On Monday, February 13, Women of Vision NYC successfully launched its first speaker series with a rousing presentation and call to action to fight human trafficking. Faith Huckel, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Restore NYC, opened the program by detailing the ways in which human trafficking occurs on an international and local level. Faith emphasized that although human trafficking takes varying forms, the issue is fundamentally rooted in the poverty and exploitation of vulnerable individuals. Focusing on Restore’s work in New York City, Faith demonstrated how her organization is combating this injustice by providing holistic after-care services to foreign-born survivors of sex trafficking and empowering them to transform their lives.
Amy Olson, NYC Co-Chair, followed with a vivid account of Women of Vision’s recent Vision Trip to Bangladesh, where the group worked with World Vision to serve local children and families. Through poignant images and stories, Amy highlighted risk factors for the trafficking of Bangladeshi women and children as well as the enormous opportunity to make an impact in the community. Additionally, Rhodora Soh, NYC Child Sponsorship Chair, passionately conveyed the benefits of sponsorship, which improves the lives of not only sponsored children, but their siblings and families as well.
Katherin Park, NYC Advocacy Chair, facilitated the final segment of the evening by demonstrating steps individuals can take to advocate for women and children at risk. With everyone in the room collectively chiming in their agreement, Katherin called a New York State senator to advocate for ratifying the national anti-trafficking bill, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). Lastly, letters supporting the TVPRA were also provided for individuals to sign. Women of Vision NYC looks forward to presenting many of these letters to Congressman during the upcoming national conference in Washington D.C.
If you want to know more about how you can make a difference on this issue, please visit our TAKE ACTION page.
We are delighted by the overwhelming interest for our first speaker event and are grateful to everyone who participated. We look forward to revisiting this topic and other issues affecting women and children at future events. To stay informed of our upcoming events, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter click here.
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