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From Uganda-
A new mobile app has been launched by the Church of Uganda to help
young people avoid falling into human trafficking when they seek work
abroad.
The new app is called Just Good Work and was developed by clergyman Paul Davis.
Archbishop Stanley Ntagali says high levels of unemployment in Uganda
had created desperate tendencies among some young people, tempting them
to seek undefined job opportunities.
The Archbishop told Anglican News the app will give Ugandans critical information on working abroad in their own language.
Developer Paul Davis says the app was created primarily to act as a
tool for information, pastoral care, prayer, teaching, and community
empowerment.
More here-
https://vision.org.au/radio/news/church-app-helps-protect-against-human-trafficking/
From Central PA-
An Episcopal priest who founded a community of women survivors of
prostitution, trafficking and addiction is the guest speaker at a social
justice weekend retreat next month at the Saints Cyril and Methodius
Retreat Center.
The Rev. Becca Stevens, founder and president of
Thistle Farms, in Nashville, Tennessee, will speak on Aug. 9 from 12:45
to 1:45 p.m. and on Aug. 10 from 12:45 to 1 p.m. She also will conduct a
Bible study class and a workshop session on social justice.
Stevens
has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC World News and NPR, and
was named a 2016 CNN Hero and a White House “Champion of Change.” She
was featured in the PBS documentary A Path Appears, named Humanitarian
of the Year by the Small Business Council of America, and inducted into
the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame.
The
Very Rev. Robyn Szoke-Coolidge, dean of the Stevenson School for
Ministry of the Harrisburg-based Episcopal Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania, said the online school is collaborating with the diocese
on the retreat, which the diocese is sponsoring.
More here-
https://www.dailyitem.com/the_danville_news/news/founder-of-community-of-women-survivors-of-prostitution-trafficking-to/article_d7fd41e9-6507-5c4b-ad5e-87514d1cbd86.html
From Anglican Journal-
The U.K.’s Prime Minister Theresa May has given her backing to the Church of England’s new anti-slavery program. The Clewer Initiative was launched today at Lambeth Palace, the London home and headquarters of the Archbishop of Canterbury. “Modern slavery is a barbaric crime which destroys the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society,” Prime Minister May said. “I value the work that the Clewer Initiative will be doing to enable the Church of England dioceses and wider church networks to develop strategies to tackle modem slavery.”
She continued: “In particular, I welcome the focus on engaging with local communities to help them to spot the signs of modem slavery. We need to shine a light on this hidden crime and to encourage more victims to come forward so that we can provide them with the support they need.”
More here-
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/church-england-anti-slavery-initiative-wins-government-backing/
From Alabama-
Have you ever encountered someone who immediately sold you on their message without even trying? That’s Becca Stevens in a nutshell.
Stevens, an Episcopal priest for 25 years, speaks and acts from her heart. Her honesty, sincerity and passion are contagious. Her message, “love heals,” is simple but powerful.
Not only is Stevens a priest, she’s an author, public speaker and social entrepreneur. She is also the founder and president of Thistle Farms, the largest social enterprise in the United States ran by survivors.
Thistle Farms is a sanctuary for healing started as an outgrowth of Stevens’ ministry, the Magdalene project. Thistle Farms’ residential program provides housing for 32 women survivors of abuse, addiction, trafficking and prostitution. The farm provides housing, medical care, therapy, education and job training for two years free of charge.
More here-
http://www.timesdaily.com/life/religion/becca-stevens-love-heals/article_da7e23be-306a-52e3-be16-94665e712f4d.html
From ACNS-
The Archbishop of Canterbury and His All-Holiness Bartholomew of Constantinople have pledged to fight modern slavery in its various forms. Signing a joint declaration condemning modern slavery at a forum in Istanbul, they vowed to :
Condemn all forms of human enslavement
Commend the efforts of the international community
Pray for all victims
Repent for not doing enough to curb modern day slavery
Appeal to governments to implement strict modern day slavery laws
Urge members of the Orthodox Church and Church of England to become educated, raise awareness and take action
Commit to establish a joint taskforce for modern day slavery, looking at ways for how the Orthodox Church and the Church of England can work together
More here-
http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2017/02/archbishop-of-canterbury-and-ecumenical-patriarch-commit-to-tackling-modern-slavery.aspx
From Nebraska-
Lori Wright said she was 13 years old when she snuck out the window of a boarding school and started running through the cornfields of Indiana.
