On February 2, faith leaders gathered in the U.S. capital to pray. What difference will it make? What is the role of prayer, worship, and faith in ending social problems that I care about, like extreme poverty and modern-day slavery?

U.S. President Obama, in his speech to the gathered assembly at the National Prayer Breakfast, called on faith leaders to tackle tough issues like human trafficking. A high-profile panel of experts on modern slavery later addressed best strategies for faith communities to fight this blight as they meet it in their own backyards.

My own human rights agency, Not For Sale, is convinced as well that people of faith have a unique, vital role to play beyond the ending of forced labor. It’s not enough to extract an individual from bondage. Once people are set free from a rug loom, a rice mill, a brothel, then what? If we do not shift our cultural values and generate new economic and political options, modern-day slavery will continue to thrive. In other words, we have to move upstream to identify the root problems for slavery and create effective solutions.

The seminar to address these issues at the Prayer Breakfast covered historic and contemporary dimensions of slavery. Eric Metaxas, a Wilberforce scholar, shared how a political leader can shape policies and values in a country. Department of Justice Attorney John Richmond built on this historical foundation and described the case he prosecuted in Chicago in late January that set a precedent for convicting human traffickers. Bob Goff and Christine Dolan relayed their frontline experiences in the dynamic that links court systems, governments and religious communities in the work of freedom for the most vulnerable. Because Not For Sale is implementing new models of social enterprise in areas of high human exploitation, I shared the role that communities of faith can play in generating economic solutions to the complex human rights issues of our day.

People of faith have this pathway to freedom wired into their DNA. People from every branch of faith worship and pray, daily reframing their worldview around the principles and values of a transcendent dimension. Their prayers do not accept the world the way it is, but for what it could be. In our churches, synagogues and mosques we teach that every individual is created in the image of God. That belief yields special attention for the vulnerable, the powerless, and the exploited. As the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

Last month in the Atlanta Dome, more than 40,000 Christian college students gathered for a special kind of revival: To make the love and justice of Jesus known wherever injustice reigns. They raised well over three million dollars to fight slavery internationally. They represent a new generation of religious devotees who disdain lip service to the cause of justice, but act, give, and live in radical obedience to a better way.

This month, on Sunday, February 26th, thousands of churches all over the world will celebrate Freedom Sunday. They will fast, pray and commit themselves to practical actions that will “set the captives free.” They do so because it is their heritage, their identity and their call.

One of the great Christian leaders of our time, John Stott, phrased it well: “It is exceedingly strange that any follower of Jesus Christ should ever have needed to ask whether social involvement was their concern. Spiritual disciplines, like prayer and worship, create space for God to come and create transformation. Once transformed, the follower of God works to transform the world.

Reposted from the CNN Freedom Project

It’s finally February and love is in the air! This Valentine’s Day, spread your love by purchasing ethically-made gifts to show your significant other that you really care.

Shopping ethically for even the most traditional of Valentine’s Day gifts might not be as hard as you think. The Not For Sale Store has carefully selected the most perfect gifts that your Valentine will treasure. Show them your love with our Freedom Scarves from India, Frees Slaves tee from Cambodia, or a pair of earrings from the Amazon.

At the Not For Sale Store, your purchase is your advocacy. When you give a gift from the store, you also give a gift of freedom for survivors of human trafficking by generating enterprise and employment and create new futures for survivors.  Every purchase you make is a direct action to end slavery.

Join others who have taken the pledge to purchase ethically on our Not For Sale Causes page to give gifts of freedom this February.

So remember, think before you buy, because the way to your loved one’s heart just may be through their conscience.

Click here to visit the Not For Sale Store and shop for gifts that support freedom this Valentine’s Day.

A number of anti-slavery organizations will join the President of the United States, Members of Congress, and other dignitaries at the 60th annual event.

Dr. Batstone will take to the stage to speak specifically about solutions to end modern-day slavery. Not For Sale has been recognized as the leading anti-trafficking organization that is solution-driven.

Started in 1953 and held on the first Thursday in February, the National Prayer Breakfast is an interfaith gathering, featuring speakers that focus on affirming commonly held religious values and putting aside political differences.

Notable dignitaries who have keynoted the event in past years include Mother Teresa, Bono, and Tony Blair.

The breakfast will be held in the Hilton’s International Ballroom and attended by 3,500 guests from more than 100 countries.

National Cable Satellite Corporation (C-SPAN) will provide coverage of the National Prayer Breakfast. To watch the breakfast live check the C-SPAN schedule for broadcast dates and times.

Free2Rock came to a hugely successful end yesterday, after hundreds of abolitionists showed their support for the new anti-slavery campaign.

Free2Rock saw Not For Sale partner with popular Christian rockers Tenth Avenue North to create a limited edition T-shirt to help fund the organization’s work to end modern day slavery worldwide.

