Jubilee Market Aims To Help Human Trafficking Victims - The Granbys, CT Patch

An interview with a local woman that is reaching out globally and helping thousands through her Granby based non-profit.

Each year an estimated 600,000-800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders. Most of these victims are women and children and are forced into prostitution.

Liz Glover, Founder and President of the Granby-based non-profit organization The Jubilee Market, was staggered by these statistics three years ago.

A mother of two, Glover decided to take the step to help these men, women and children through the creation of her non-profit, The Jubilee Market. Glover now puts her "God-given skill" to work internationally.

“I love to sew, draw, paint (murals on walls), make jewelry, decorate, and love to design window treatments- I invented and patented a drapery rod," she said. "I am hoping to use it in our organization to help establish sustainable income for those who have been rescued from prostitution and need jobs and job skills."

What does the organization do?

The Jubilee Market collaborates with other organizations in India working in the red light districts. The organizations search for women and girls in need of assistance or rescue.

• Purchase equipment and supplies for those organizations like sewing machines, jewelry making tools, knitting tools, and other equipment
• Supply textiles, gemstones, yarns, and to organizations that make products
• Teach women and children skills and trades
• Provide transportation, marketing assistance, and other tools needed to sell products they make to generate a sustainable income
• The Jubilee Market sells the products on their website, boutiques like Bleu Willow, and booths at women’s events and conventions.
• They provide opportunities for people in the U.S. to use their resources to help women and children in need
• The Jubilee Market contributes to organizations that build safe homes for exploited women and children

Who are Glover’s influences or role models in life?

My influence for the foundation of our organization is Jewels 4 God, Intl. from VA. They allowed me to join them on my first trip to India. They teach girls jewelry making and market and sell the jewelry for them. We teach all skills....jewelry, sewing, knitting, crocheting, business skills.

My role models are my parents. My Dad was a Pastor and my mom was an amazing help to him in all that he set his hand to do. My Dad was also an entrepreneur. He loved business. My parents loved people and devoted their lives to directing their feet to the right path.

If someone wrote a biography about you what would the title be?

'She lived her faith and why?' I believe that God's word, the Bible, teaches us that we are to be doers of his word and not just hearers only.

Share with us a little unknown fact about yourself.

I survived stage 3a colorectal cancer and finished my last chemo treatment in May 2010. I had an ileostomy reversal surgery in July 2010. I am cancer free and grateful to be able to continue the work that was set before me. I traveled to India on Christmas day 2010 and returned back to the U.S. on Jan 25 2011.

What lessons have you learned in life?

My life is not my own. I have a responsibility to share what has been entrusted to me...my skills, abilities, time and resources.

What aspirations or goals do you have for this endeavor?

I want to save the world.

I don't want to make an impact just in my little corner. This problem of slavery involves women...sisters...in every corner of the earth. I believe I can make a difference. But not by myself. I have been called "Mighty Mouse" because I am small and I do all that I can do with all of my might, however, to make a real impact it will take an army of people and a host of organizations all joining and networking together to make an impact. We cannot do it alone.

We have been given invitations to come to the Philippines, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Mexico and various other parts of India to work with organizations who are desperate for help. I could easily take 10 trips with 10 teams this year if we had the resources. We are also made aware of the huge trafficking issue here in the U.S. There are 5 or 6 homes of HOPE that I personally know of that could be established nationwide today if the resources were available. I believe they are available. I believe we could be far reaching if everyone joined the fight.

What do you want people to take away from this conversation?

We need each other. In relation to the plight of the impoverished of the world, the biggest mistake that we make is to think that we can’t make a difference because the problem is too big and our efforts are too insignificant. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And my something combined with your something is enough and could even become “everything”.

As we grow, please grow with us. It will take an army of 'doers' to make a difference.

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Liz Glover, founder of The Jubilee Market, on a recent trip to India. Credit: Liz Glover

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Credit: Liz Glover

Credit: Liz Glover

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Source: thegranbys.patch.com
Jubilee Market Aims To Help Human Trafficking Victims - The Granbys, CT Patch

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Interview: Virginia Delegate Adam Ebbin Fights for Anti-Trafficking Law | Change.org News

by Amanda Kloer · February 23, 2011

This week, a bill that would create one of the first laws in the state of Virginia to criminalize human trafficking and provide resources for trafficked victims will be voted on by the state senate. I caught up with Delegate Adam Ebbin, who introduced the bill and has been championing the fight against human trafficking in Virginia. He shared his hopes for the future of anti-trafficking efforts in Virginia and his gratitude to the hundreds of Change.org members who have supported this legislation.

Kloer: Based on your record, you obviously care a lot about supporting human trafficking victims. Why is human trafficking an important issue to you?

Delegate Ebbin: The more I’ve learned about this horrific crime — and the difficulty law enforcement has had uncovering and prosecuting it in the state of Virginia — the more involved I’ve become in efforts to put an end to it. When you hear about the experiences of victims who are beaten, raped, threatened, manipulated, and locked up, it’s hard not to be moved.

Kloer: Virginia has been called one of the weakest states in the country in terms of anti-trafficking legislation. How will HB 2190 improve services for trafficked persons?

Ebbin: Right now, unfortunately, victims are often afraid to come forward, and when they do, law enforcement and social services don’t know whether to treat them as criminals or victims. My bill will direct the Department of Social Services to develop a plan for identifying trafficking victims, assisting them in applying for state and federal benefits, and coordinating the efforts of state agencies and non-profit organizations in delivering health, housing, education, job training, and legal services.

Kloer: Congratulations on the recent passage of HB 2190 through the Senate. Do you think Governor McDonnell will sign it?

Ebbin: I have worked hard this session to draw Governor McDonnell’s attention to the problem of human trafficking, and these efforts paid off when the Governor released a statement praising bipartisan legislative efforts to combat trafficking in the state of Virginia, so I’m very optimistic that he will sign this legislation.

Kloer: Over 500 people have signed a Change.org petition asking the Virginia legislature to pass this important bill. What would you like to say to your supporters?

Ebbin: I want to thank the hundreds of supporters who signed the petition on Change.org, and countless others who sent emails, wrote letters, and made phone calls to Virginia legislators urging them to end this horrific crime and provide aid to its victims. It made a difference in securing unanimous passage of this key legislation. Because human trafficking takes place under the surface, by its very nature both the crime and its victims are hidden from law enforcement as well as the public consciousness. I’ve often encountered skepticism from fellow legislators that human trafficking is actually a serious crime. That’s why grassroots campaigns to educate our public officials and fellow citizens are so important to building momentum for action.

You can support Delegate Ebbin and human trafficking survivors across Virginia by ensuring HB 2190 and its sister bill HB 1898 (which would give trafficked persons resources and help ensure law enforcement arrest traffickers, not victims) become law. Support the campaign today, and share this petition with all your friends who live in Virginia.

Photo credit: Ken Lund

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic

Source: chnage.org

Interview: Virginia Delegate Adam Ebbin Fights for Anti-Trafficking Law | Change.org News

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Nomi Network: Nomi Network on the News!

Check out this interview with Nomi Network on its initiatives to
help victims of sex trafficking.

Nomi Network: Nomi Network on the News!

Diana Mao: Leveraging Social Entrepreneurship to Fight Slavery

Image via Wikipedia

Posted: April 23, 2010 12:53 PM

Peter Drucker defined an entrepreneur as one who "always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity." I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, but after spending a summer in Cambodia and witnessing the poverty and vulnerabilities of women and children in remote villages, I began to crave change.

There is nothing like watching a desperately poor father in a remote village in Cambodia trying to give away his daughter to put things into perspective. I went to Cambodia to conduct micro-finance research. It involved visiting families, most of whom made less than $1 per day. They could not even provide one meal a day to their children. One man offered his daughter to my colleague. Although we were trustworthy graduate students, it made me realize how easy it is for sex traffickers to walk into a village and recruit children.

According to researcher Siddharth Kara, human trafficking is a $91.2 billion industry. It is the world's second largest criminal enterprise, topped only by the illegal drug trade. For victims, the emancipation process is extremely challenging. After going through rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration, most girls lack marketable job skills or any source of income. Moreover, without ongoing support, mentorship, training, and job opportunities, too many survivors either get re-trafficked or are compelled to enter prostitution in order to survive. Thus, creating sustainable economic alternatives to the sex trade is essential in the fight against sex trafficking.

Collectively, consumers have the highest potential to create systematic change, by simply changing their purchasing behavior. This is not as easy as it sounds because it is human nature to desire cheap products or anything that is free. How many times have you walked into a store and been instantly drawn to the word FREE. But despite the obvious consumption patterns, the fair trade market is growing.

Research indicates that the market for Fair Trade products in the U.S. has tremendous growth potential. According to a recent Fair Trade Federation report, 88 percent of Americans self-identify as conscious and socially responsible consumers. The U.S. market for sustainable products is currently estimated at $118 billion, including $11 billion for lifestyle products alone. Nomi Network sees an immediate opportunity in the combination of a growing market plus the desires of so many consumers who crave fair trade and socially progressive purchasing options.

However, before this market can be tapped effectively, there is an information gap that must be filled. For example, while 71 percent of U.S. consumers have heard the term "Fair Trade," less than 6 percent are able to name a Fair Trade brand. Nomi Network bridges the gap, by developing chic, innovative, and sustainable products that give consumers the opportunity to purchase mainstream products that not only look good but do good.

Nomi Network is a 501c3 organization that leverages the marketplace, film, and fashion to help eradicate human trafficking. Instead of condemning consumers and retailers who often perpetuate the cycle of slavery, Nomi engages retailers to develop and sell products that are made by survivors of sex-trafficking and those at risk. We are bridging the private, non-profit, and public sectors through education and enterprise, to end human trafficking.

Follow Diana Mao on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dmnominetwork

* Poverty
* Cambodia



Diana Mao: Leveraging Social Entrepreneurship to Fight Slavery

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Hillel Passove raises awareness about human trafficking

By Erin Flemming
April 5, 2010

The UW Jewish community took a new approach to Passover on Friday night by exploring ways to help abolish modern-day slavery while reflecting on their ancestors’ escape from bondage.

Photo by Qixiu Hu.
A Hillel staff member raises money for ending human trafficking and slavery during dinner at Hillel UW.

---

Photo by Qixiu Hu.
Kevin Austin, the director of the Abolitionist Faith Community for the Not For Sale campaign, gives a speech on stopping human trafficking and slavery on Friday at Hillel UW.

---

Hillel UW, a center for the UW Jewish community, hosts a Shabbat service and dinner nearly every Friday during the school year, but they offered a different service last week. About 20 synagogues around the country participated in the Freedom Shabbat program this year, which is intended to educate and motivate the Jewish community through a special Shabbat service centered around the issue of human trafficking.

Hillel partnered with the Not for Sale campaign, a non-profit organization dedicated to abolishing human trafficking, in an attempt to create a Shabbat service showing attendees the problems surrounding slavery today and encouraging those throughout the Jewish community to work toward correcting this injustice.

Robert Beiser, the director of social-justice programs at Hillel, hopes the event will inspire the Jewish community at the UW to feel a deeper pull to help with the problem of human trafficking.
“Every year, Jews celebrate Passover, but very rarely do we connect these issues [of the past] to what is happening now,” Beiser said.

After introductions and a short documentary about human trafficking, donation baskets were passed around, and people were free to join a smaller discussion group.

Attendees discussed their experiences with human trafficking and the relation between this problem and their faith. Beiser led the discussion by reading quotes from rabbis and other readings related to slavery, as well as by posing questions to the smaller group about Jewish identity, history, and slavery throughout history and in modern times.

The Shabbat dinner service that followed the discussion kept with the issue of modern-day slavery with a card detailing the life of someone affected by human trafficking placed on each plate. After the main course, Shabbat attendees were encouraged to read the story on their card and stand up when their particular card was called, while a human-trafficking statistic was read aloud.

The event raised money for the Not for Sale campaign and brought a face and story to modern-day slavery. Kevin Austin, director of the Abolitionist Faith Community for the Not for Sale campaign, spoke to the people in the Hillel audience of the tie they may feel to the cause.

“We are one people, Jewish people, Muslim people, Christians,” Austin said. “We need to put aside our differences and dedicate ourselves to abolishing slavery in our lifetime.”

Reach reporter Erin Flemming at news@dailyuw.com.

---

Oakland taking steps to fight sex trafficking

Oklahoman Fights To Stop Human Trafficking - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Posted: Mar 18, 2010 3:43 PM EDT


Owasso---While most college students relax on spring break, Julie Christian is trying to raise awareness of human trafficking in Oklahoma.

'I speak for Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans and Stop Child Trafficking Now,' said Julie, 'two non-profit organizations in Oklahoma raising awareness for human trafficking.'

Julie says human trafficking falls into three categories; labor trafficking, indentured servitude, and the sex trade, and is soon to overtake drug-running as the most profitable organized crime.

'Oklahoma is a huge transporter state and it's just shocking to find out that our truck-stops and airports are filled with victims from all over the world and nation being effected by human trafficking.'

Julie is the reigning Miss University of Central Oklahoma, and works at informing Oklahomans of the trafficking problem in our state. She also raises funds to support efforts cracking down on human trafficking.

If you would like more information on the human trafficking problem and what you can do to help, visit the web sites of Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans and Stop Child Trafficking Now.


Oklahoman Fights To Stop Human Trafficking - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Annual sex trafficking conference brings heavy hitters to McAllen April 6 through 9

Posted : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:01:42 GMT
Author : South Texas College
Category : Press Release

MCALLEN, Texas - (Business Wire) They have appeared on “Oprah,” written numerous books and helped set national and global policies to combat global sex and human trafficking issues. And this year, they are coming to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas to shed light on a growing problem impacting the local border community.

The Women’s Studies Committee at South Texas College in McAllen, Texas will host its fourth annual Sex Trafficking Conference and Human Rights Art Exhibit, allowing these heavy-hitting thought leaders to share their vision for a future where all are free from modern-day slavery.

“We have secured speakers from around the globe who work every day to end sex and human trafficking, which impacts every nation on earth,” said Jenny Clark, women’s studies chair at STC and a conference organizer. “Our region has become a focal point in the fight, with the exploitation of women and children rampant in the drug and sex trades, as well as victims being forced into terrible labor situations.

“We are also witnessing increases in horrifying cases of ‘coyotes’ dumping unknowing immigrants to fend and, in some cases, die in our Valley,” added Clark. “We hope that bringing in big speakers will open more minds up to the reality of what is going on in our region and recruit more hands in the fight against modern-day slavery. We as citizens of South Texas can no longer remain blind to this issue.”

The conference takes place April 6 through 9 at STC’s Pecan Campus in McAllen. Attendees will hear from two keynote speakers, including Siddharth Kara, one of the world's foremost experts on human trafficking and modern-day slavery, and Somaly Mam, whose personal experiences have brought enormous international recognition to the issue and served as a source of inspiration for fellow victims.

Kara is the first Fellow on Human Trafficking with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a founding member of Harvard’s Advisory Collective on Human Rights. His book, “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery,” is the first of three books providing his groundbreaking new approach to the subject of contemporary slavery.

Kara first encountered the horrors of slavery in a Bosnian refugee camp in 1995. Subsequently, he traveled to 18 countries to further investigate these crimes. He witnessed firsthand the sale of human beings into slavery, interviewed more than 400 slaves, and confronted some of those who trafficked and exploited them. Kara advises several governments on antislavery policy and law, as well as several private and non-governmental organizations, including the Clinton Global Initiative and the American Himalaya Foundation.

