Painting with Light

At the beginning of the month, our team split into smaller groups, based on the areas of ministry in which we wanted to be involved. My group has been focusing on raising awareness about human trafficking, which is a huge issue in South Africa and is becoming an even bigger one because of the 2010 World Cup. We have spent numerous hours researching, talking to organizations that deal with trafficking, hanging awareness posters around the city, and talking to people to raise awareness. As we have delved deeper into this issue, it has been heartbreaking to see the dark reality of trafficking in this country...

• Most human trafficking is done for the purpose of sexual exploitation
• 27 million people have been victims of human trafficking
• Most trafficking victims are girls between 5 to 15 years of age
• 1.2 million children are trafficked annually: 1/2 of those children are African
• Trafficking is a $33.9 billion industry
• The U.S. State Department estimates that 100,000 people will be trafficked into South Africa for the 2010 World Cup
• Between 28,000 to 30,000 children are currently being prostituted in South Africa: 1/2 of these children are younger than 14
• Children as young as four are prostituted

I cannot look at these numbers as just statistics; each number has a face, a name, a life.  Not a single one goes unnoticed by the Creator. "Slavery" is often talked of as a thing of the past, but there is more slavery in the world today than at any other point in history. I wonder, in our modern world that boasts of freedom and equality, how has this been allowed to happen?