Slavery Still Exists
'In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains, '
Isaiah 14:3
Part of the mission of Heaven On Wheels that has been neglected for a while is focusing on organizations that help those in need. Today, we look at a global group with one mission: ending slavery.
Now, those in the United States believe correctly that slavery was abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. That only stopped slavery in the US, and while many other countries banned slavery before and since that time, it’s still a huge problem. Today slavery has a new name: human trafficking.
The US State Department defines human trafficking as “the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud or coercion.” It’s estimated that between 20.9 and 45.8 million people — 71% of which are women or girls — are enslaved globally at this time.
The A21 Campaign seeks to break the cycle of human trafficking through reach, rescue, and restore. Reach involves teaching the most vulnerable populations how to avoid being a victim and to reach out for help if currently trafficked. Rescue pulls those who are exploited from their captors and keeps them safe, while Restore minimizes the chances of re-exploitation by rebuilding family connections for the young and providing legal, paying employment for others.
You can learn more about the A21 Campaign and modern-day slavery through the organization’s website. Even better, volunteer to help A21’s mission or donate to help them fight human trafficking wherever it still exists.
Two other groups fighting human trafficking include:
Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash