Posted on December 28th, 2012
"We in the West have a hard time believing that this is really happening, that the forcible exploitation of humans for profit is not only alive and well in the 21st century but worse than ever before… But the instinct of people to buy and sell other people for economic gain did not die with the 13th Amendment. It went underground and metastasized, waiting for conditions to ripen again. Then in the 1990s, slavery exploded into new life, fueled by globalization, the post-Cold-War economic vacuum, the Internet, and rising demand for cheap commercial sex and labor." Corban Addison
Would you like to be a part of making someone’s wish come true while at the same time supporting some of the most important work being done on the planet right now? Well in the next four days, you can be a part of the solution by supporting a Seva Challenge participant to reach their goal of 20K…and giving them an opportunity to see the incredible results of their year of raising funds to fight sex trafficking in India.
We have 12 participants who have each raised over 10K and who, with a little support from you and others like you, could be coming with us on our Bare Witness Tour to India in February.
What does this mean? It means that any contribution that you make now could bring a participant closer to their goal and might even tip the balance and afford them the opportunity to experience a journey of eye opening awareness and life changing service We are talking about folks who have spent many months holding events, donation classes, auctions and more because they feel so passionately about one of the most prevalent and insidious problems facing the globe in our time. And because they know that by turning passion into action, they will be able to support organizations that have been rescuing and empowering sex trafficking victims in India for many years.
It is time to bring this issue to the forefront of our awareness, both globally and here in the US…your money and support will help us to fund housing, health care, rehabilitation, job skills and more for women and children who otherwise would have no alternatives. But not only that, your support will help us to deeply witness not only the horrifying challenge, but also to witness some of the most successful solutions and strategies for dealing with this epidemic.
We see the Seva Challenge participants as future leaders in creating innovative solutions to some of the most complex problems we face today. We have witnessed it over and over with past participants and we have seen it in the dedication and inspiration that participants have shown this year. Lives change, new projects come into being, and our community of conscious activists grows stronger.
Please join the community of change by supporting one of our participants who is close to their goal. Click on one of the names to send someone to India. (you will have to type their first name into the box and pull them off the popup list) The list was updated as two six nine people made their goal since the list was initially posted.
$20,000 Suchithira Subramanian of Sagamore Hills, OH – GOAL!
$20,000 Nicole Dieso of Portsmouth, RI – GOAL!
$20,000 Wendy Helberg of Wayzata, MN – GOAL!
$20,000 Alyssa Brown of San Diego, CA – GOAL!
$20,000 Melinda Besse of Fraser, CO – GOAL!
$20,000 Kelly Love of Garnet Valley, PA – GOAL!!
$19,879 Steffi Jones of Topanga, CA
$20,000 Tiffany Maloney of Beaumont, TX – GOAL!
$16,690 Rachel Allyn of Minneapolis, MN
$20,000 Breanna Tivvis of North Jacksonville, FL – GOAL!
$13,465 Kerry Mertlick of Seattle, WA
$12,522 Caroline Mankey of Los Angeles, CA
$20,000 Julie Strilesky of Toronto, ON – GOAL!!
$11,190 Emilee Benner of Santa Cruz, CA
$10,023 Amy Baillargeon of Culver City, CA
Thank you from all of us at OTM – we continue to be inspired by what we can do together.