These are uncertain times for everyone as we are seeing COVID-19’s ripple effect spreading across the world. While health and medical resources are the primary concern right now, further implications around the economy, travel, and daily activities and interactions remain unclear. Additionally, in the realm of Freedom 4/24’s work, both those who are victim to trafficking and exploitation AND those fighting against this modern-day slavery are vulnerable to secondary and tertiary impact from COVID-19.
While we don’t understand the full extent of the Coronavirus pandemic, here is a glimpse of what Freedom 4/24 and its partners are seeing so far:
Freedom Firm | India
As state after state within India has been declaring lockdown and limiting travel, the staff of Freedom Firm, investigators, liaison officers, and social workers, are focused on researching and networking remotely, unable to work directly in the field.
Beginnings Foundation | Thailand
In Thailand, Beginnings Foundation reports the amazing news that bars in the red light district are ghost towns and while this may provide the girls with a break from the sex trade, the need for money and employment to provide for their families is still there. With no government bailout options or food relief programs, vulnerability is high but most of the women that Beginnings Foundation staff attempt to connect with are too preoccupied with the virus to learn more about what is being offered.
Christine’s House | Uganda
School, large gatherings, and church meetings in Uganda are banned so our partner, Sports Outreach and Christine’s House, is experiencing similar side effects of quarantine and isolation as they hold cell groups and home church strategies plus intercessory prayer and fasting as a way forward. One of their biggest concerns is how to provide much-needed education about the Coronavirus in a limited amount of time to rural communities that lack basic health necessities. Thankfully, Christine’s House has accepted the next group of girls amid the turmoil around COVID-19. The girls will receive additional COVID-19 prevention education, hold house church, and practice quarantine during this time.
Run 4 Their Lives 5k’s
In accordance with the CDC, Freedom 4/24 has canceled Run 4 Their Lives Lynchburg 5K (instead, implementing a virtual event) and has postponed Run 4 Their Lives Charlotte (next steps TBD). These two events collectively aimed to engage with 775 participants and raise $50,100 toward fulfilling our mission of bringing freedom and justice to human trafficking and exploitation victims.
Domestic Partners | Awareness & Education | Outreach Trips
Domestically, all of our partners are experiencing cancellations of trainings, events, meetings, outreach trips, and development, decreasing the ability to fundraise or advance programming. With schools closed, Freedom 4/24 has paused implementation of its human trafficking prevention program, the Awareness & Education Initiative, affecting roughly 150 kids and 25-50 parents and educators. The Freedom 4/24 domestic partner trip to West Virginia to serve Zera House through construction projects has been postponed. Speaking engagements, community events, and prevention education opportunities have been put on hold without clear plans for rescheduling. The charitable giving we depend on for viability is already slowing, a trend we expect to continue over the next few months. Furthermore, a decline in donations limits our abilities to provide grants to our partners.
This we know: God is in Control
We praise God that the streets in the red-light districts of Thailand and India are empty, while we cry out for His provision of alternative employment opportunities. We ask God to protect businesses that provide jobs to trafficking survivors and to sustain them during this economic turmoil. Though we pray the quarantine is keeping johns and customers inside who are normally purchasing sex, we pray for those individuals who are still being victimized, potentially even more so due to isolation from being quarantined. As the economy becomes more unstable both here in the United States and around the world, predators and traffickers will attempt to recruit trafficking victims through job offers that appear authentic. We beg God to intervene and to provide paths to freedom for these individuals.
Even while we face this pandemic, something none of us has ever experienced, and the future is full of unknowns, our mission remains the same. Freedom 4/24 is here to bring freedom, to bring justice to women and children who are being trafficked and exploited. Research indicates that trafficking can experience a boom in the wake of a disaster, an idea that remains consistent with the observed patterns of trafficking preying on vulnerability (C. Worsnop, 2019). We expect that COVID-19 will be no different, that predators will take advantage of those impacted negatively by this virus. Freedom 4/24 is committed to being a voice for these individuals, for continuing to press on in our mission.
We don’t know what the future holds but we will do our best to adapt, to create new strategies, to hold virtual events, to educate, to advocate for our partners, all while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, our healer, and Savior. So, this is our prayer in this time:
“The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26