Inspiration Station.

I can't believe the last time I sat to write was Easter. These past few weeks have flown by unusually quickly and I feel like I need to catch up a bit! I haven't neglected the writing due to lack of inspiration, quite the opposite actually! So much has changed lately that I feel a bit overwhelmed and don't even know where to begin. I suppose the biggest change is that I now feel settled in a new Church. I've already made some great friends and am enjoying getting stuck into life with those guys. I feel my heart shifting towards this new place, with this group of people and am excited about where the next few weeks might lead me. Check them out here. They are involved with lots of great community stuff, and this is the place where CAP (Christians Against Poverty) all began.

The main thing that has prompted me to write comes from a book I am reading at the moment. I was finally persuaded to pick it up as I was looking for something that was bound to inspire and stir me up. So far, it has passed that test as I knew it would, with flying colours! The book is called 'Undaunted' and is written by Christine Caine. After reading one of her previous books; 'Stop acting like a Christian and be one,' I fell in love with her honesty and uncompromising style. It's just so refreshing. I actually started reading Undaunted right before a shift at work and found even the first chapter left me heart broken and totally distracted all day.

You see, we all have dreams dont we? As i've said before, i'm a real daydreamer. I sit and think about when I will have my first youth work job, getting paid to do what I really love. Maybe i'll have my own office. Or then i'll be able to have my own home...full of trinkets and bedspreads (as I seem to have a weakness for bed linen.) Or marriage, family, future holidays or places I'd like to travel to. I know we all do it! Imagine if one day, somebody came to you and just offered you your dream. A fresh start, a new country, provision for your family, your dream job - but more than that - a HOPE that you didn't think would ever come to you. Imagine you are feeling hopeless, like you've given up, you're trapped, you'll never get out of this situation. In a dead end job, with little money, a house you hate or in a place you can't stand - and someone comes out of the blue to offer you a way out of that. How likely would it be that you would at least consider it? That glimmer of hope?

Say, you go for it. You trust that person. You move, ready to start your new adventure, a better life that secures a brighter future for you and your family - only to be trapped. It's not the place it was supposed to be. You were moved under false pretences, lied to, beaten, abused repeatedly. Trafficked. 

You may have guessed why this book left me distracted. This is the fate of so many people today. 27 million. Even as I write this, or as I continue to read the book this is happening. People are being SOLD. Trapped in shipping containers as if they are a product. Men, women and children. Forced into labour or the sex trade. Slavery is so REAL. It's happening right here, in my community, in my town, in my city and likely in yours too. This issue is bigger than ever before. We need to speak out! We need to educate, to spot the signs, to intervene, to rescue, to act, to pray, to speak out, to END IT. We musn't ignore it, or make it feel distant. This doesn't just happen in far away countries, poorer than ours.  You don't have to look far in the news to find it. These people; mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers - are being BOUGHT and SOLD. Human beings, just like you and I. We can no longer sit back  and pretend like this injustice isn't taking place day in, day out. Because it is!

I have blogged about the A21 Campaign before, and the author of this book is the freedom fighter behind this amazing Charity. Even if you aren't a Christian, I would recommend you read even just the first Chapter. It's actually on offer at $2.99/£2.99 as an E-book at the moment so now might be the time to snap it up. Christine writes with much more conviction than I do, but also has real life experiences in rescuing women from trafficking, which are heart breaking accounts - but a necessary read. There are also other great campaigns that speak out - The End It Movement, Restored For, Stop the Traffik, Hope for Justice, MTV Exit and Walk Free.

I think it's important that our hearts break for issues such as this, that we are moved to do something to eradicate it once and for all. Fundraise, talk about it, raise awareness, sign petitions - get involved. Freedom for all is something we must fight and keep on fighting for...

Much Love xxx

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The A21 Campaign.

The A21 Campaign is something I feel very passionate about supporting. It stands for 'Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century' (which I probably should've found out before now!) and is a campaign raising awareness for the 27million people who are trapped in modern day slavery. This subject is something that we all know happens, but may not have classed it as 'slavery' before. It is a problem that affects every nation, though we may not realise it. 

Myself and my friend Elly (who loves it when I mention her) got chatting about this cause one day and decided we should do something to help, indeed this is how the campaign began in the first place. So, we set about planning and decided to start small by running a fundraiser/awareness evening. This week, the event finally came around so I thought I would share a bit about how it went and what I have learnt from it. 

We decided to run it in the format of a meal, so we charged people for the price of a ticket and provided a meal for free. Thanks to the extremely generous people in our Church who provided main courses and desserts, we were able to feed everybody and in most cases they got 2nd's! Without those people giving up their time and ingredients, this part of the evening wouldn't have happened! We decided in the end to keep it simple and served everything with jacket potatoes, as the brits love their tatties. 

My favourite find for the evening!

I love tablecloths   

Our yummy cupcakes

Discussion points for the tables

We also had musicians who played for us throughout the evening that were wonderful and worked out as a great part of the evening and all of the musicians ended up being very eager to help us continue to raise awareness in the future. The music helped to keep the evening relaxed even though the subject matter was very tough!

Throughout the evening, we discussed the facts of Human Trafficking and watched the A21 Campaign's video, which was a great way to educate everyone in a way that was better than anything I could've done! Of course, it was a lot of information to take in, especially for those who had very little knowledge before the evening, as I did when I first looked into it! The point of this campaign is to help people realise that anyone can make a difference. 

Facts about Human Trafficking (taken from A21 website):

- It is the 2nd largest Global Organised crime and generates nearly $31.6 BILLION a year, Specifically sexual trafficking $27.8 billion a year.

- There are 1.39 million victims of commercial sexual servitude worldwide.

