(image courtesy of http://www.stopthecandyshop.com/)
When I went to Catalyst in 2010, I was blown away by Christine Caine who heads up The A21 Campaign, a non-profit which aims to abolish human trafficking. As a follow-up, they also showed a promo for a short film/parable bringing awareness to child sex trafficking called The Candy Shop. I had the pleasure, or should I say discomfort, of finally watching it today for Trafficking Awareness Day.
Did you know Atlanta is the LARGEST city in America for trafficking and comes in at tenth in the whole world? That’s 375 little girls just a few years older than my Emma and Lexi that are taken advantage of every single month. Just last month, the FBI said a pediatrician was arrested for child pornography. The thought sickens me. But we simply cannot ignore the nausea. We feel helpless but there are organizations making a difference. The A21 Campaign works all over the world to restore victims, prevent new ones and bring perpetrators to justice. Street Grace is the organization that partnered with the film company to produce The Candy Shop film. Here are ways to partner with them and make an impact:
- Check A21’s site for 21 things you can do, learn signs of sex trafficking and donate while you’re there. A21Campaign works all over the world to
- Visit http://www.streetgrace.org/ or http://www.stopthecandyshop.com/ for ways to make an impact specifically in the Atlanta area.
- Pray. I don’t say it flippantly. We need to pray for the men in our country that their hearts are turned toward God and not the evil of their flesh.
- Get others involved. This is the kind of thing that should be going viral on Facebook and Twitter.
It’s so disheartening to think about these things but we can’t be like the people in the film that just say it’s none of our business or believe the lie we can’t make a difference. We CAN. Let’s do it.