In 2007, the U.S. Senate designated Jan. 11 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Since then, awareness and advocacy campaigns have expanded to the entire month of January throughout the country, as both secular and religious organizations expose the horrors of modern-day human trafficking and slavery in America and beyond.

It is hard to wrap our minds around slavery as a modern-day issue, especially in the world’s most prosperous country. According to the Global Slavery Index, an estimated 403,000 people lived in conditions of modern slavery in the United States in 2016.

As alarming as the potential number of victims in the United States may seem, the numbers pale compared to the regions where the issue is most prevalent. In countries in the African and Asian continents, sex slavery and labor exploitation take various forms and are often initiated by the victims’ own families.

According to a report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Walk Free Foundation published in 2017, an estimated 24.9 million people were victims of modern-day slavery in the world at that time. More recent reports indicate that the victim pool has increased to approximately 40 million people.

A more recent infographic released by the same foundation exposes the gender discrepancy surrounding the issue: 98% of all victims of human trafficking and slavery in the world are women and girls. According to this report, 1 in 130 women and girls live in modern-day slavery in the world. They constitute 99% of forced sexual exploitation victims, 84% of all forced marriages and 58% of all forced labor victims.

As a mother of girls, I cannot fathom that families would sell their precious young daughters to be sexually exploited in brothels or marry a man decades her senior. But this is the reality of a growing number of girls in impoverished countries — a fact that has become even more prevalent during the global pandemic.

According to Michele Rickett, award-winning author and president of She Is Safe, “Human trafficking is at an all-time high as people are more desperate for help. Families that would not otherwise sell their daughters are doing so in order to feed their other family members.”

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Roswell, She Is Safe has been engaged in the fight against human slavery in seven countries in high-risk areas of the world — places that often treat the trade and exploitation of women and girls as an inevitable part of their culture.

These patriarch communities see a girl’s birth as a liability, a generational issue deeply ingrained in these societies. Naturally, these girls grow up with incredibly low self-esteem and a sense of helplessness, a paradigm that only exacerbates the problem.

Rather than focusing solely on rescuing the victims, the She Is Safe process focuses on life beyond slavery. The programs are implemented in a collaboration between the U.S. staff and local partners — women, churches and non-profits.

One of their initiatives is called “Transformation Groups.” The program offers women and girls opportunities to join in groups of 10-20 that meet weekly to learn, save and lend. They learn income-generating and small business success skills. They also create a saving and lending pool within the group and become officers of the lending group, helping women not fall prey to money lender’s usury — an issue that has become even greater due to the dire economic conditions in these communities during the pandemic.

Rickett talks about the program during the pandemic with contagious enthusiasm and zeal: “By the grace of God, we have been able to pivot and provide food, and encourage women in our groups to make soap, masks, disinfectant, food … to become essential service providers! The increase of a sense of self-worth has been remarkable.”

As I finished my interview for this column, I could not help but wonder what life would be like if I had been born under different circumstances.

I flipped through the images in front of me, stopping to look at a close-up picture of a beautiful young woman in India. Her bright, multi-colored sari is a stark contrast to the pain in her eyes. She is a slave, a sex worker in a brothel. But because her image was captured by a volunteer investing her time and resources to fly across the globe and bring awareness to her story, she can now have hope. And because thousands of men and women in America invest in organizations like She Is Safe, thousands of women and girls can now smile again.

Hopelessness is slavery to the soul. May the awareness of the blessings of freedom catapult us into investing, praying and helping modern-day slaves be set free.

To learn more about She Is Safe and how you can help, visit sheissafe.org.

This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, January 16, 2021. To find it on the AJC’s website, click HERE.

The post Engage in the Fight Against Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery {The Atlanta Journal Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

One morning in January, as I sat in my prayer closet, searching God’s heart for the theme of our ministry’s conference this year, I heard one single word:

CHOSEN

As if often happens when the Holy Spirit speaks, I knew exactly what He meant, and where to find it.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. (NASB)

And thus, the theme and verse for She Soars 2017 were established.

Since that day in January, God has confirmed His message for this conference and established the details in amazing ways:

The church that is partnering with us…the speakers… the testimonies… the ministries that have agreed to become part of the conference (CUFI and She Is Safe.)

God has been orchestrating this conference as a beautiful symphony, and I can’t wait to see what He will do on October 14^th.

But can I let you in on a secret about ministry?

When God calls you to do something that has the potential to set some of His people free…. When the task before you is bigger than what you can handle… When you need to stay focused and prepare your heart and life to minister to others…

The roaring lion that prowls around seeking to devour goes for his kill. (1 Peter 5:8)

That’s how, since God gave me this message, and lined up the details for this conference… There have been many a day when I have felt less like Royalty… and more like a Royal Mess. And I bet that the other speakers can relate to the fight.

But you know what that does to my heart?

It.Sets.Me.On.HOLY.FIRE !!!!

