Today, thirty million people are enslaved throughout the world, forced into human sex trafficking and other types of forced slave labor. In comparison, many notable countries—including Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Venezuela, and Sudan—do not even have populations over thirty million people. More slaves exist now than at any other point in history. The goal of the Not For Sale club at Jesuit College Prep is to create awareness toward this global slavery establishment, with the goal of ultimately abolishing it.
For information on the national Not For Sale Campaign, visit: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
From February 20th to the 29th, the Not For Sale club held a donation drive in order to collect everyday necessities—such as Q-tips, towels, underwear, bed sheets, tweezers, etc.—for the Mosaic House, a place where formerly enslaved people can live until they are able to get back on their feet and support themselves. Although there is not an exact number for all the items collected in the donation drive, Connor Fox ’13, a member of the Not For Sale Club, said, “I think the drive was very successful. We definitely completed our goal of receiving enough materials for the people of the Mosaic Shelter.” Club president Will Wood ’13 agreed with Fox, adding, “It is extremely important for people to get involved and help out at the Mosaic House because the victims who stay there could use all the extra help possible to gain back their lives.”
To find out ways to help out at the Mosaic house, visit: http://www.mosaicservices.org/
Many people would most likely be surprised to find out that there are between 14,500-17,500 slaves brought over to the U.S. each year, according to the U.S. government. Ms. Katherine Guinn, the club moderator, says, “It is easy to ignore the fact that there are more slaves now than at any other time in history because modern slaves do not work openly on a plantation; rather, because of the illegal nature of the establishment, they are pushed underground, out of view and secluded from society.” She also added that because of the oppressed and hidden nature of modern slavery, “it is easy to pretend that it does not exist when we are not faced with this horror.”
The Not For Sale club also helps raise awareness for slavery through other activities, too. For instance, they have screened the documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate,” which shows the cruel working conditions of cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast as well as how people are trafficked to work there. The club also makes regular trips to the Mosaic House in order to help out. Will Brown ’13 said, “We took one of the trips at Christmas time where we handed out gifts to the kids. Seeing the smiles on their faces over such basic gifts showed us how day-to-day they were living.” On another trip, Jack Brewer ’13 said, “We grilled food and played with the kids. You could see how just serving one meal to the refugees was very helpful to the staff at the Mosaic House.”
In the future, the Not For Sale club is looking to help out at the Run for Human Rights (March24) and do several more trips to the Mosaic House, specifically around Easter. If you are interested in joining, please contact either Ms. Guinn or Will Wood, or join their page on Facebook.
Not For Sale Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/288279337862912/
