Slavery

Tomorrow I am preaching on Amazing Grace Sunday. I just finished reading Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade- and How We Can Fight It by David Batstone. It is quite a read...inspiring and motivational to put it lightly. I will blog more about slavery soon, but for now, I want to share the website and the list of things they suggest can be done to begin to address the issue.

First, go to the website Batstone has begun: http://notforsalecampaign.org/

I followed a link from there to find this list on an affiliated site called the amazing change.
This is a list of things you can do to address the issue of 27 million people enslaved worldwide, including over 200,000 in the United States

Ten Things You Can Do

How can you contribute to The Amazing Change? The ten examples below should give you some ideas — we would love to hear your suggestions as well!

1. Sign the Petition. Become an abolitionist by signing The Petition to End Modern Day Slavery. Click Here To Print a Petition. Take the petition to your school, church, family, friends, et al., and then send it to us (mailing address provided on petition)
2. See Amazing Grace. This film is a great introduction to the work of William Wilberforce, an original abolitionist. Learn how you can carry on his legacy.
3. Raise funds to free slaves. Use the tools on this website, such as Loose Change to Loosen Chains, to start your own fundraising campaign.
4. Educate yourself. Use the resources on the site to learn about the horrors of historical and modern day slavery.
5. Show solidarity. Buy The Amazing Change t-shirt and tell friends and family about your mission to abolish slavery.
6. Create a Clapham Circle. William Wilberforce was part of a group of friends and neighbors called the Clapham Circle. They met regularly to discuss ways to advance the cause of abolition. You can form your own Clapham Circle. Have weekly meetings with friends or neighbors in your community to discuss the issue of modern day slavery. Download tools from this website to facilitate your discussion.
7. Blog. Write about modern day slavery and The Amazing Change in our online community or on your MySpace, Xanga or Facebook profile. Include a link to our website so friends can learn how to get involved.
8. Ask others. Talk to leaders in your community, school or church about The Amazing Change. and encourage them to become involved.
9. Read More. Read books about modern day slavery like Not for Sale by David Batstone.
10. Volunteer. Pass on the legacy of William Wilberforce and donate your time to The Amazing Change by joining the street team, creating a Clapham Circle, or fundraising to free slaves.

Also, here are most of the websites at the back of Batstones book he suggests checking out:

Stop the Traffik www.stopthetraffik.org is a global coalition of organizations, including faith groups, to focus on advocacy and education.

Not For Sale Fund www.notforsalefund.org creates and supports projects to give future to former slaves

Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org has a manual on Anti-Trafficking

Polaris Project www.polarisproject.org is based in the U.S. (primary location is D.C.) and Japan advocacy and shelter for victims. Also runs humantrafficking.com and slaverystillexists.com

International Justice Mission www.ijm.org is a human rights group that rescues victims, monitors conditions, and educates.

Nightlight Design www.nightlightbangkok.com is a Christian ministry that brings women and girls out of sex trade and provides employment. You can buy their products to support.

Free the Slaves www.freetheslaves.net fights slavery around the world- helping freed slaves build lives, removing slave labor from our products, hellping governments enforce existing laws

Hagar, a Christian ministry, works in Cambodia www.hagarproject.org on prevention, rehabilitation...offers employment to freed slaves...has products for sale to support them

Campus Coalition Against Trafficking: www.ccatcoalition.org is a university campus movement

Children of the Night: www.childrenofthenight.org has rescued 10,000 American children from prostitution since 1979

Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking www.stophumantrafficking.org identifies victims, adovcates, and pursues justice

Protection Project www.protectionproject.org based at John Hopkins School of Advancted International Studies in D.C., documents information

Rugmark www.rugmark.com works to end child labor in Nepal, India, Pakistan and assures consumers no child labor used in manufacture of rugs.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers: www.ciw-online.org works with exploited immigrants in Florida agriculture

Anti-Slavery International: www.antislavery.org

Bal Vikas Ashram is a rehab center for children 8-14 who have been rescued from slavery in India

Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking across Europe (CHASTE) www.chaste.org.uk

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) www.catwinternational.org international work to combat sexual exploitation

Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) www.castla.org works in Los Angeles created and implements a model for services for trafficking victims

Development and Education Program for Daughters and Communities: www.depdc.org works in Thailiand to prevent women and children from being trafficked into the sex industry

Las Strada International www.lastradinternational.org prvention of trafficking in EAstern Europe