Child Trafficking Articles
Bruised Reeds….Special in the Sight of God
April 22, 2013 | 
Author There is a scripture that says “A bruised reed, I will not despise.” I always thought that was beautiful, poetic and truly expressed the compassion of God. It felt very personal to me, because I came to the Lord many years ago with damaged emotions and a wounded heart. Now I know that all of us are bruised reeds in one way or another. It is impossible to navigate this world without battle scars. Fortunately He is Jehovah Rapha, the God that heals.
For some of us, our wounds are more apparent than others. Children are vulnerable and deserve protection from a world that is often full of peril and danger. Unfortunately that shield of protection is sometimes lacking, and the results can be unspeakable horror for the innocent, who are so very precious in the sight of God. Such is the case with the children at ZOE. I don’t know the personal history of each one of them, but I know they would not be in the ZOE home if they had not been in imminent danger. As a mother of four grown children and grandmother of three, how could I turn away from the cries of children who are in both emotional and physical pain? Oh, I know…we would lose our minds if we lingered on these thoughts constantly. The bible tells us to fix our mind on things that are pure and lovely, and yet to deny the existence of dark forces is to live outside the realm of reality and worse convince ourselves that we have no obligation to alleviate suffering.
I always wanted to be a part of healing a suffering world. I’ve known about sex trafficking for years, but I never quite knew what to do about it. It seemed so huge, so daunting, and it is, but our God is larger still. We may not be able to fix everything that ails the world, but we can all do something as God directs our paths. One little fire fly might not make much of a difference, but a multitude can light up the sky.
I learned about ZOE when I was attending the Sanctuary Church in Santa Clarita. It sounded like an amazing organization. I contacted them and learned about child sponsorship. It seemed like an ideal situation for me. I live in Los Angeles now and no longer attend the Sanctuary. In fact, I recently purchased a home out here. This house took a lot of renovation, and I had always wanted hardwood floors. I don’t think God has anything against us living in a pleasant environment, but as I was spending money on various upgrades, I thought “If I can spend money on renovations purely for aesthetic purposes, surely I can do something for a child who might otherwise be locked into a hopeless situation.” I thought of my own children, three of them girls, and imagined them as children in that type of situation.” Sponsoring a child was a no-brainer. I am grateful to be part of the ZOE family!
Written by ZOE Supporter Barbara Byrd
Posted in 
7-Eleven
As I drove around doing errands the other day, my mind wandered from thought to thought. My to-do lists. What to cook for dinner. Things to remember.
And then I saw it. Another one. A new one, which had just been built.
A brand spanking new … 7- ELEVEN store.
My 5-year-old daughter and my husband like to play this game in the car called “7-Eleven”. It’s basically just spot the 7-Eleven store and the person who spots the most during the trip is the winner or the game can be carried on from one trip to another, depending on what they decide {sigh}. It drives me crazy because I might be mid-sentence, saying something really important {a-hem} when all of a sudden “7-Eleven!” erupts, followed by lots of excitable screaming and yelling about who’s winning and who saw it first … yadda-yadda … hence, my important sentence gets lost.
You get the picture. But, in case you’re wondering how I could let this simple game drive me crazy, I just want to point out that in Thailand, there are over six thousand 7-Eleven stores!
Yep! We pass at least 10 just on the way to drop my younger two children at their preschool. You might understand now how it might, kind-of, just a little bit, get annoying after a while {nod here}.
And then my thoughts trail away to other things. Things I’ve been reading lately. Funnily enough a recent article from Family Education talks about what to expect in the second grade, and helping your child aged 7-11 to successfully face challenges that the school year may bring. My eldest is turning 7 later this year but I am already trying to think ahead and be prepared (as much as possible) in relation to the social and emotional issues that this age group generally face. And then my mind races once more, this time to the ‘other’ kids in this age group, the ones who don’t have a mom or dad reading up on all the latest educational advice. Whose moms or dads never had the chance to learn to read. Whose parents are no longer alive. Whose parents, for whatever reason, couldn’t protect them. This is the group we came here to help: the orphans and the little ones who cannot fight for themselves. And while I sit in my car noticing the 6001st 7-Eleven to be built, I think of the many little 7-11 year olds who still need rescuing.
At ZOE Children’s Homes we currently have around twenty children who fall into this age group who have been rescued and are now safe in the care of a new family. [There are also many children who are both younger and older than this].
The team at ZOE not only works hard to prevent child trafficking from occurring, but we will intervene when a child is in danger of being sold or has been sold into prostitution or slavery.
But it doesn’t finish there, we commit to caring for these children from then on.
Did you know that there are more than 39,000 7-ELEVEN outlets worldwide? 
You see them too.
As you drive home from work.
As you race to pick up your kids from school.
As you rush to that meeting.
As you dash out to go to the gym.
On your way to church.
But what can you possibly do? Right? Well here’s a really easy thing.
Every time you see a 7-Eleven store, let it remind you about what you have just read.
I’m not going to give you a bunch of statistics to remember. If there is one child who has been trafficked, it’s one too many.
You’re valuable to us!