- Only 1-2 % of victims are rescued whilst 1 in 100,000 Europeans involved in trafficking are convicted.

- Greece is known as 'the centre of trafficking in Europe.'

- Ukraine is a source country for trafficked women and is currently one of the largest exporters of women, not just in the EU but also to the Middle East and to South East Asia. 

- Bulgaria - It is estimated that that 10,000 Bulgarian women alone are trafficked yearly, both within the country and to destination countries.

- Roma - Ethnic Roma men, women and children are particularly vulnerable to becoming trafficking victims, due to ethnic discrimination, poverty, high levels of unemployment, usury, growing up in state care, homelessness, domestic violence, substance abuse and complicity of family members trafficking their own.

- The United States - Human Trafficking is currently on the rise. Over 17,500 victims are trafficked in the US annually and  it is estimated that 33% are US Citizens. The full scope of the problem is yet to be determined but it is intertwined with drugs and prostitution. Trafficking here takes the form of; prostitution, massage parlours and brothels. Generally, those who are US citizens will end up in the sex trade whereas foreign victims will be found in labour trafficking. 

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It also happens in the UK. Take a look at this story which has recently hit the news. There are more stories like this, though it is not widely talked about.   

A few weeks ago, some of us watched the Nefarious documentary, as I have mentioned previously.  The quote below that cropped up in this film will never leave me because of its truth. Now that we have passed the baton onto everyone who attended our fundraiser, or those of you reading this cannot say you didn't know about Human Trafficking - because I've just told you about it! 

This quote has been the key for me to do something about it!

Below are the A21 Campaign flyers, which  suggest ways in which YOU and I can begin to make a difference. You can start by talking about what you have heard. The more it is talked about, the more people know and the more likely it is that we can work together to see an end to this. It isn't just something 'nice' to do, it is our responsibility.

 What did I learn?

On the night of our fundraiser, I got a real picture of what, especially as Christians - we should stand for. Without all the people who helped myself and Elly i.e. those who cooked, washed the dishes, served the food, brewed the tea, wiped the tables, put away chairs, folded tablecloths etc, then that night would never have happened. It was team at its best. It was us, working together for others - for a cause greater than ourselves which is what it is all about. 

We also need to be moved into action. It's all well and good looking into these things and then walking away and carrying on our lives as normal. But we have a duty to carry the burden of others. We need to have our heart broken for those who need us. It is a conscious decision - to not let these people continue to suffer when we have the ability to 'be the change' in this situation. Though it is easy to be overwhelmed by massive statistics, if each one of us does something then of course things will change!   We have managed to raise about £180/$290 just through 30 of us gathering together. More than this, we educated 30 people who may then go on to tell 30 people etc etc. That is the real point! 

I did not write this to brag about what we have done - for this is just the beginning. We started small, and simple, running a relaxed evening based around sharing food and facts. Maybe you could do something similar or on an even smaller scale! You could have a tea party or a coffee morning or get a few friends together to chat about it. Make a few crafts or sell some cupcakes. Everything will make a difference!

What will YOU do?

At our event x thank you to everyone who came x

Much Love xxx

p.s. let's all be abolitionists 

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'Now that I have seen, I am responsible...'

I love that line. ^ Listen to this. 

Last night, a few of us gathered to watch a film called Nefarious. It speaks of the reality of human trafficking, and the impact it has on the lives of individuals who are trapped in this terrible, degrading business. We had a break half-way through and we were all stunned to silence. As we watched more and more unfold, I began to feel a sense of hopelessness. The scale of this industry just kept growing and growing and I started to think, how on earth could anything that I do have an impact on this? How would anyone know where to start? 

Then, as we continued to watch - hope began to grow. There are so many organisations and projects out there that are on 'the front line' of sex trafficking. The ones who are opening safe houses, rescuing girls, convicting traffickers, lobbying governments, saving children (it is not just women who are trafficked, it is children too) and many other things. They are also involved in trying to restore the lives of the ones they have rescued. It seems this is not a quick process. 95% of women who are forced (nobody chooses this life) into prostitution have suffered some form of abuse in their early life. They are broken down and treated like animals, they are dehumanised. It takes a long time to restore someone like that. But we must. Just to be clear, this doesn't just happen in far away countries. It happens ALL OVER the world. It is probably happening near you and I.

Where does this leave you and me? Well, the film offered some helpful suggestions that allow anyone to join in and support the cause. 

1) Pray. That's free and can take a long time or a little time. You could maybe pray as a group or as an individual that these places would be exposed and that new laws would be introduced that would prosecute not the women, but the users of this 'service' as it is in Sweden. 

2) Raise Awareness. My favourite part of this documentary was a quote right at the very end that will stick with me for the rest of time I would imagine. 

"You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know." William Wilberforce

How true is that? Now that you know the truth and reality of this situation you have a choice to make. Do you ignore it and carry on, or do you accept some form of responsibility and do something to help the cause? Wilberforce was an incredible inspiration. He didn't give up the fight against the injustice he saw, but he had to rally the troops to get on board and stand with him. Slavery has now taken on a new form and it is Sex Trafficking. Whoever you are, wherever you are from, whatever your Faith - we all need to stand up against this and stop these terrible atrocities. We are all responsible for making this world a better place. 

3) Give. There are loads of organisations involved with rescuing, restoring and convicting. 

The A21 Campaign

Exodus Cry

Stop the Traffik

Are just a few places you are able to donate to or get involved with their events. You could as we are, host your own fundraiser. There are loads of easy ways to raise funds with local community groups, friends, in the workplace, at school/college/uni or at your Church if you go to one. Don't be afraid to start small, the more awareness is raised, the more people know about it and the more can be done to stop it.

Will you turn away from this, or will you do something?

Much Love xxx

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