Mam was born in a tribal ethnic minority family in Cambodia, and struggled through poverty and limited opportunities during her childhood. Mam was sold into a life of sexual slavery many times by a man who posed as her grandfather. Eventually she escaped the cycle and made it her mission to help young children and women who have become victims of sex slavery and human trafficking. For her courage and passion, she has been featured on “Oprah,” honored as a “CNN Hero” and been a guest for various TV specials on CBC, CBS, NBC and MSNBC.

Denise Donnelly and Kaye Woodard-Hotz from the Texas Attorney General's Office will speak about the State Wide Anti Human Trafficking Task Force. Other featured speakers include Laura J. Lederer, president of Global Centurion, which is dedicated to fighting child sex trafficking; Melissa Snow, director of programs for Shared Hope International, a non-profit organization providing rescue and restoration to sex trafficking victims; and Marisa Ugarte, executive director of the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition.

One-day passes to the conference are $60 and $150 for three-day passes. For an added fee, social workers, legal professionals and law enforcement professionals can earn Continuing Education Units.

A complete list of speakers, the conference agenda, information on CEU’s, as well as registration information, can be found at http://www.southtexascollege.edu/humantrafficking/. Clark can be contacted at 956-872-3510 or jclark@southtexascollege.edu.

South Texas College
Office of Public Relations and Marketing
Helen Escobar, 956-872-8359 or
C: 214-497-6939
Coordinator of Public Relations
hjescoba@southtexascollege.edu

Annual sex trafficking conference brings heavy hitters to McAllen April 6 through 9: "Breaking News
Press Releases"

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DOJ sacks 15 Immigration ‘human traffickers’

Image via Wikipedia

WILLIAM D. DEPASUPIL Reporter

Fifteen Immigration employees assigned at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga province, north of Manila, were discharged on Friday by the Department of Justice (DoJ) for alleged complicity in human-trafficking activities.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, the head of the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking, told a press conference that the 15 employees were ordered to report to their main office in Intramuros, Manila, pending results of an investigation ordered by Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

The identities of the employees were withheld because of an “existing confidentiality clause involving human-trafficking cases.”

Blancaflor, also the Justice undersecretary for immigration concerns, said that the 15 were implicated by an Immigration employee, a woman, who was arrested earlier after she was tagged as the escort and facilitator of a number of Filipino women who were recruited to work in Malaysia as domestic helpers but later forced to work in a brothel.

The illegal “escort service” at the Clark airport, it was learned, had been in existence long before Libanan was appointed as Immigration chief in early 2007.

Susan Ople, a daughter of late former Sen. Blas Ople and current director of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute disclosed that the discovery of the escort service at the DMIA could just be the “tip of a humungous iceberg.”

“The confession of Rachel Ong jibes with the testimonies and anecdotes oAf trafficked victims under the care of the Blas F. Ople Center,” Ople said, referring to the escort-facilitator who had been arrested.

Human trafficking is “a multimillion racket that has been ongoing on for years,” she added. “Credit must be given to the trafficked victims who bravely filed charges against Ong.”

Ople called on the other victims to step forward so that the syndicated escort service involving airport and Immigration officials and staff can be completely unmasked and eradicated.

The Ople center is a nonprofit organization that handles labor and migration concerns and develops programs to empower overseas Filipino workers and their families.

Two victims of the human traffickers, “Mary” and “Vicky” were recruited from their home province of Batangas and were sent to Kuala Lumpur to work as servants.

According to the victims, they were “escorted” through the DMIA and upon reaching the Malaysian capital, they ended up working as domestic helpers to “Alfred Lim.”

Lim was said to have accomplices in the Philippines who were paid for every individual that they could send to Malaysia.

Once the recruits reach their destinations, some of them are brought to prostitution dens and the others are made to work long, unbearable hours as servants.

DOJ sacks 15 Immigration ‘human traffickers’

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