Fight to end child trafficking!

On Saturday 14th June, I was invited to a charity event by one of the charities that I support Love146. They staged a high tea and presentation in the West End of London. Love146 supports Anti-Human Trafficking internationally.

There has been much media focus on the subject recently and positive steps have been taken certainly in the UK to increase security at airports, ports, and train stations to protect innocent children from sexual crimes and trafficking. This is a subject that I feel incredibly passionate about and I support the charity in their projects and fundraising and hope you will join me.

In 2002, the co-founders of Love146 travelled to Southeast Asia on an exploratory trip to decide how they could serve in the fight against child sex trafficking. In one experience, a couple of their co-founders were taken undercover with investigators to a brothel where they saw children being sold for sex.

These children were vacant, shells of what a child should be. There was no light in their eyes, no life left. These children…raped each night… seven, ten, fifteen times every night. They were so young. Thirteen, eleven… it was hard to tell. Sorrow covered their faces with nothingness. Except one girl who wore the number 146. She was looking beyond the glass. She was staring at the founders with a piercing gaze. There was still fighting left in her eyes.…

The experience left the team with emotions that broke them. Because they went in as part of an ongoing, undercover investigation on the particular brothel, they were unable to immediately respond.

But they took her number so that we could learn and they could remember why this all started. It is a number that was pinned to that one girl but represents the millions enslaved.

Four years ago, Love146 UK recognised the need for a presence in Europe and have since opened an office in the UK with a vision to offer Survivor Care for trafficked and exploited children and young people. There are four stages strategically covered to make sure the highest quality of care and awareness is delivered:

• Identification
• Prevention
• Survivor Care
• Action

This June, Love146 Europe hosted a Tea Party event in London parallel to supporter hosted tea parties across the UK to raise awareness and share the news of the first home called “Safe Accommodation” due to open in September 2014. They also introduced the European team who are clearly passionate and active abolitionist, but also highly skilled and qualified in their individual fields.

Emotionally impacting, the event opened with a dance piece arranged by the professional dance group ‘Rebirth’ portraying a scene from a brothel with young girls being sold – it mirrored the story of how Love146 was birthed and it brought the audience right to the core of what this charitable organisation is fighting to eradicate.

In 2012, the UK Human Trafficking Centre identified 549 children who were potential victims of human trafficking.  Sixty% of trafficked children go missing from local authority care. Nearly a third that go missing are never found again.

Set up cost for each new ‘Safe Accommodation’ is £77,105 and Love146 Europe depends on financial support from people, community groups, corporate’s, and grants/trusts. They need people us.

Please find more information on their website with options to take action, and  how to donate.

The video shows you the harsh reality and has brief graphic moments.

Their registered address is Love146, PO Box 883, Altrincham. WA15 5ND, United Kingdom

You can contact them by email: info@love146.org.uk

For tax purposes, their Registered Charity number is 1144930

Please join me in this fight to keep children safe!