These past months have been challenging in many ways… but I know where the challenges are coming from:

They come from the enemy of our souls, who wants to destroy those whose territory bring glory to Jesus,

And they come from our God, who allows trouble to weaken our flesh, so we can relate to the pain and weakness that assail those we will minister to… and so He can be the only source of our strength, and the only One who can receive the glory for what will happen.

So, here’s the truth about being CHOSEN as His Royal Priesthood:

All Jesus’ girls go through valleys when they FEEL more like a royal mess than Royal Priesthood.

Every Jesus’ girl has moments when she feels unworthy to be called a Holy Nation.

But The Cross.

The Cross of Calvary is the seal. The seal that ensures me that it does not matter how I feel – I KNOW who I am in Christ.

For, as verse 10 on 1 Peter 2 says (in my own words): Yes, once I could not be considered His heiress, but the cross brought me into the fold… Once I did not receive His Mercy, but the cross made me a recipient of His endless mercy and grace. Halleluiah!

It’s only because of the Cross that I can shout to the world and rise up, fighting like David when he slayed the lion:

I am a CHOSEN Daughter of the Owner of the Universe.

I am His Possession.

And everything He possesses… all His promises… are Mine!

Oh – no question about it. There are days I don’t FEEL like so.

But I KNOW SO.

Hey! Jesus’ Girl… if you feel like a royal mess more than His Royal Priesthood, come join us on October 14^th, and learn how you can rise up to embrace, grasp, claim, and live on the truth that you are CHOSEN!

Chosen to receive His supernatural peace.

Chosen to have your deepest wounds healed.

Chosen to proclaim the “excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness… and into His marvelous LIGHT.”

Click below to visit the Conference Page, where you will find information about speakers, workshops, worship, scholarships, vendor and advertising opportunities. NEW for 2017: One Workshop in Spanish.

Registrations are now open:

SHE SOARS 2017 INFO

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“I have walked the brothel hallways with our partners in West Bengal and seen little children living under the beds of their young mothers, who are sex slaves. Without intervention, children of sex slaves are put to work in the brothel at an even younger age than their mothers.”

I sat across from Michele Rickett, founder and president of She is Safe – an international organization with a mission to “prevent, rescue and restore women and girls from abuse and slavery in high-risk places around the world.”

I could barely finish my lunch. A mix of indignation, perplexity and excitement filled my heart, as Michele shared the heartbreaking stories of lives that are being saved, rescued and changed around the world through her organization.

In the beginning of this year, as I started to pray about the staff for my ministry’s upcoming annual women’s conference in October, I felt compelled to invite a local organization involved in the fight against human trafficking to share a testimony about their work during the conference.

A couple of months later, I met Michele at a mission’s conference. As she shared her organization’s work around the world, I immediately knew that She Is Safe was the answer to my prayers.

What started with a spark of interest turned into a passion to bring awareness about a problem that is sweeping the globe: the murder and slavery of girls in impoverished countries, simply because of their gender.

According to a 2010 article of the Economist magazine, “Gendercide” has killed over 100 million girls around the world. Newer research indicates that the number may now be closer to 200 million.

Michele elaborates on the heart-wrenching facts: “The debasing view of girls leads many families to rid themselves of these children, seeing girls as a worthless drain on family resources. The root cause of the murder of girls (gendercide), whether through feticide or infanticide, is the hideously distorted view of a girl’s value. And, of course, there is a powerful vacuum, on many levels, when girls are missing from communities. One of the most sinister is the trade in human beings, or human trafficking, which supplies a massive demand for girls.”

Indeed, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 80 percent of human trafficking victims are girls and women, and 98 percent of sex slaves are female.

Sex slavery and child prostitution are on top of the list of other horrendous issues that plague these countries. Child marriage, physical abuse, female genital mutilation, rape, honor killings, malnutrition, oppression. The list is too large and too distressing.

My flesh screams, threatening to close the book, click out of the article, and forget what I just read. The fact that there are girls, as young as mine and even younger, living such cruel existences is too much to bear. It’s hard not to maintain a “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” attitude.

But I know better. We should all know better.

For while we lie down under comfortable, fully furnished air-conditioned homes, pondering if we should spend hundreds of dollars to give our teenage girl the latest smartphone, there are thousands of babies being aborted every year — simply because they are girls. And even those who survive are viewed as a hindrance to their families and society.

As I finish this column, a heartwarming picture flashes on my computer screen. It shows three beautiful young girls, eyes filled with hope, and smiles that show they are not forgotten. They sit on the front porch of one of the many safe houses that She Is Safe sponsors in India, Indonesia, Mali, Nepal, among other impoverished countries.

Their broad smiles speak volumes from the corner of the webpage: “Someone loves me. I’ve been redeemed and I have a future.”

Join the fight to save a girl’s life and future. Learn how you can help at SheIsSafe.org

This article was originally published on Patricia’s column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Saturday – May 27, 2017.

Millions of girls are killed or sold every day as slaves. Want to help save their lives? Read this.
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Click below to go to SheIsSafe.org.

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