Human trafficking- the act of “buying” and selling people for sexual or commercial exploitation- nets a global profit of about 31 billion dollars per year. Among the groups that tries to tackle this issue are Jesuit’s own Not for Sale Club, which actively promotes anti-human trafficking in the community, and the YACHT (Young Adult Curriculum Against Human Trafficking) initiative, consisting of Hockaday and Jesuit students who helped to develop a national high school curriculum for human trafficking.
After helping to create the curriculum and a petition for victims of modern-day slavery, a few students from the YACHT initiative- Paden Gatlin ’13, Andrew Frank ’13, and President of the Not for Sale Club, Will Wood ’13, along with moderator Mrs. Guinn, went to Washington D.C. in early January to further promote their cause by having the petition signed by members of the Department of Education and the Franklin Douglass Family Foundation.
“Human trafficking is an embarrassing crime to still have persisted in America considering how far we have come since the legal abolishment of slavery. Despite every great accomplishment we have had, not all men and women are living freely,” explained Wood.
In D.C., the group also received the unique opportunity to tour the FBI building where they were fortunate enough to meet the FBI director of human sex trafficking. “The director said that their biggest obstacle is online sex trafficking. People advertise about the victims via the internet. They also use code words to symbolize if someone is a minor,” said Mrs. Guinn.
The highlight of the event, however, was the signing ceremony for the FDFF-sponsored “New Proclamation of Freedom” for victims of modern human trafficking. During this two hour event held at Edmund Burke High School in Washington D.C. all the students had the honor of meeting great grand-daughter of Booker T. Washington, Mrs. Nettie Washington Douglass, the co-founders of the FDFF, Mssrs. Robert Benz and Ken Morris, as well as Director of the Office of Safe and Healthy Students at the U.S. Department of Education, Mr. David Esquith.
Will Wood and Ms. Guinn had the opportunity to speak in front of the audience about their efforts; afterwards, everyone in attendance signed the proclamation.
All the students received Certificates of Recognition from the FDFF for their dedication.
Overall, Mrs. Guinn believed that the trip left her “encouraged because there are more organizations that are fighting human trafficking
than [she] thought.” Guinn expressed surprise that the Department of Education had a division for human trafficking— something that made Wood “enthused.”
Once all the events had concluded, the Not for Sale club and members of the YACHT initiative wasted no time getting right back to work. For one, the curriculum will likely be debuting in the New York City public school system in the near future.
Furthermore, the club will be running a donation drive in March that will be paired up with a prayer service and several service opportunities.
Will Wood would like to encourage people to join the club and fight against this world-wide atrocity. Since most of the clubs current members are seniors, Not for Sale and YACHT are looking to recruit eager underclassmen willing to contribute to this growing movement. Contact Will Wood ([email protected]) or Mrs. Guinn ([email protected]) to get involved.