Only available for just over two weeks, the T-shirts proved to be a huge hit and raised an impressive $11,400 for Not For Sale. The store set and met three different fund-raising goals over the course of the campaign and abolitionists even crashed the server as they rushed to purchase the T-shirt.

Campaign manager at Not For Sale Jamee Herbert said she is overwhelmed by the reaction to Free2Rock.

“Thank you so much to everyone who supported this fantastic campaign. We are so happy with how it turned out. We would also like to say a huge thanks to Tenth Avenue North for pioneering this incredible new program. They succeeded in setting the bar of engagement very high.

“Free2Rock will be a monthly campaign and we are really excited about some of the incredible artists who will be partnering with us over the coming months as we continue to fight slavery worldwide. We hope people will look forward to the campaign each month.”

Tenth Avenue North also expressed their delight with the success of the campaign, saying, “We’re so stoked that not only were we able to meet our goal three times, but that our friends and fans had the biggest role in making that possible.  It goes to show that the church is waking up and becoming more aware of the world’s needs.”

All the proceeds from the $24 T-shirts, emblazoned with lanterns and windows representing those in forced sex slavery in Amsterdam’s red light district, will go to help Not For Sale fight slavery in Amsterdam and around the world.

All Free2Rock t-shirts are made and printed in El Salvador, where Not For Sale is working with a socially orientated factory to empower single mothers and to give jobs to people at risk to trafficking.

The high profile Daily Muse feature, coinciding with the end of Human Trafficking Prevention Month, mirrors Not For Sale’s longtime commitment to inspire and encourage people to take action, and thus recognizes that awareness is simply not enough if we are to end this global problem in our lifetime.

Forbes pays special attention to Not For Sale’s hands-on Fellowship Program, that sees a group of passionate individuals play a integral part in the organization’s anti-slavery work for six months.

Read the full article on Forbes…

The organization recently confirmed that the first stage of development of its organic farming enterprise has been completed.

Once in operation, the enterprise will provide rehabilitation, job training, marketing and sales skills, and employment to survivors of human trafficking and people vulnerable to human trafficking.

Not For Sale believes alternative opportunities such as this enterprise will greatly reduce the likelihood of people falling into the hands of traffickers because of their desperation to escape from poverty.

When survivors escape their traffickers, they often remain victims of exploitation because they have no alternative opportunities to support themselves.  The farming enterprise will offer an alternative option for girls like Violeta, eager to break the cycle.

The young single mother is a just one of the Romanian girls who was trafficked abroad and forced by a pimp to work in prostitution. In exchange for working, her pimp would provide her with baby food for her young child.

After a year of sexual exploitation abroad, Violeta was able to escape her pimp with the help of a client. She returned to Romania and was placed in a Social Care Centre. Violeta’s situation was brought to the attention of Not For Sale Romania, as she was looking for assistance on her return to Romania.

Violeta decided to participate in the Not For Sale reintegration program. Her son was enrolled in kindergarten, and Violeta began her journey towards healing.

The farming enterprise will directly support and provide a brighter future for survivors like Violeta and her child in the future.

Click here to learn more about Not For Sale’s anti-slavery work in Romania.

These communities often fall victim to traffickers as they desperately search for opportunities for better futures for themselves and their families. Not for Sale is working in close collaboration with the local Association of Native Communities to prioritize ventures that will aid these communities.

The organization is initiating cross-sector collaborations, intentionally empowering families through education and dignified employment, and creating healthy value-chains to the West. These social ventures will allow Not For Sale to stop human trafficking before it occurs while empowering the native people of the Amazon.

Recently Not For Sale invested in a boat that will assist these communities. Operated by the Association of Native Communities, the boat is a vital asset for these communities, who no longer need to depend on unreliable or expensive third parties to transport them and their produce to markets. This will enable them to develop higher equity partnerships in supply chains.

Speaking about how the futures of these communities will continue to improve, Sam Baker, Director of Business Development at Not For Sale, said, “Not For Sale will work with these communities to develop sustainable livelihoods by investing funds into a healthy social return on investment, leveraging the natural resources of the region while protecting the Peruvian Amazon and its people. A portion of these funds will be reinvested back into Not For Sale’s aftercare and intervention work in the region, ultimately generating a self-sustaining enterprise.

“Not For Sale believes that if we move ‘upstream’ before the traffickers to these poor and marginalized communities, initiating cross-sector collaborations that intentionally empower families through education and dignified employment, we can stop human trafficking at its source and create a model to be replicated across the globe.”

Click here to learn more about Not For Sale’s anti-slavery work in Peru.

Just days after securing a new property for a crisis centre in Cape Town, funded by donations raised at Passion 2012, the organization assisted in the repatriation of a female survivor back to her native country.