You have the potential to share what ZOE is doing with an audience that we cannot reach – your friends, family, work colleagues, sports team, mothers’ group, church, school and neighborhood.
You can create awareness about the atrocities of human trafficking, child trafficking and modern day slavery.
You can address these issues through your Facebook page, your blog, your local newspapers or any other link to mass media that you have.
If you’ve been touched by the work going on at ZOE or if you’ve seen or read or heard or experienced something that affected you, then go on and share THIS with others.
Will you?
Slavery No More!
We were very honored to be a part of a recent conference in Los Angeles, CA that focused on bringing awareness to human trafficking called “Slavery No More.” This day was filled with amazing speakers who shared their expert knowledge on the issue of human traffickng as well as organizations who are in the fight to stop trafficking. There is so much information about this topic out there that if we are all able to learn to be the eyes and ears in our society, lives can be saved and tranformed.
Marji Iacovetti, part of our USA ZOE staff member introduces Betsy Meenk, ZOE's Regional Director
The following is a ZOE supporters insight on what he gained from this conference.
On my recent visit to the “Slavery NO More” conference at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church, I certainly encountered more than I expected. I got to listen to a few speakers and got more of a background to the worlds sex and drug trafficking. I learned that 40% to 50% of those trafficked are children just here in Los Angeles. And it’s incredibly worse in other countries such as Thailand and India! I learned also about Santa Muerte being much more than just a Spanish Grim reaper as I thought. Mexican traffickers dedicate entire rooms to worship idols such as the Santa Muerte to protect them from authorities and other obstacles. I got to opportunity to meet a number of people attending and talk about their experience with missionary work in India, Mexico, and here in LA. Overall It was a overwhelming experience of testimonies, information, and Instruction, on how the world of Prostitution and Slavery can come to a stop in our generation. My most personal experience was when I talked With one of my friends who already went to Thailand on a short term trip, and refused to tell me any tips or anything about it. It surprised me and I asked why? It is going to be my own Life Changer, my own experience, an overwhelming sight. And I am going to have to see it all first hand on the front lines against child sex slavery. Period. By Jeremiah Bergman
You Have to See It To Understand It. By Pam Noritake
The Evergreen SGV Team
As short term teams, we blow in, blow up and blow out…but to see what breaks God’s heart will stay with us for a lifetime. Our desire is to share this “burden” with you our family, friends and supporters so we can understand more of who He is and why we’re here.
Last night as we were adjusting to our jet-lag, we saw a child on the streets who seemed to have fallen victim of a begging ring where the child was drugged until she was unconscious. As this child is lying on her “mom’s” lap, the woman was actively asking for money and portraying herself as being homeless. As we walked passed them and rounded the corner to where we were staying, we saw a little boy with his sibling also on the streets with their mother. This second scene was different. This truly homeless mom was taking care of her children and not asking for money. The poor and vulnerable have a real need here in Thailand and yet there are those who will use this need to fulfill their own greed.
Seeing what breaks God’s heart first hand gives us such a better understanding how to fight human trafficking. He commands us in Matthew 12:29 to “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.” We want to help those who have fallen victim to human trafficking so that they may find rest in Jesus. This fight is vast and dangerous…being here, seeing with our own eyes can be overwhelming. This “burden” is not impossible with God. He promises in the same breath in the following verse: “for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Our team is here to do all we can that is humanly possible and then God will do what is impossible!
Pam Noritake.
Evergreen SGV
Child-Begging Ring: Snapshot
Not only does ZOE combat child trafficking by rescuing children before and after they are sold into commercial and sexual exploitation, but we also combat another heinous form of trafficking and child exploitation
Did you know that begging is a widespread problem in Thailand?
Begging rings are extremely lucrative for the ringleaders. The average college graduate in Thailand earns between 10,000 and 15,000 baht a month (US$335 to $500). A professional beggar can earn between 500 and 1,000 baht per night.
However a beggar with a baby will always bring in more. A very conservative estimate is that a beggar with baby going out every other night would bring in 10,000 baht per month. A begging ring with 10 beggar-baby teams would easily “earn” 100,000 baht ($3,350) a month for the ringleader.
With minimum expenses — low rent for a 2-bedroom shack housing 20 or 30 people, rice and vegetables — the ringleaders are living like kings. And begging rings have been known to have up to 40 or more beggars going out nightly.
When the children are old enough (4 or 5), they are sent out to beg directly. They are given nightly quotas and dare not come back until they’ve met their quota. Because the collecting is better after dark in the bar areas, the children are often on the streets until 3 or 4 a.m. to meet their quotas.
Suffice it to say they do not go to school during the day. If they fail to meet their quota they are beaten or otherwise abused. In addition, one study has indicated that almost 9 out of 10 children who work in begging rings will eventually fall victim to sexual exploitation and abuse.
As for the ringleaders themselves, prosecuting them is more challenging as they are seldom caught. The leaders have so conditioned their “family” of beggars through fear, intimidation, and abuse, that the beggars, when arrested, will not reveal the location of their leaders. Prosecuting the leaders is one of the challenges facing law enforcement.
