“Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.” — William Wilberforce
I want to tell you a story that really changed my life.
This might seem dramatic but it’s become, but it has become the reason I’ve been put on this earth: to help end modern day human slavery.
Most people don’t realize there’s actually 20 to 40 million human slaves today.
That’s about 3x the population of greater Los Angeles.
Every time I think about that, it’s absolutely unbelievable and heartbreaking at the same time.
Unfortunately, this will continue to exist and grow because people don’t know or don’t act.
We don’t care enough to actually do something about it.
So, I want to talk today about how this cause transformed my life and became my ‘why’.
1. Gail from North Africa
I was at an event with a speaker named Christine Kane.
She talks all over the world about human trafficking.
They do rescue operations.
She says when people are being rescued, they don’t realize they’re being rescued.
They don’t know if this person is also a trafficker.
There’s a lot of trauma.
They rescued one teenage girl in Greece, originally from North Africa
In this story, we’ll call her Gail.
Gail started warming up and telling her story.
She said she was one of fifty girls from North Africa.
Some people came to her village and said they would get them a job in Europe.
At the time, Gail and the others thought that sounded great.
Instead of putting them on a nice boat, they put everyone in a shipping container.
Shipping containers are usually air tight, but on the way over there was an air filtration system to allow breathing inside the container.
Somehow on the way over, the system malfunctioned and 35 of the 50 girls died due to suffocation. Terrible… I know!
Gail is one of those 15 that survived.
When victims arrive at their destination, they’re sent to different places.
This girl was among a few sent to Greece.
After they got there, they would be sexually assaulted up to 10 times per day to stop them fighting back.
They would then send them to the streets to work.
Having a daughter myself, this is particularly heartbreaking for me.
When Gail was being rescued, she said to Christine: “Why didn’t you come sooner?”
Christine replied, “We didn’t come sooner because we didn’t know you’re here. But now that we know there are girls like you, we’ll do everything we can to try to stop this.”
2. A Cause Worth Living and Dying For
After hearing Gail’s story and many stories like hers, something in me broke.
This is a cause worth living and dying for.
99% of human slaves today have no one out there looking for them.
We talk a lot about financial freedom.
It’s great to talk about freedom of time and freedom of travel.
I have both of those things.
But it’s really important to think about what is most important.
It’s important to have a ‘why’ – something that really centers you.
When you have that, it really allows you to know what you’re working towards.
Even as I share this, I’m sure something’s coming up for you.
Now I want to share this:
3. The Dressember Organization
My sister started the Dressember Organization.
The whole premise started with a fashion challenge.
Then, it became this big organization to try and create awareness for human trafficking.
They have raised over $16 million since them.
My sister is an amazing inspiration to me.
I’m on the board of this organization now.
The money they raise goes to awareness and rescues.
When these people are rescued, they often have no other skills.
They have to train them and help build new skills.
There’s a lot of trauma as well, so they also have to do some therapy with them.
A lot of our culture’s understanding of trafficking is simple awareness.
In our current culture, we have things like porn and strip clubs and prostitution.
There’s a lot of coercion involved in some of those places.
The more we talk about stuff like this, the more it can lose power.
We’ve raised millions for multifamily, but my goal this year is to raise $5,000 to help contribute to this cause.
This is a tax-deductible gift.
I encourage you to contribute yourself or find a cause you really believe in to support.
Now I want to hear from you!
What is your cause?
What is your ‘why’ for financial freedom?
Let us know in the comments!
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Disclaimer: I am not your investment advisor. This is for educational purposes only. I am not giving specific advice on what you can do. I am simply giving my opinions.
