Friends,

Last week I got an e-mail from Joshua DuBois and it made my week. Never heard of him? Well, I hadn’t either. He introduced himself as  leading  President Obama’s faith based office in the White House. He said that my signing a petition to end human trafficking and sex trade made a difference. I might add here that 75,000 people signed that petition and subsequently received this e-mail. Still I felt like I really made a difference. I have signed tons of petitions and written letters to Senators, but this one, coming from the White House, really felt like I was part of a little bit of history.

Here are some of the facts:

• Each year, nearly 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. (UNICEF)
• 27 million men, women and children are held as slaves. (Kevin Bales, Disposable People)
• 1 in 5 women is a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. (U. N. Development Fund for Women)
• 

As a result of the hard, relentless work of organizations such as International Justice Mission, World Relief, Catholic Charities, and others, President Obama addressed this issue recently at the UN and is taking some decisive steps to stop it.

“The President’s executive order stated that the U.S. government “bears a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not contribute to trafficking in persons.” Among other things, the order forbids federal contractors from “using misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices during the recruitment of employees.” It also prohibits not paying “return transportation costs [to the employee’s home country] upon the end of employment.”
Since the federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, this order has the potential to make a big difference.”

The quote above comes from Break Point, a Christian Organization started by the late Chuck Colson, who cared deeply about modern day slavery.

I will keep signing petitions that come my way, and hopefully someday I will be able to do more. I urge you to do the same, and someday you might also get an e-mail from the White House. 🙂

Have a fantastic day!

-Sofija