jobs, orphans & trafficking

It may be the recent course that I took on International Human Trafficking, but this issue seems to be popping up more & more in our personal lives, both here & abroad. 

Whether it is recognizing the characteristics that make one emotionally vulnerable to being trafficked, or seeing the physical conditions that predispose thousands to take a leap toward hope and end up with despair in the hands of evil & greed.

A neighbor told us several weeks ago that he was trying to get over two thousand dollars together to go to Brazil in search of work. Earlier this week a news article explained that Brazil was asking for help for the thousands of Haitians that have been trafficked there...they have no deportation laws. 

Read more about that here.

Needless to say I was glad to hear that there continue to be new campaigns and training going on to help prevent trafficking. 

This week Brasil announced that they and "five other countries will conduct campaigns to warn of the risks of undocumented Haitians smuggled by 'coyotes' into the Amazon." Brasil has been well documented as the latest destination for traffickers to unload their human cargo because their borders have been so hard to secure. This article stated that many are having to survive life in the Amazon now in slave-like conditions. (Dominican Today, 16 May, 2013)

Earlier this month the International Rescue Comittee (IRC) "Miami and Seattle staff provided support to the IRC Haiti project to implement anti-trafficking initiatives." They "trained social workers and child protection staff from the Haitian government and non-governmental organizations." The Haitian staff received "information on the legal definition of trafficking in persons, how to identify child victims, and effectively provide services." (IRC, 2013)

While we can talk with our neighbor about his idea and hopefully avert the choice to go. The issue remains that the reason he wants to go is his lack of work. This week his words to me were " I still have nothing."...meaning no hope, no prospects as an educated 20-something year old to create a life and a future for himself here.

THIS is the #1 issue to be addressed today in Haiti...even before orphan care - yes that is me saying THAT!! Why? Because the same reason that people are being trafficked is the same reason that 80% of the children in this country that are in orphanages are there...no work, no money, no food, no hope!

As we look at a transition to working with The Apparent Project we are laying ourselves out to be whatever assistance needed in helping Haitians retrieve all of those things...jobs, resources, nourishment & the grace that leads to true hope! Some say that community development is not really "missionary work", it's not very evangelical, that you must be preaching the gospel or providing the hands on care of mercy to orphans. I don't agree.

Jesus himself came to "develop".

Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”  (Luke 13:18-21)  

We believe that God calls us to work in a way that has been termed "transformational development" Basically it is when God's principles and His redemption are incorporated along with addressing the physical and emotional needs of people. Especially in working with those that are suffering from the effects of poverty. 

Jesus himself gave a laundry list of what he came to address on earth...while His main concern was our salvation, he did not limit himself to ONLY death on the cross and the spiritual freedom that brought us. He spoke of meeting emotional & other tangible needs at their core. 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring 

good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)

If we are doing His work in love, then the freedom of others (spiritually, emotionally & physically) should always be at the forefront of our hearts and minds in servitude.

Why shackle a family to feeding programs, subsidized education and medical care if you can find a way to help them make a living wage and provide those for themselves? In doing so, you are sharing God's hope, the fulfillment of His promises to always provide for us and His undying love that surrounds us in times of hardship. 

On a more serious note...

today is an international movement day to

I know that what we are doing here to prevent and support orphans is making a difference, since many are the most vulnerable and likeliest victims to slavery and trafficking, Here in Haiti children are often sold in to lives as household slaves called "restaveks". Others are forced across the border into the DR to work as child prostitutes, many are enslaved by their poverty to making difficult choices that destroy families and futures.

I happen to be in the midst of a course from LeTourneau University right now on this very subject and it has been enlightening and grim. It has fanned the flame of my convictions on finding ways to help.

The more that I have studied it the more that I have realized - just like the orphan population, this isn't something that we can IGNORE!

"You humble yourselves
 by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
 like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
 and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
 Do you really think this will please the Lord?

 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
 lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
 and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry,
 and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
 and do not hide from relatives who need your help."

"Feed the hungry,
 and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
 and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
^{The Lord will guide you continually,}
 giving you water when you are dry
 and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
 like an ever-flowing spring.
^{Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.}
 Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
 and a restorer of homes."

-Isaiah 58:5-7, 10-12

27 MILLION -

"That's how many slaves there are worldwide. Take a moment to wrap your head around it. That's the population of Georgia and Florida, combined. That's the population of New York City metropolitan area. There are more slaves around the world right now than at any time in recorded history. A problem that most people think ended more than a century ago is, in fact, thriving as never before." (End It, 2013)

Buy a person for $90

"That's it. People's lives are bought and sold and traded and shipped off, never to return, for $90 or less a piece. It costs the same amount of money to buy a nose-bleed section ticket to a major league baseball game as it does to purchase a human life. And, as the market value of the human trade is $32 billion a year, that should give you some idea of the scale of the problem from a purely human standpoint." (End It)

There is a movie coming out in theaters across the US this weekend, that shines light on this very issue.Watch the trailer here. >>

You don't have to live in Haiti or visit India to open your eyes to the TRUTH. Right needs to be done. It falls to us as an opportunity to obey our Lord, by educating ourselves on these issues, embracing the painful realities of others, and being willing to sacrifice time and resources to put a stop to such things!

You would want the world to move heaven and earth to do this for YOUR child or brother or sister or mother....So why wouldn't you do it for THEIRS???

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'" (Matthew 25: 40, 45 nlt)

If you study this, you will find a MULTITUDE of ways to make a difference to rise up as ONE in His name and go head to head with the ruler of this fallen world for the lives of women and children and families!