When she finally saw a sign for a truck stop, she said, she had hope. Someone could give her a ride to her father’s home in Nashville, Tennessee, she thought.
She said she didn’t know then that the truck driver who gave her a ride would be the first of many men who would use her and pass her around for sex.
By 16, Wright was married. By 17, she said, her husband had sold her to a pimp for drugs. For 25 years, Wright said, she was trafficked for sex. She said she lost count of how many times she was raped and beaten.More here-
http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/omaha-church-begins-raising-funds-for-shelter-to-serve-survivors/article_50e4c7b0-a916-5fb1-b3e5-dac0ee6119c3.html
From CNN (Nashville)
Many cities have one: an ugly stretch of road lined with cheap motels, dollar stores and liquor marts.
Often, women and girls are also part of the landscape, selling their bodies at strip clubs or on the streets.
In Nashville, one such area exists on Dickerson Pike. It's a tough environment, where even the weeds pushing up through the concrete -- thistles -- have thorns.
Many of the women who have walked this road are hardened by a life of abuse and addiction.
Caught in a struggle for survival, they can't see a way out.
That's where Becca Stevens steps in. For nearly 20 years, Stevens has dedicated her life to helping women escape prostitution, addiction and trafficking -- and providing a place for them to heal.
"Those scars are deep, but it doesn't have to be the end of the story," said Stevens, an Episcopal priest.
More here-
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/us/cnn-hero-becca-stevens/
From Tallahassee-
Human beings, created in God’s image, are made for the perfect freedom found in service to God and neighbor.
Throughout human history, as a result of our brokenness and a willful misuse of our freedom, we have enslaved others and turned God’s people into commodities.
In the Old Testament, we witness Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery. In Scripture, we also hear the people of Israel, enslaved in Egypt, crying out for freedom.
In the New Testament, St. Paul pleads with a man named Philemon to free his slave, Onesimus. Slavery and human trafficking are an ongoing scourge on humanity, a fact we know all too well as we recall our history as a nation and our continuing struggle for racial justice and reconciliation.
More here-
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2016/01/09/slavery-human-trafficking-far-eradicated/78516748/
From Cincinnati-
Noel Julnes-Dehner is the writer, producer and director of the documentary, called "Coming Home From the Streets." It looks at the dark world of prostitution in the Queen City.
She said Cincinnatians are surprised prostitution is in the area.
“Women can get off the streets and it takes a lot of support, many relapses but they want off and they can get off,” Julnes-Dehner said.
This is the third documentary Julnes-Dehner has created. This one took a year to organize and six months to shoot and edit.
“My films are human-interest stories,” she said.
More here-
http://www.wlwt.com/news/cincinnati-woman-takes-up-human-trafficking-issue-in-documentary/36688158
From San Joaquin-
Six exhausted bike riders rolled into Porterville Wednesday with a message to end human trafficking.
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, led by Bishop David Rice, is holding The Tour Against Trafficking. The group of bike riders, which varies by day from two dozen riders to a half dozen, launched the tour on Oct. 2. It ends Oct. 23 in Modesto.
“My quick response is God,” said Rice, when asked why they are trying to raise awareness of human trafficking. “We need to be aware of the needs of people in that context,” he added.
Plus, he said, “We strongly believe this is an issue the church needs to address.”
More here-
http://www.recorderonline.com/news/bike-tour-brings-human-trafficking-to-light/article_9b8c86b4-6eab-11e5-a925-53da9c48d79b.html
From ACN-
Anglicans from across the Communion will be gathering in Rome, Italy, from 3rd - 7th November 2014 to discuss their churches’ work to end human trafficking and modern slavery. The consultation is being convened by the Anglican Alliance and hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See, Archbishop Sir David Moxon.
