Padma was only 19 years old when she fell in love with a man named Vinay. Two months into their relationship, Vinay wanted to marry her, so she left her family and traveled to another city with him.

This year we run for THEIR lives. The lives of the youth in our community who are at risk, vulnerable, and susceptible to falling prey to a trafficker. We run to protect their innocence. We run to raise awareness and educate our community. We run so that exploitation is never a part of their story.

The most vulnerable population in your community is at risk. Every day our children are in danger of sexual exploitation. Our 2020 Freedom Gala seeks to educate and empower you to combat child sex trafficking in your community.

According to the United Nations, human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal enterprise worldwide, grossing approximately $150 billion dollars annually. Every day, people are getting rich off of selling other people.

So how do we stop this?

Freedom 4/24 aims to expand the work of Freedom Firm by providing a grant to cover restoration efforts for 4 trafficked girls from Madhya Pradesh. Girls who have been trafficked and rescued from Nagpur tend to originate from Madhya Pradesh. During the restoration process, a social worker works with the girls to create a restoration plan to make certain each girl’s immediate needs are met.

UNICEF is calling all governments and industries to join together with the goal of keeping children safe online by helping teachers and parents instruct children to use the internet safely and to bring awareness and education initiatives into the schools.

In 2020, Beginnings is working to open a farm-to-table restaurant that will provide income to sustain their safe home and give education to the survivors. Poverty often leaves women and children with no other choice but to sell themselves to feed their family—this restaurant equips survivors to provide financially for their families.

Compelled: To have a powerful irresistible effect or influence; driven. Every day, vulnerable women and children are compelled by lies, manipulation, and abuse and become victims of sexual slavery. But every day, we can be compelled by the love of Christ to do whatever we can to fight slavery, be their ally, and use our resources and freedom to make her justice, our burden.

We can’t wait to see her picture, to hear her story, to say her name. She’s a victim of sexual exploitation, but will soon be a rescued survivor. We don’t know who she is yet, but we know she deserves a life free from sexual slavery and has experienced more pain than many of us will ever have to. It costs $4,000 for our partner, Freedom Firm, to rescue one sex trafficking victim in Madhya Pradesh, India. Together, we can rescue one girl.

Resources for parents of elementary-age children. Talking to your children about exploitation and online safety can be a daunting task, but we’re here to help!

The thought of sitting down with your teen and talking about things like sexting, pornography, and their social media can seem overwhelming, daunting, and I’m sure the thought of ‘It would be easier to not even go there” has run through your mind.

Because of the lockdown in Uganda, food security in both poor urban and rural areas is becoming a big problem. Our partner has the proper contacts to be able to purchase and distribute food, even in these lockdown situations. Seven dollars can provide food for an individual in Uganda for an entire week. Will you donate $7 or more to help meet the immediate needs of our friends in Uganda?

As I began that run, I remembered that every 30 seconds, someone in the world is being trafficked. During that 5K run—60 victims. I wanted each step to be used as a voice for each victim and a new life of transformation and hope begin for them. What an incredible way to pray and advocate, to be alongside these girls and show love and support.

Nicole's trafficker was her older boyfriend. Because she loved him, it was easy for him to manipulate and exploit her—slowly isolating her from her family and using her for his own financial gain.

Priscilla ultimately decided to share her story hoping that once people had heard it they would be compelled to do something to help girls and women just like her. On April 11, YOU have the chance to help victims and survivors like Priscilla by joining us for the Run 4 Their Lives Lynchburg Virtual 5k!

There is a link between pornography and sex trafficking. The correlation is not hard to find, in fact, it’s pretty obvious. But in the current sex-driven culture, pornography is praised and promoted, and the majority of this world is blind to how it directly affects sex trafficking. There has been a spike in porn during the current coronavirus pandemic, and it’s important to understand the link to modern-day slavery.

This week, we got reports from our partner in Thailand, Beginnings Foundation, that because of COVID-19, hundreds of bars are shut down. What was once one of the most notorious red-light districts in the world, is almost completely dark and void of people. The street that was usually lined with thousands of girls waiting and dancing outside hundreds of bars, customers and gawkers shoulder to shoulder, is virtually empty.

Natasha was told she would be forced to work as an escort; she didn’t know what that was but quickly learned. Forced to service upwards of 100 clients a night who paid to rape her, Natasha was a victim of human trafficking in New York City.

Even while we face this pandemic, something none of us has ever experienced, and the future is full of unknowns, our mission remains the same. Freedom 4/24 is here to bring freedom, to bring justice to women and children who are being trafficked and exploited. Research indicates that trafficking can experience a boom in the wake of a disaster, an idea that remains consistent with the observed patterns of trafficking preying on vulnerability.

On April 11, 2020, Freedom 4/24 will still be hosting the Run 4 Their Lives 5k; however, we have moved this event to a virtual setting due to the COVID-19 guidelines recommended by the CDC.