Human Trafficking Head On // November Update

Dearest Friends and Family,

Apologies for the lack of updates from America! My first three months of mission have been very intense and now I am in the UK for a short break to organize some things for the rest of my stay.

In August 2014, I started my 6-month placement in Downtown Los Angeles, working on the frontline with victims of human trafficking. Currently, it is estimated that 27 million people are trapped in human trafficking (slavery) of some description. I have previously supported and researched organizations that deal mainly with victims of international trafficking, people who are kidnapped, sold or tricked into a life that they have no choice over: filled with brutality, poverty and cruelty that is way beyond the scope of what you and I could imagine. The demographic that I work with falls prey to the same shocking and terrifying brutality, cruelty and devastation, but with some crucial differences…

The victims that I work with and help to rescue are not usually those international victims that we are used to hearing about: the ones who went to another country, seeking better employment and opportunities. No, these girls and women that I work with are very different…

Their stories tend to start the same: their father/ grandfather/ uncle/ cousin/ brother (or a more than one of them) raped and abused them when they were very young. Step 1 in the breaking down of their self worth; in the normalization of abusive relationships and the realization that they will never loved, valued or protected any better than they were in that moment. Step 2: their mother/ grandmother/ aunt/ sister/ cousin (or all of the above) tells them that they are a liar, or that they are not special, that this happens to everyone and this is real life, so why do they think anyone should feel sorry for them or help them? - they learn that they should not reach out for help because they will be rejected and ridiculed and their hearts will be broken again by the crushing realization that they are not loved, valued or protected by the people who should be their safety. So they harden their hearts to that hope and open them to a future of ‘normal’ abuse, violence and sexual exploitation…

The average age that one of these girls is ‘turned out’ to sell herself and earn money for her pimp..? Twelve. 12. Not even a teenager yet. Whether she is courted by a ‘boyfriend’ (read ‘pimp’) who then forces her to work, sold by her parents (or often foster parents), turned out by her family to earn money for them, or kidnapped as a runaway who has nowhere else to go, these girls become slaves before their childhood is even over.

So where do I come into this horrific picture..? I am fortunate enough to be able to help manage and work in a safe house / shelter about 40 minutes outside of Los Angeles where these women can come and find safety, rest, love and an opportunity (if they choose to take it) to begin a new life. It is heartbreaking and amazing all at the same time and there is no ‘typical day’ at the shelter, but here are some examples of days that I have lived through with some of these girls already…

On Monday, I might be the ‘house mum’: cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, taking the girls out for ice cream or a walk at the beach.

Tuesday, I could be breaking up fights or arguments in the house, or helping a girl to come to terms with the devastation she has suffered, or the overwhelming choices she now faces.

On Wednesday, I might get a call at 2am to our 24 hour hotline from a girl who is terrified and hiding from her pimp who has threatened to kill her; or a call from a social worker who has a girl in the Emergency Room who has jumped out of a moving vehicle, or was beaten her within an inch of her life..

Thursday, I may be at the police station, going on a sting operation with LAPD (yes, sometimes we even get to wear bullet proof vests!), or working alongside the FBI to help a girl to be strong enough to identify her pimp and help to uncover huge prostitution rings.

Friday, I could be collecting a newborn baby from court- already ‘in the system’ within the first week of her life because her teenage mother is the victim of this life she never chose (but has fortunately managed to escape from).

On Saturday, I might be driving the familiar ‘tracks’ of LA where these girls (some as young as 12) walk and wait for men to stop and buy them… We drive around, handing out gifts (including our hotline number) to these girls who are ‘in the game’ and telling them to call us any time. 12am – 3am is the worst shift… the girls and women walk around in literally lingerie and heels in plain sight and I always have to fight back the tears when we see a girl who has chosen to return to the life after being with us in the shelter…

On Sunday, I might be blessed enough to take the girls to church and for one of them to ask for prayer and feel for maybe the first time God’s love, or any love at all..

There is no typical day, or week, and no way to describe the pain that I witness on a daily basis… but there is also nothing that compares to seeing God reach in, or for these girls to finally make the choice to start their lives again: to see them go into a program, be reunited with their children, finish their education and get a job and a life that they can be proud of and feel valued in.