The purpose of the consultation is to learn about the work of churches around the Anglican Communion in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking. The group will reflect on the most effective approaches and agree on recommendations for a Communion-wide response. These will focus on the prevention of trafficking and slavery, protection and support for survivors, prosecution of perpetrators, and policy and advocacy work with governments and the private sector.
More here-
http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/11/anglican-communion-members-gather-for-anti-trafficking,-slavery-consultation.aspx
From Tampa Bay-
It was just a few days before terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C., targets in 2001 that Father Ray Bonoan took over as the rector at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Safety Harbor. "On 9/11, I was still moving in. We decided to leave the church open. So many came and just sat. … All our hearts were broken. I will say it was difficult. As a priest, sometimes you need to be a healer when you are wounded, too.''
Born in the Philippines, Bonoan received his bachelor's in theology and his master's in divinity at St. Andrew's Theological Seminary in Quezon City. He came to the United States in 1983 and eventually settled in Hillsborough County, where he served at St. Luke's in Land O'Lakes and at St. Andrew's in Tampa.
Bonoan serves as the canon missioner for Asian ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida and is the founding director of the Diocesan Church Against Human Trafficking office, which has headquarters at Church of the Holy Spirit. In 2009, he received the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking's Freedom Award.
More here-
http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/five-questions-with-episcopal-priest-fighter-of-human-trafficking/2187803
From The BBC-
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is to meet the Pope next month, Lambeth Palace has confirmed.
The head of the Church of England will visit Rome from 14 to 16 June as part of a human trafficking and modern slavery initiative he launched with Pope Francis last year.
The pair, who met in 2013 in a private meeting, will meet on the final day of the archbishop's trip.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis this week completed a tour of the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters during his return flight, he announced he was to meet a group of sex abuse victims next month, after he compared the "ugly crime" to performing "satanic mass".
He said he would show zero tolerance to anyone in the Roman Catholic Church who abuses children.
More here-
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27605094
From CNN-
Major religious faiths around the world are joining forces to fight the scourge of modern-day slavery and human trafficking.
Australian billionaire and mining magnate Andrew Forrest has signed up major religious heavyweights –Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar mosque in Egypt, Islam's highest-ranking Sunni cleric.
This week their representatives gathered at the Vatican to sign on to Andrew Forrest’s initiative, the Global Freedom Network.
Forrest joined Amanpour in her London studio, along with Archbishop David Moxon of the Anglican Church and Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo of the Catholic Church.
More here-
http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/19/religions-unite-over-anti-slavery-initiative/
From The Telegraph-
An Australian jackaroo-turned-mining magnate brought together the Anglican Church and the Vatican on Monday in an ambitious plan to stamp out modern-day slavery, which affects an estimated 30 million people worldwide.
Andrew Forrest, known by his schoolboy nickname “Twiggy” in his home country, has pledged to use part of his £3 billion fortune to eradicate indentured labour, the trafficking of women and girls for sex and other forms of 21st century slavery by the year 2020.
The 52-year-old mining tycoon, who worked in his youth as a “jackaroo” or cowboy on a vast outback cattle station in the rugged Pilbara region of Western Australia, brought together the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church in an unprecedented inter-faith effort to tackle the issue.
More here-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/10703863/Catholic-and-Anglican-Churches-unite-for-anti-slavery-campaign.html
From Zambia-
LIVINGSTONE residents have been urged to be alert and guard against cases of forced labour and human trafficking as the city prepares to co-host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in August this year.
Livingstone in Zambia and Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe will co-host the UNWTO General Assembly from August 24 to 29, 2013.
Livingstone Anglican West Parish Father, Emmanuel Chikoya urged residents to be vigilant as some visitors may take advantage of the UNWTO to promise them a better living but recruit them for forced labour.
Fr Chikoya said in an interview that the fact that several international delegates would be flocking to Livingstone with different interests created a perfect environment for people to be trafficked, especially for sexual services and any other forms of cheap labour.
The Livingstone Anglican Church Children’s Project in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently conducted inter-school debates on human tracking and forced labour at Shungu Primary School.
The project of sensitising the community of Livingstone on human trafficking and forced labour would run for four months.
More here-
http://www.times.co.zm/?p=21162
From Uganda-
