At War With Slavery

A Reason To Fight
(Not For Sale series)

 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

~ Margaret Mead

At this moment in time there are an estimated 27 million people in conditions that constitute slavery. This means that there are more than people in bondage today than there ever were during the 300 years of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. These numbers leave us to ask just what century we live in?

When Lincoln freed the slaves during the American Civil War he restated the natural state of mankind was to be free. It is a well known fact throughout mankind that we are born with the desire for freedom. We are created with a soul that yearns for freedom. So how can we today tolerate even one person being denied this most natural right? 

Many are left to ask themselves, "I'm just one person, what could I do to ever make any real change?"

What many of us are unaware of is that there are organization across the world uniting individuals like us to create the change we desire to see. These are NGOs and charities that are fighting the good fight. They are organizations that can take your intent to create change and apply it where it is most effective. 

These are just a few:

• The A21 Campaign,  http://www.thea21campaign.org/content/the-facts/gjekag
• Agape International Missions, http://agapewebsite.org/about/
• Center to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE), http://www.ceasenow.org/
• Made By Survivors, http://www.madebysurvivors.com/about-us
• Happy Horizons Children's Ranch, http://www.hhcr.org/from-the-founders/our-mission/
• La Strada International, http://lastradainternational.org/?main=home
• Polaris Project, http://www.polarisproject.org/
• Not For Sale Campaign, http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
• RedLight Children, http://redlightchildren.org/
• Stop the Traffik, http://www.stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx
• The Defender Foundation, http://thedefenderfoundation.org/
• End It, http://enditmovement.com/

These are all organizations that are helping spread the facts about slavery in the modern era. Though only 1-2% of modern slaves are ever rescued currently, those numbers are changing. With the dedicated work of individuals and organizations like these the war against slavery is raging. And by donating and spreading the word about these organizations and their cause, you can join the fight.

The average age of a trafficking victim is only 12 years old when they are initially sold. Their predators rarely face jail time (1 in 100,000 European traffickers ever face a judge). And for most, the only way out of bondage is death.  

 “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know."

~ William Wilberforce

As long as even one of us is left in the bondage of slavery, none of us are ever truly free. Join the fight. Help liberate your fellow man from one of the most destructive crimes our modern world currently faces.

Sevenly

Someone is trying to shed some light in this dark world. 


Recently thanks to Pinterest, I came across something.  Better than a lot of the "feel good" stuff of self improvement or crafts.  It was a T-shirt and so much more.

There is a group out there called Sevenly that is doing something worthwhile.  They team up with charities and produce designed products that an amount of the proceeds are donated to.  Here's the thing it isn't just one charity.  They do this every week.  Every week a new charity/organization is sponsored and the products specifically designed will only be sold that week. Making it a precious endorsement with a limited time offer.

But what does this have in common with Alder's Ledge?  We have similar goals and methods.  Both of us want to increase the awareness of social needs in this world and encourage people to act.  We have also used similar methods to do this.  First by asking those who have come across our information to pass it along on shared social networks of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr to spark better awareness.  Next to invite them to act on this interest and last to make a personal connection with the need.

We applaud Sevenly!  They have sponsored charities dealing with sex trafficking, refugees of genocide and civil wars, and former child soldiers.  There are other numerous organizations that span the scope of Alder's Ledge as well.  Each charity is thoroughly researched and fact checked in the application process to make sure the most good is being done.  Sevenly just started up in 2011 and have been able to raise generous amounts to different causes, each with it's own unique designed products during their campaign.  Here is how the process works as per Sevenly.org displays.

It's nice to come across others trying to do some good.  The world needs more light bearers like Sevenly to show the changes needed and what one can do about it.


sources/images: https://www.sevenly.org/