Life changing weekend....

I have been passionate about issues of justice and concern for the poor and oppressed for most of my life. Over the past 29 years that passion has found many different outlets and modes of expression; for example, this blog, or volunteering, even some of my jobs. One of the things I have been exposed to over and over again is the world of human trafficking; trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation or bonded labor.

Last weekend I went to a conference, the Freedom Summit. Over 35 anti-trafficking organizations (most from the Bay Area) were present. It was AMAZING! It's great to see so many organizations working together. I like that the conference focused on doing things. 10/10/10 was the mantra of the weekend. What can you do in 10 minutes? 10 days? and 10 months? In the spirit of accountability and transparency, I wanted to share what my 10/10/10 are; as well as, a few other reflections and things I learned.

First, I learned about a new missionary. Well an old missionary that I am new to discovering. Her name is Alice Harris. She was a missionary in the Congo. To curry diplomatic favor King Leopold II of Belgium agreed to allow several missionaries into the Congo in 1898. Several were outraged at what they saw, the brutal forced labor system. When they returned home they spoke openly and often about the atrocities, Africans whipped to death, rivers full of corpses, and piles of severed hands. Alice Harris, a British Baptist took photographs of what she witnessed. Here's a great article if you want to know more; click here. I am moved by the simplicity of her witness.

Several of the speakers expressed an excitement, an appreciation and a reservation about the growing tide of interest in anti-trafficking. Did you know President Obama's speech on trafficking at the Clinton Global Initiative was the longest speech against slavery since Lincoln (watch it here). There are more organizations coming into this space everyday, the attorneys general are coming together to create consistent state by state legislation; it really is amazing. But as so many speakers pointed out enthusiasm does not equal success. Fighting for freedom is messy - freedom is a maintenance issue and maintenance is not a sexy issue. So how do we sustain this movement over the long haul?

Did you know 70% of native born trafficking victims are foster children. 70%! That is a SERIOUSLY high risk group of children. I attended a workshop focused specifically on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC). If we had a spare bedroom I would have signed us up on the spot to help home one of these kids. But its so hard. These kids need so much love, and so much more than love. I don't know that we could really help, but I want to. I think those kids deserve it. Most end up in group homes (I've worked in one, it's not a cool place), and those over the age of 12 almost never get adopted.

One more thing, before I get to my 10/10/10. One major part of trafficking is supply and demand. So let's talk consumption. What do I buy? Where do I buy it? And what impact does that have on the world? A couple of organizations to look into. Slavery Footprint is a website where you can learn more about bonded labor and its impact on the things you buy. You can even take a short quiz to learn how many slaves are working for you, and then hopefully make some life changes. Another organization that I learned about for the first time last weekend is Trade As One. Which is now offering a subscription box of goods you usually use, but that are sourced ethically! SO COOL!

Ok, my 10/10/10
In 10 minutes I...

• Found the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Facebook page and Liked it, so I can get updates about what is happening here!
• I took the Slavery Footprint quiz and found out how many slaves I have working for me.
• I programed the National Human Trafficking Hotline into my phone (The number is 1-888-3737-888).

In 10 days I...

• Talked with the Families and Youth minister at my church to find out if there are any Foster Families in our church that I could support/encourage.
• Followed up with some folks from the CSEC workshop to again get connected to the foster care community in Marin.
• Reached out to Justin Dillon who founded Slavery Footprint to see if he would be interested in coming to where I work to talk about supply chain and consumption. He is!! Eeek. So excited.

In 10 months I plan to...

• Continue to network in my county to find out who is working in this space, and since the more I dig in the more I realize there aren't many/any find out what can I do to change this.
• Begin to take the knowledge I have about supply and demand and my own consumption patterns and make a significant change in where I buy clothes, groceries, and how I in general spend my money.
• Continue to raise awareness of a variety of justice issues at work.

Whose with me?! What are your ambitious goals for 2013? How are you going to change the world around you?