Break the chains reaches out to Marion

Students host benefit to raise awareness of human trafficking

Four students from Indiana Wesleyan University are trying to change the world by helping those who have been hurt by human trafficking, and they are asking for your help to break the chains.

IWU students Lexi Griffin (fr), Amy Yoder (fr), Katelyn Barnhart (so) and Shara McClanahan (jr) saw a need last semester and decided that they were going to try and meet it. Their goal: to end human slavery in the international sex trade.

“We were all kind of independently passionate about human trafficking and we were looking for other people who were too,” McClanahan said.

Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal activity in the world. There are 27 million people bought and sold worldwide, two times more than in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century.

“We weren’t looking to start our own organization or anything, just more of a movement and coming together,” Griffin said.

These IWU students want to show the community the proximity of this problem.

Federal officials estimate that up to 18,000 women and girls are trafficked into the United States every year. Ohio’s severe lack of regulations and punishments against traffickers contribute to the state’s status as one of the worst for the sex slave trade. In the last year, more than 1,000 children were trafficked in Ohio alone.

“It’s hard to find someone who has heard all of the facts and hasn’t been affected,” Barnhart said.

Break the Chains of Human Trafficking will take place on April 10 in downtown Marion. The event begins with a block party at First Street from 2 to 5 p.m.

The block party will feature performances by DK Bicycles, world-class BMX stunt bikers and live music by regional artists. There will also be awareness booths from local and international human rights and anti-trafficking organizations as well as carnival games and food vendors.

The second half of the Break the Chains event will take place at Community School of the Arts at 305 South Adams Street in Marion from 6 to 10 p.m. for a $5 donation.

Laura Lederer, a professor at Georgetown Law and former senior advisor to President George W. Bush will be speaking on the trafficking of people. There will be live acoustic music and a dessert reception afterwards.

According to McClanahan, the day and night events are there to “bring people together to the reality of the situation, for people to see the faces and stories of the 27 million people involved.”

All proceeds from the event will go to a new assessment center in Cambodia through World Hope International, where girls who are rescued from the sex trade can receive counseling, medical treatment and an education; and two safe houses in Marion will also be sponsored by White LILAC Ministries.

These students hope to get people beyond the horrifying statistics to see the victims of human trafficking as individuals with hopes and dreams.

According to Griffin, “We believe that every life has intrinsic value and no one deserves these conditions.”

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Frontpage.
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