As many of you know, the fight against Human Trafficking has become a passion of mine and since my trip earlier this year to Thailand, I am committed to help wherever I can.  On November 4th, I am off to another part of the world to Kairos Village in Iquitos, an anti-trafficking initiative in the Amazon Region of Peru. It is a place of refuge, healing and renewal.  We are partnering with Help One Now a team that works in partnership with local authorities to provide the best care possible as young girls work toward healing and discovering new life. Kairos Village is meeting an essential need in Iquitos. The girls are guided through the work of recovery and restoration, allowing them to build a vision of hope for their future. While visiting Kairos Village our team will have the opportunity to connect with the leadership and staff, as well as government officials, working in rescue, care and recovery of trafficking survivors. In that time, we will be able to share your own valuable knowledge and experience in the area of trauma and trafficking, while learning from them as well. Learning from each-other in this work is key in addressing the multi-faceted global issue of trafficking.

Help One Now empowers local leaders through friendship and partnership. They work with leaders who are already working effectively in their respective communities. These leaders are friends and partners in the fight against extreme poverty. They are the greatest resource, and without them, sustainable change is impossible.

For this reason, Help One Now doesn't typically do “mission trips,” as they can distract from the work of locals to influence change in their own communities.

Instead, they will lead a limited number of Learning Journeys for committed, long-term supporters of Help One Now. On these Journeys, emphasis will be placed on connecting with the community, building lasting relationships with the local leaders, and brainstorming how you can unlock your human capital to partner together and support their work moving forward.

Goals

On a Learning Journey, the hope is our team will:

• meet and fall in love with our local leaders and the children they serve

• learn from their local leaders by hearing their stories and engaging in their communities. Doing this helps us, the visitors, understand the unique issues in different cultures and environments

• see the impact of Help One Now programs firsthand and gain a new understanding of how complex working in these communities can be

• Understand how it is possible for short-term missions and volunteer trips to unintentionally do more harm than good; but through deeper partnership, we can have an empowering effect on locals who are uniquely capable of bringing transformation to their own communities

• become advocates of the children, families, and communities that you experience when you return home! You are the Help One Now Family; we need you to run with these stories and partner with us to make a lasting impa