Children Are Not For Sale....

I love Wednesday nights because I have the privilege and blessing to teach an awesome group of kindergarteners at my church. Years ago, at another church, I discovered my love to teach and 5 year olds are my niche. They get me and I get them. They love unconditionally. They forgive easily. They are like sponges when it comes to learning and they are eager to help.

That's why the end of this school year is bittersweet for me because it's my last semester to teach. My focus needs to be elsewhere as I start the journey to educate and engage others in the fight against human trafficking. God is taking me in a different direction and I want to be obedient to His will.

As I think about the children in my class - their smiles, their laughter, their honesty - my heart becomes heavy for the children worldwide, including 5 year olds, who are sold for sex every day or are forced into manual labor. It not only happens in countries like Thailand and India, but also in the good, ol' USA.

Like I said in my first blog, human trafficking is a deep, dark and dirty issue many people do not want to hear about, let alone talk about it. For the millions of children forced into the sex and labor industries, they are counting on grown-ups, like you and I, to speak up for them - to be their voice for freedom.

Here is the reality.....

•  Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world.  It's the world's second largest criminal enterprise, after drugs. (U.S. State Department)
• The global market of child trafficking is over $12 billion a year with over 1.2 million child victims.  (UNICEF)
• In the U.S., as many as 2.8 million children run away each year and within 48 hours, one third of these children are forced into the underground world of prostitution and pornography. (The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
• The average age of entry into prostitution/sex trafficking for children is 12 years. (U.S. Department of Justice)
• 300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk every year for commercial sexual exploitation. (U.S. Department of Justice)
• 600,000 to 800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year; 50 percent are children and most are female.  The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. (U.S. Department of State)
• Child pornography is one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. Nationally, there has been a 2,500% increase in arrests in the last 10 years. (F.B.I.)

 Many of these children have run away to escape an abusive home, only to find themselves trapped in a sadistic world of abuse, deception, fear, etc. while others are being sold by parents, family members, friends for a profit.  Regardless of whether the money is used to pay off a debt, buy drugs, feed a family, a cultural norm, etc. - it's still wrong.  Children ARE NOT for Sale.

The facts are grim and heart breaking but now is not the time to remain silent. Trafficking can happen anywhere - your community and mine - and these children need our help.  Please check out F.R.E.E. International (www.freeinternational.org) and F.R.E.E. Indiana (www.freeindiana.org) for more information and learn how you can get involved.  Also, please keep checking my blog - A Voice for Freedom - for information.

Until Everyone is FREE.....