What we do in this ministry is difficult, but it is such an unbelievable blessing! So when my manager asked me to extend my contract to 12 months, I was absolutely thrilled!

My position is completely voluntary. That means that I will not earn anything for 12 months and will also have to support myself while I am there, including $4,000 for a year’s accommodation, some meals and any necessary training. This is currently where I need your support the most. I absolutely hate asking for money, but I have realized that, in order for this to be possible, I have to.

I have calculated that it will cost me $500 per month to live and volunteer in this ministry. That is roughly £350. If 10 people committed to £35 per month (until August 2014), that would cover my monthly costs and allow me to continue to do this work.

For one off donations and gifts, please either donate via PayPal:

(£) http://www.youcaring.com/SupportRonell

($) http://www.youcaring.com/SponsorRonell

Please feel free to pass on this information to others who may be interested in supporting me in the work that I am fortunate enough to do.

Thank you for your support in prayer, encouragement and finances. I could not do this without you!

Blessings,

Ronell x

END IT Movement: Wear a Red Cross

So today the #ENDITmovement went viral on social media with it's campaign to wear a red cross on your hand to show your support for 'Shine a Light on Slavery Day' and I joined in!

For me, human trafficking and modern day slavery, particularly sex trafficking, is just the most hateful crime against another human being! It takes away all freedom, choice and dignity and violates and abuses a person in the most intimate way.. totally dehumanising them and turning them into a commodity to be bought and sold over and over and OVER again.. day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, until finally, their body is so broken and diseased that they are simply left to die... some before they even reach the age of 10...

This is a vile and abhorrent crime against humanity; but it is an injustice that YOU and I can put an end to in our lifetime! The sex trade, as with all other industries, is one of supply and demand.. so let's stop the demand and put an end to it! 

You may not even realise that you are contributing to the demand, but every pornographic image or piece of footage that you watch, may in fact be of someone who has been sold or beaten into that situation, often by their own family, as opposed to a paid 'actress' or 'model'. Every time you watch something like this, every time you solicit sex from a prostitute, you are defiling someone's sister, mother, daughter.. a girl or woman who has most likely been forced into that role and has no choice or way out... 

Every time you buy cheap clothing - or often even expensive designer clothing! - you may be keeping or forcing a child into a sweatshop. Every time you eat chocolate or drink coffee that isn't Fairtrade, you may unwittingly be depriving a child of their childhood and freedom in favour of working to farm the cocoa and coffee beans for you to enjoy...

So exercise your freedom to save theirs! Ignorance is NOT an excuse! Educate yourself! Read up on it! Find out where the things that you watch, or eat, or wear come from and MAKE BETTER, EDUCATED, ETHICAL CHOICES! Because you have the freedom to choose and each choice you make, every item you purchase, every thing you download in that freedom, is voting for you, whether you want it to or not, and is dictating more and more the moral compass of the industries that it feeds back to.

Be free. Enjoy it. Live it to the full! But remember, the choices you make in your freedom, will either enslave or set free those who have been born into less fortunate circumstances than you...

So stand strong and join ENDIT and The A21 Campaign for the #ENDITmovement Shine A Light On Slavery Day (27th February) - wear a red cross on your hand and share it online to show your support and exercise your right to freedom to fight for the 27+ million people who aren't able to fight for themselves.

Blessings!

Ronell x

"to loose the chains of injustice

    and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

    and break every yoke?" 

{Isaiah 58:6}

{image: www.facebook.com/pages/The-A21-Campaign/} 

Get The All Clear {Mandela Day} 22 / 67 ways to change the world

As promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is part of my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world. This one comes under the category of 'Help Out for Good Health':

22. Get tested for HIV and encourage your partner to do so too.


As previously mentioned, HIV and AIDS is rife in South Africa, so it is the disease at the forefront of South Africans' minds. Raising awareness of an illness such as HIV/AIDS can save a life as it is also (but not by any means exclusively) a sexually transmitted disease and raising awareness of how it can be contracted in this way could and does save lives. If you are sexually active, it is very important that you (and your partner) get yourselves tested for STDs and STIs to prevent them spreading and to prevent future illness or infertility. Knowledge is power, so go to your local clinic and get yourself tested!

Blessings!

Ronell x


{photo credit: http://www.getholistichealth.com/5338/same-day-std-tests-and-home-testing-procedures/}