What I'm doing, and when:
We will be helping run an adventure camp for the survivors of forced prostitution and the individuals who work beside them, October 19-28, 2014.
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| You can read more about previous trips and the ongoing work in India on their blog. |
As much as I would find it gratifying to break down a door, usher all the victims to safety, and mow down their oppressors with blistering firepower (while shouting in a voice not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger's, obviously), assisting with an adventure camp is something I'm far more qualified for, and will cause my poor mom far less anxiety.
Why I'm going:
When I was a little girl, I learned about Mother Theresa and Amy Carmichael and the amazing work they accomplished in India. I wanted to be just like them. They were brave, they were needed. They were my first heroes. I read their stories over and over again. I was too young to understand the atrocities that resulted in their callings to begin with, and certainly too naive to realize that their work had not ended the evils they spent their lives fighting.
I remember the first time I learned about sex trafficking and started to realize that we still have a lot of work to do: I was a senior in high school and my youth pastor took my small youth group down into the basement of the local YMCA (where he volunteered and had permission to be) to listen to a tape from IJM. We sat in darkness, periodically illuminated by our youth leader's flash light, and learned about the women and children who were forced or tricked into prostitution and who could not escape. Being the passionate teenager I was, I was enraged and wanted to fix this problem RIGHT NOW! Unfortunately I was quickly discouraged by the lack of tangible ways to effect change. I felt like there was nothing I could do.
I remember the first time I learned about sex trafficking and started to realize that we still have a lot of work to do: I was a senior in high school and my youth pastor took my small youth group down into the basement of the local YMCA (where he volunteered and had permission to be) to listen to a tape from IJM. We sat in darkness, periodically illuminated by our youth leader's flash light, and learned about the women and children who were forced or tricked into prostitution and who could not escape. Being the passionate teenager I was, I was enraged and wanted to fix this problem RIGHT NOW! Unfortunately I was quickly discouraged by the lack of tangible ways to effect change. I felt like there was nothing I could do.
In 2010 my home church, Crossroads, started a three year campaign called Game Change to raise funds for four projects, one of which was to build "aftercare homes" in India. These homes would provide a safe place that girls who were rescued from the sex industry could live without fear of being re-trafficked. They also receive counseling and education so they can re-enter society and flourish.
I signed up immediately.
I signed up immediately.
Now, a few years later, I am going to get to spend some time with the girls who are continuing to benefit from the aftercare homes in Mumbai and Kolkata.
I. Am. Thrilled!
What I need:
*Deep breath* $3,400.
It covers pretty much everything: airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and the supplies we need to run the camp.
I've already covered the $340 deposit, and I'll be covering my Indian visa, all the nice little vaccines (Typhoid, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, anti-Malarial pills etc.), and anything else that comes up.
I'll also need lots of prayer. Not only will running an adventure camp in 90 degree heat with smothering humidity (really, look up the weather in India in October) be physically demanding, there will undoubtedly be an emotional toll.
Oh, and I have a bad habit of refusing to admit I have a United States immune system and wind up drinking the water at some point on every trip (5 continents and no consequences….this stupidity is bound to catch up with me.)
I've already covered the $340 deposit, and I'll be covering my Indian visa, all the nice little vaccines (Typhoid, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, anti-Malarial pills etc.), and anything else that comes up.
I'll also need lots of prayer. Not only will running an adventure camp in 90 degree heat with smothering humidity (really, look up the weather in India in October) be physically demanding, there will undoubtedly be an emotional toll.
Oh, and I have a bad habit of refusing to admit I have a United States immune system and wind up drinking the water at some point on every trip (5 continents and no consequences….this stupidity is bound to catch up with me.)
How to give:
To donate directly to my fund go here: https://www.crossroads.net/GOTripGive/2833 It will take you to a page that looks like this:
If you would rather donate to general trip fund you can also do that by clicking the link and then selecting the "GO India General Fund Oct 19, 2014 - Oct 28, 2014" on the right hand side. The finds in that account are used to help any of the trip participants who do not meet their fundraising goals. If neither of those options appeal to you but you still want to do something about the horrors of sex trafficking, I would encourage you to make a donation to IJM.
More details to come at later dates!
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