(From Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn)
1. 1. Go to www.globalgiving.org or www.kiva.org and open an account. Both sites are people-to-people (P2P), meaning that they link you directly to a person in need overseas, and this makes them an excellent way to dip your toe in. Global Giving lets you choose a grass-roots project to which to give your money in education, health, disaster relief, or more than a dozen other areas around the developing world. Kiva lets you do the same for microlending to entrepreneurs. Browse the sites to get a sense of the needs and donate or lend money to those that appeal to you, perhaps as a gift to a family member or a friend. Or try a third site, www.givology.com, started by students at the University of Pennsylvania to help children in developing countries pay for primary school. The site initially focused on China but has since expanded to India and Africa. On Global Giving, for example, we have supported a program to keep runaway girls in Mumbai from entering prostitution, while on Kiva we lent money to a woman making furniture in Paraguay.
2. 2. Sponsor a girl or a woman through Plan International, Women for Women International, World Vision, or American Jewish World Service. We ourselves are sponsors through Plan, and we exchange letters and have visited our children in the Philippines, Sudan, and Dominican Republic. Sponsorship is also a way to teach your children that not all kids have iPods.
3. 3. Sign up for email updates on www.womensenews.org and a similar service, www.worldpulse.com. Both distribute information about abuses of women and sometimes advise on actions that readers can take.
4. 4. Join the CARE Action Network at www.can.care.org. This will assist you in speaking out, educating policy makers, and underscoring that the public wants action against poverty and injustice. This kind of citizen advocacy is essential to create change. As we’ve said, this movement won’t be led by the president or by members of Congress, any more than their historical counterparts led the civil right or abolitionist movements – but if leaders smell votes, they will follow. The government will act where our national interests are at stake; however, history has repeatedly shown that where our values are at stake, leadership must come from ordinary citizens like you.
20 WAYS YOU CAN HELP STOP CHILD TRAFFICKING:
(from Born 2 Fly International)
20 WAYS YOU CAN HELP STOP CHILD TRAFFICKING:
(from Born 2 Fly International)
1. Learn about what’s happening. Child sex trafficking feeds not just on lust and greed, but also on silence and ignorance. One of the most effective things you can do is what you’re doing now—get informed. The stories aren’t pretty, but they must be told if we’re ever going to stop the epidemic.
2. Read about modern-day abolitionists and learn what they’re doing to rescue children, counsel them, and prevent others from being enslaved.
3. Find out what’s happening in your own community. Research if your state or county has a human trafficking task force.
4. Host a house meeting or dorm meeting to watch a documentary such as“Sex Slaves in America,” “Born into Brothels,” “China’s Stolen Children,” or “How to Buy a Child in 10 Hours.” Talk about ways you can stop child trafficking in your community.
5. Start a book club and have everyone read Terrify No More or Good News About Injustice both by Gary Haugen, Not For Sale by David Batstone, or Beyond the Soiled Curtain by David and Beth Grant. Brainstorm how you can become further involved.
6. Pick a country and take an immersion trip to acquaint yourself with what’s happening in the child trafficking industry. Make appointments to meet with community organizations working to stop the traffic.
7. Set aside part of your vacation to volunteer with an organization that works to stop trafficking or helps victims. Whatever your skills—medical, counseling, administration, legal, or education—they’re needed somewhere.
8. Organize a fundraising party for the Born to Fly Project and invite your friends, family, and co-workers.
9. Forgo birthday, Christmas, holiday, or wedding presents. Instead, ask guests to give gifts in your name to the Born to Fly Project.
10. Flex your political muscles. When you learn about proposed legislation, such as the annual bill in the US Congress to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, contact your congressional representatives.
12. Introduce Born to Fly to a foundation or corporation that might like to support our work.
13. Educate yourself on what’s happening in countries where you travel, study, or do business. The U.S. State Department TIPS (Trafficking in Persons) List ranks 150 countries according to their efforts to end trafficking.
14. Display an anti-trafficking poster in your school, church, or office.
15. Blog about child trafficking.
16. Forward the “Get Angry. Please” video to your friends.
17. Write about the realities of child sex slavery in an article or letter to the editor for your local newspaper (print or web edition).
18. Email your state or federal legislators asking what they’re doing to stop child trafficking.
19. Post instances of human slavery around the world—including child sex slavery—on the Slavery Map.
20. Talk to your school, university, church, or community organization about sponsoring a Born to Fly day, and invite a local child advocate to speak.
