SHI Staff, Author at Shared Hope International

May 2, 2012 by SHI Staff

A Defenders Dorm Devotional

Instead of merely emailing 3 friends, a new Defender, Sonny, took his pledge to spread awareness to another level…

He rallied some college friends, and held a dorm devotional that focused on sex trafficking, and what men can do to fight it. “We had a few short videos, and someone who spoke on staying sexually pure. And then, at the end, we had 4 computers set up around the room for people to use to sign up,” said Sonny.

The devotional led to a number of young men taking action and taking the Defenders pledge. Way to go, Sonny!

Let us know how you’re creatively engaging your friends to stand up as Defenders!

Send us an email at defender@sharedhope.org, or leave us a comment!

April 27, 2012 by SHI Staff

Back to Our Beginning: What is happening to Jamaica’s missing youth?

What is happening to Jamaica’s missing youth?

2,000-3,000 Jamaican youth have gone missing in Jamaica. Field leaders we met this week described the profiles of missing children that plastered the recent nightly news reports as teens around 14 years old from low income neighborhoods–a major concern for those in the anti-trafficking field.

During our visit to Jamaica, we met with partners and leaders of the National Taskforce Against Trafficking. Members present at our meetings in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, agreed that more needs to be done to investigate the connection between the missing children and human trafficking. Some studies have suggested at least one in five of these children could be victims of human trafficking–a huge number for a country whose total population is 2.8million–and some indicated the number could be greater.

More research is a desired deliverable for the Trafficking taskforce, as there has been little research published since 2007, the same year Shared Hope International released the DEMAND report, a profile of sex trafficking in Jamaica, the Netherlands, Japan and the U.S. Other goals of 2012 include a more robust public awareness effort and communications plan, more residential services for victims, and quarterly meetings with NGOs.

TM-and-ER-in-Jamaica — Shared Hope staff meet with students to discuss the reality of sex trafficking

The taskforce’s plan to increase NGO involvement was welcome news to our partners on the ground in Jamaica. They work directly with young Jamaicans who have been or are at risk of being victimized by human trafficking, and welcome the opportunity to inform the Ministry of Justice led taskforce of the challenges and trends they are seeing on the ground. The meeting also provided great insight to Shared Hope’s understanding of the current issues our partners face.

During our visit we also had the privilege to view a video preview of the acclaimed new production by Kevin, “Nana Moses,” Calvert, “Where’s Melissa?”. The performance, based on information received from Shared Hope partners, uses Jamaican proverbs and music to tell the story of a young girl lured into sex slavery. Producers of the musical stage performance hope to perform in schools across Jamaica, and eventually other countries. This engaging production is a great introduction to the issue of sex trafficking–especially in Jamaica where people are hesitant to believe the problem exists.

Stay tuned for our next update as we head to Negril, one of Jamaica’s most popular tourist destinations and home to our other Jamaican partner who provides services to vulnerable Jamaican teens who are often victimized by the demand for commercial sex that unfortunately thrives in these “all-inclusive” travel destinations.

April 15, 2012 by SHI Staff

Hold ‘Em for Freedom

Matt knew he wanted to host an awareness event, after taking the pledge and becoming a Defender. His goal was to organize an event that would both attract men and raise awareness about sex trafficking.

So, he organized a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament and called it “Hold ‘Em for Freedom.”

The premise? Educating men about sex trafficking while playing poker.

At the event, Matt had tables set up with facts about sex trafficking, books on the issue, and a laptop playing the full-length “DEMAND” video. Matt began the event with a presentation by dispelling 3 myths about sex trafficking. “(One), that most women choose to become prostitutes, (two), that sex trafficking doesn’t happen here, and (three), that there is nothing we can do about it,” he said.

He challenged men to take the pledge, and set up laptops for them to sign up as Defenders or donate.

The turnout was great, and by the end, “Hold ‘Em for Freedom” resulted in over $1,000 being raised for victims of sex trafficking.

“I believe that sex trafficking will continue to be a weight on my heart,” said Matt. “(It) will therefore have a place in whatever ministry God places before me.”

We salute you, Matt. And we’re proud to call you a fellow Defender.

April 9, 2012 by SHI Staff

Back to Our Beginning

Two American women and one Indian man navigated their way through the heart of the brothel district in India. They entered one particularly dismal building, climbed four flights of dark and narrow staircases, and pushed their way through the choking stench of body odors vainly masked by incense. Every room they passed on the way up was in use, or was framed by a vacant-eyed girl or woman … waiting, waiting, for the next humiliation.

When they reached the top floor two mothers were anxious to receive them. One was the brothel owner; the other was Hanna, a very young mom who was debt-bonded to her.

These two ladies had begged our restoration partners in India to take their precious children away from the horrors of the life in the brothel. They were overjoyed to see their children’s rescuers had actually arrived. Their children would finally be free. Yet they remained enslaved.

We had no idea this covert meeting in 2010 sparked a hope and determination in Hanna that would eventually empower her escape the chains of exploitation and flee to join her child at our partner’s restoration home.

Hanna never knew her birth date, so when her loving new family realized it had been a year since she was set free, they blessed her by celebrating the one year anniversary of her rebirth into freedom, complete with a surprise party.

In the next two months, our team will travel to Jamaica, India and Nepal to engage face-to-face with local restoration partners that have matured and expanded because of our support. We look forward to sharing an update on Hanna’s story and others from our partners in Jamaica, India, and Nepal once our team returns with pictures and stories of God’s provision.

April 1, 2012 by SHI Staff