Twenty-year-old Kim was trafficked from China to Johannesburg, where she was forced to work in a brothel.
In the summer of 2011, she managed to escape and ended up in Cape Town. Local police found her wandering the streets in a haze and presumed she had been drugged.

She was brought to a safe house and police contacted Not For Sale South Africa in a bid to help Kim receive the best support available.

For some time Kim felt unable to speak, and although she eventually opened up about her circumstances, some of the information surrounding her life remains unknown.

Not For Sale South Africa’s Coordinator, Christina Bacino, believes her extreme introversion was a direct result of the trauma she endured at the brothel. However, as time went on and she received care from the safe house staff, it seemed she slowly gained more emotional stability.

During her time at Not For Sale’s partner shelter, the young survivor bonded with another survivor in a similar situation. This new friendship eventually helped Kim speak up about how she had been trafficked from China to work in a brothel.

Following months of intensive support and care, Kim recently felt ready to return to China.

Speaking about her departure, NFS South African Coordinator Christina Bacino said: “This week I was able to bring one of our girls to the airport and see her off. As we came to the security line and I could go no further, I had mixed emotions. I was so happy to see her freedom and independence restored, but also sad to have to let go and say goodbye. As she disappeared beyond security and I turned to walk away, I thought about how lucky I am to be in the business of setting people free. When this job is rewarding, it is extremely rewarding.”

Not For Sale believes its new crisis centre, due to open later this year, will better assist survivors like Kim by providing a safe place for immediate emergency care.

The organization operates a small farmhouse and shelter in Timisoara, in western Romania.

Eager to utilize these existing resources, attendees at the Montara Circle Amsterdam in September helped Not For Sale to develop an idea to expand this farm into a sustainable organic business that would provide rehabilitation, job training, marketing and sales skills, and employment for survivors and people living in at-risk areas nearby.

Ronald van Zetten, CEO of retail giant HEMA, with more than 550 stores in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France, has committed to evaluate the organic products for distribution through their stores.

The profits will go back to the workers and the farm, supporting not only the survivors but also the vulnerable communities nearby.

The organization hired an architect to oversee the first phase of construction. As it is winter, the team has focused on preparing the site for development. The agricultural land has been drained and foundations are being dug for two additional greenhouses.

Meanwhile, the existing greenhouses have been upgraded and new foils have been installed. A bulk delivery of fruit and vegetable seeds has also been received.

The farm and center will eventually accommodate fifty people, who will all have the opportunity to receive professional training on agriculture and organic farming.

Not For Sale’s business development team is currently in Romania exploring opportunities to scale the enterprise further and supply the organic produce to retailers.

All of the funds used to complete phase one of the project were raised at the Montara Circle Amsterdam.

Not For Sale has several reasons for developing this enterprise in Romania. Romanian law prohibits all forms of human trafficking, but the country’s geographic location — a crossroads between East and West – makes it a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking.

Children as young as twelve are trafficked into Romania from destinations as far-reaching as Honduras, Afghanistan, the Congo, and China. Once they reach Romania, many of these victims are assigned for passage into Western Europe and beyond.

Today’s criminal trafficking networks are more extensive than ever before. An estimated twelve percent of all migrant sex workers in Europe are from Romania, believed to be one of the largest source of forced sex workers on the continent.

Not For Sale, in partnership with Tenth Avenue North, has extended this month’s Free2Rock campaign until Monday, January 30th due to popular demand.

Launched earlier this month, Free2Rock sees a different band or celebrity join forces with Not For Sale for two weeks each month and collaborate to design an exclusive Free2Rock T-shirt.

Popular Christian rock band Tenth Avenue North were the first group to partner with Not For Sale on the project.

The debut limited edition T-shirt campaign will continue for an additional five days to compensate for the major server issues caused by the huge level of demand and support for the campaign. More than 10,000 people attempted to purchase the group’s T-shirt at Not For Sale Store’s website in a period of just four hours on the first day of the campaign alone.

Speaking about the surprise extension of Free2Rock, Jamee Herbert, Campaign Manager at Not For Sale, said: “Not For Sale supporters and Tenth Avenue North fans have been so fantastic they actually crashed our servers on the first day of the campaign! After ramping up our website, we have extended the campaign to give everyone an opportunity to make a difference through Free2Rock.”

After meeting their first two goals, Tenth Avenue North hopes their T-shirts will help raise $10,000 for Not For Sale by the end of their campaign. Their T-shirts, emblazoned with lanterns and windows representing those in forced sex slavery in Amsterdam’s red light district, are only available until next Monday, January 30th at noon Pacific.

All proceeds from every shirt will go to help Not For Sale fight slavery in Amsterdam and around the world. All Free2Rock t-shirts are made and printed in El Salvador, where Not For Sale is working with a socially-orientated factory to empower single mothers and to give jobs to people at risk to trafficking.

Click here to get your Free2Rock T-shirt.