roadside. And standing in front of the cots were — children! Heartbreaking.

Sweet girls as young as ten years old.

The full story is here.

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Susan Ariel Aaronson, author of Trade Imbalance: The Struggle to Weigh Human Rights Concerns in Trade Policymaking, wrote an excellent article on TomPaine.com recently. The article is entitled, “We Can Fight Modern Slavery.”

Here is a quote from the article:

“Forced child labor and slavery will only stop when companies use their market power to prod their first-tier suppliers, who in turn will force their vendors not to rely on forced labor. But policymakers in the developing and industrialized world have an important role to play here, too. They must develop strategies that address the lack of opportunities, power and education that allow individuals to be enslaved.”

Read the entire article here.