The battle continues. One day at a time. One person at a time. With a dual focus on rescue and rehabilitation, Southern Baptists are addressing human trafficking in the United States and around the world.
Send Relief
The issue is one of seven focus areas for Send Relief, a worldwide Southern Baptist compassion ministry collaboration between the International and North American Mission Boards.
“Send Relief is seeking to battle human trafficking in the USA and around the world,” said Bryant Wright, Send Relief president. “We hope you will join us in battling this great evil and saving young lives physically and spiritually.”
Send Relief Centers in New Orleans and Las Vegas minister directly to victims of human trafficking. When meeting someone who has been rescued, volunteers from the ministry centers take backpacks with a Bible, hygiene items, snacks, socks, clothing, a blanket and other commonly needed items, said Kay Bennett, executive director of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans.
Providing victims with those things “shows concern and builds trust,” she said, which encourages victims to share their stories and often provides opportunities for believers to share the gospel.
The centers also provide or help find housing for at-risk women and children, and assist victims with treatment programs or by providing transportation to find care closer to their home community.
Internationally, Send Relief seeks to minister directly to those rescued from human trafficking. An employment center in the Asia Rim, provided through Send Relief, celebrated 10 graduates last year, women who left the sex trade and were equipped to earn a long-term, sustainable income.
Send Relief also seeks to mobilize the local church to serve alongside missionaries ministering to human trafficking victims as well as to develop their own local ministries to victims or those at risk of being trafficked. Send Relief (sendrelief.org) provides several resources related to human trafficking, including a downloadable resource, “Four Ways You Can Be a Freedom Fighter,” and prayer guides.
Although the numbers of those involved in and rescued from human trafficking are daunting, Bennett encourages a “one-at-a-time” approach.
“We can all make a difference in helping those ensnared in human trafficking. We have the mindset of helping others one at a time; otherwise we can get overwhelmed with the stories and statistics of those in need.
“You can join the fight against human trafficking and help others find … a new beginning, one life at a time,” Bennett said.
Woman’s Missionary Union
Victories in the human trafficking battle also are won through WMU Compassion Ministries. Christian Women’s Job Corps and Christian Men’s Job Corps help free men and women from trafficking in the United States and globally by providing job training and education in a Christian context.
Additionally, WorldCrafts provides artisans a living wage so poverty does not force them into bonded labor or sexual exploitation. The WorldCrafts Support Freedom Campaign (worldcrafts.org/support-freedom-campaign) highlights WorldCrafts artisan groups working to free individuals involved in or at risk of human exploitation.
WMU offers numerous resources on human trafficking, including:
- Trafficked: Fighting to Be Free (wmustore.com/trafficked-fighting-to-be-free), an hour-long simulation that teaches students the realities surrounding human trafficking and how to help rescued victims.
- Human Trafficking: The Church’s Response, (tabonline.org/courses), a self-guided, online mini-course that explains how WMU Compassion Ministries is addressing the issue. This resource provides supplemental materials for training conferences.
WMU Foundation
The WMU Foundation offers the Judith and David Hayes Endowment to Combat Human Trafficking (wmufoundation.com), which supports ministries to victims.
A Hayes Endowment grant from the WMU Foundation was recently sent to the Baptist Friendship House, which allowed them to provide food, clothing and transportation for two human trafficking survivors; help another survivor get out of an abusive situation with food, shelter, clothing, identification, important documents and access to legal assistance; and help another survivor gain documents and access health care.
Additionally, the funds purchased items to complete 6,000 backpacks for survivors and purchase supplies for WorldCrafts so survivors can learn a trade, become artisans and gain a fair wage.
An ounce of prevention
Many Christians worldwide are working tirelessly to help eliminate conditions that make human trafficking possible. The focus is to strengthen families and communities as well as to fight poverty, discrimination and injustice. Will you do your part?
For more information on human trafficking, click here.
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