The Sisters of Notre Dame, along with other congregations in Tanzania, play key roles in the fight against child trafficking. They provide assistance to victims. They raise awareness by traveling to rural communities to educate village elders, women's groups and youth groups about trafficking experiences and dangers.
Ixtepec, Mexico - To the Guardian Angel sisters who run it, the Albergue Hermanos en el Camino migrant shelter is more than a center for resources or a bed for the night. It's an opportunity to prevent trafficking and identify those who may have experienced it. And though, with the threat of gangs, the sisters' lives can "truly be in danger ... we will share our space, and we will live out our mission."
GSR Staff - Despite having experience reporting on Latin America and the ways sisters tend to migrants, on this night, I was like any other American oblivious to the realities of a mass migration, standing amid a never-ending stream of tired faces all coming from the same direction.
Focus on Human Trafficking - "It is here, in our neighborhoods, and requires attention now," Sr. Michelle Loisel said at one of the gatherings of anti-trafficking advocates held to mark the U.N. World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
When the world commemorates the United Nations' World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, it will focus on crimes the global body says exploit "women, children and men for numerous purposes including forced labor and sex."
Being assigned to a hill tribe in Mae Jam, Chiang Mai, a northern area of Thailand, changed the life of Sr. Marie Agnes Buasap, a Sister of St. Paul de Chartres. Her congregation has been in Thailand for 120 years and has 22 schools for students from kindergarten to high school.
Focus on Human Trafficking - Though common knowledge warns against anyone wandering into La Línea, Sr. Angélica Segoviano has gained daily access by establishing trust with the women she visits. It takes time before they open up to her about their lives and worries, their initial suspicion born of the fact that some have gone years without anyone simply asking how they're doing.
Contemplate This - Contemplation invites us to awaken to the reality around us. It helps us see in new ways what can be considered an everyday experience. It asks us to take a long, loving look at the real so that what is invisible may come into view. The issue of human trafficking has been in our consciousness for many years. Women religious have worked tirelessly to bring this issue to the forefront of political debate and corporate decision making.
Honored as one of the U.S. State Department's "heroes" in combatting human trafficking, Comboni Sr. Gabriella Bottani urged action to fight the situations that make people, especially women and children, vulnerable to trafficking.
For the past five years, I have participated in the annual meetings of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women. I am inspired by the women who come forward to share their stories, but I wonder: Are we going forward in this struggle?
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