Today, I would like to share how I started working with the Catholic Sisters in Malawi, a special group that is doing amazing work in raising awareness, training and supporting female human trafficking victims.
A year ago, I was invited to speak at the Catholic Women and Sisters Conference about human trafficking. A day before this appointment, I received a phone call from a social worker in Dedza seeking assistance for a pregnant 11-year-old girl who had just been rescued in Mozambique.
I took advantage of this conference to share the case of the 11-year-old girl and many other victims who needed urgent help.
As I shared and displayed pictures and videos of victims, the sisters were visibly moved; they offered prayers for the victims and my protection. The 11-year girl is now at one of the Catholic boarding schools with her baby, receiving the motherly love and much needed care.
The man who was implicated in the case of the 11-year-old girl shared how he and his peers’ recruited children and women under the guise of employment but later exploited and abused them as unpaid prostitutes, sex slaves and criminal gang members.
I learned how criminal networks operate to identify and target unsuspecting, vulnerable children through small scale local syndicates.
The partnership born from that conference has become another beacon of hope and a great milestone in the fight against human trafficking.
The Sisters group with support from Hilton Foundation, has trained over 700 ambassadors and 500 border security officers in addition to more than 15,000 people who have received education and awareness on human trafficking trough workshops and public rallies organized by the group and trained ambassadors. More than 200 young women recruited for labour export have been intercepted by the group, border security officers and community structures.
I am particularly delighted with the number of victims rescued from Arab countries whose lives have been transformed as they received capital to start businesses and moral support from the group.
The Catholic Sisters now operate under an organization registered in the name of Talitha Kum Network Malawi (TAKUNEMA).
This network receives guidance and leadership from the Association of Religious Institutes of Malawi (AWRIM).
The organization is committed to the loving service of God and his people and has a vision of a Malawi free from human trafficking and exploitation, with all individuals living in safety.
TAKUNEMA objectives include:
- To educate, promote advocacy and raise awareness on emerging human trafficking and modern slavery in Malawi and on a global scale among religious institutes and the public.
- To provide sustainable care and empowerment to human trafficking victims and survivors, which eventually brings physical, psychosocial, spiritual and economic healing.
- To build, promote and strengthen cooperation and collaboration against human trafficking among religious congregations and other networks at the local and international level.
- To advocate for policy changes and legal reforms at the national and international levels.
- To conduct research and data collection that explore the root causes, trends, and dynamics of slavery and human trafficking, continuously refining our efforts with the aim of adapting to evolving challenges.
While I am aware that numerous efforts have been made to fight against human trafficking, mine is a call for partnership with institutions, organizations and individuals like Catholic Sisters who do not wish to see another child become a victim of this crime.
I therefore encourage you to read and share the link to this book, “Human Trafficking Exposed” which exposes the horrors of human trafficking, in order to raise awareness and reach as many people as possible.
I have written this book on human trafficking as a tool to raise awareness and make information available to partners like the Catholic Sisters who may need to understand more about human trafficking and why it is an organized crime. The stories have similar patterns that include but are not limited to: the success with which I handled some of the cases, underground rescue missions and how some of the perpetrators were brought to book, successfully prosecuted and convicted.
Raising awareness of this sensitive topic empowers those at risk, offering clarity and understanding of how human trafficking happens, how to prevent it, what to do when it happens and how we can all help to reduce the number of cases.
