Every bag of potato chips has at least one “swish” chip. It’s the chip that, instead of being perfectly formed in a round shape like all the other chips, somehow got folded back on itself. As a gullible child with four older cousins, I was thrilled to learn from one of them that if you ate it after making a wish, your wish would come true. Ironically, my wish when I ate the swish chip was always to be thinner. Do you think my wish came true?
It did. After a lifestyle change and many difficult hours of excercise and discipline.
If only Jimmeny Cricket’s advice “When you wish upon a star…” were true, the world might look a bit different. The streets would be crowded with beggars riding by on their shining steeds, but it wouldn’t matter to the rest of the world because everyone could skip the commute to work and remain independently wealthy. And Slavery might be a distant memory.
Rebecca Posey was raised to treat others with respect and dignity, no matter their age, race, gender, or hair color. She knew from a young age that she had a passion to see all people live in a free and open society. So when she stumbled across Not For Sale on twitter, she knew it was a match made in heaven. “I loved the organization, the branding, and their hopeful, ‘let’s get it done’ attitude,” Rebecca explained. With a Masters in both Public Policy and Business Administration, she was looking for a human rights organization focused on justice, where she could exercise her personal leadership abilities while getting her hands deep into the issue. The fact that Not For Sale is both a local and international organization settled her mind on the matter: this was the place for her.
Last week, I attempted to summarize the US State Department’s thoughts on becoming a “decade of delivery,” as stated in their release of the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. However, I stopped after their first two points of focus: prevention and prosecution. Without any delay, I will jump right back into the analysis, summarizing protection and partnerships.
Greed fuels it, desperation perpetuates it, and shame covers it in secrecy. However, many individuals and organizations have stepped in to stop the cycle of sexual exploitation in Georgia. They’re composed of ordinary people who are invested in seeing extraordinary change- they desire restoration.
Meet NightLight Atlanta.
NightLight Atlanta is a faith-based organization that has its roots in a ministry that began in Bangkok, Thailand. This week, I had a conversation with Courtney Dow, Director of NightLight Atlanta, about how they’re working to restore victims of sexual exploitation, what it’s like for volunteers, and how you can be a part of the work they do.
On Thursday afternoon of June 30th, the Meet Justice Staff, among many other listeners, tuned in to hear Dottie Laster host her show TRAFFICKED on Here Women Talk radio. This week’s show featured an analysis of the State Department’s Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report that was released this past Monday. In addition, Dottie spoke to Meet Justice Operations Manager Jessica Reis about Meet Justice’s efforts in the fight against human trafficking. Both were great segments—if you missed the hour-long show, check out the archived version at here.
After the show, I had the fantastic opportunity to talk with Dottie about her efforts in advocacy and her thoughts on recent trafficking-related developments. Dottie has dabbled in every aspect of the human trafficking advocacy world, and has made an impact in each and every one of her efforts. She describes her introduction with the advocacy world, “In that moment, I new that that was what I would do… I don’t think I planned it, it just happened. I knew that I wanted to do something that would be directly involved with victims but then would also change the structure, the problems that had allowed this to happen.”
Not only does Dottie run her own company, Laster Global Consulting, but she is also active in immigration law, working with our legal system to aid trafficking victims. Dottie provides training on human trafficking to law enforcement and other interested parties and is considered a leading expert on the issue. Check out the full interview with Dottie next week on the Meet Justice blog.
