Immigrants and overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are vital to the Philippine economy. It’s estimated of the 109 million people residing in the Philippines, 1.77 million Filipinos are OFWs. Despite their important role in the Philippine economy, many of these seasonal...
On June 13, 2022, Free the Slaves joined 20 civil society organizations, survivors, and academics in urging the G7 to adopt new measures in ensuring forced labor is eradicated from the global supply chain. The leaders of these prosperous countries have the resources...
Last year Free The Slaves joined HopeBox, an NGO based in Vietnam, to serve survivors of domestic abuse and slavery. While working in the city of Hanoi, Free The Slaves and Hope Box had the privilege of meeting Tina*. This is Tina’s story of overcoming fear and...
“One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai. Children are like clay. We can mold them into any shape and form just by our actions or our words. If we take the time to educate children, FTS and our partners believe that many...
Editor’s note: With the Olympics focusing on track and field events last week, we are privileged to share a survivor’s story about how human trafficking can happen to anyone, even a professional athlete. My name is Moninda Marube and I am a Kenyan national currently...
January is Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month in the U.S. It's an important opportunity to learn why slavery still exists, what can be done to end it, and how you can help. Thanks to the Lowenstein Sandler law firm, there's a one-hour video that will help you...
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. It’s a great time to take a stand against modern slavery by making a monthly contribution to Free the Slaves through your employer. U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: This week is the deadline to join the...
This has been a challenging year, but we know that 2021 holds the promise of renewal. While the COVID-19 pandemic has made racial inequality and modern slavery worse, the recovery will provide an opportunity for a global reset. We do not need to repeat the inequities...
Great news! Your generous contributions to our “Everyone Deserves a Mask” campaign earlier this year helped us deliver vital COVID-19 personal protective equipment and nutrition parcels in the Dominican Republic, just in time for Christmas. Our Dominican Republic...
I have hope as we approach the year-end holidays, and I hope that you do, too. With the many challenges we face in promoting equality and universal freedom in the world today, what brings me hope is the optimism I hear from slavery survivors and their families around...
It’s Human Rights Day, when the world commemorates the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes the right to be free from slavery. Human rights are supposed to apply to everyone, everywhere, without regard to sex or race or age. But in Ghana, three...
522 Productions is proud to assist Free the Slaves as the winner of the #untoldstory nonprofit video contest, launched in July 2019. 522 Productions is an award-winning video production company committed to driving social change through the videos we create. As we...
On this special Tuesday, people around the world will come together to celebrate generosity and make an impact. We hope you will share some love this holiday season with individuals and families going through tough times, including those trapped in modern forms of...
The things we buy are decisions we make about the world we want. With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holiday gift-giving season beginning soon, it’s important to reflect on how everyday purchases can unknowingly fuel modern slavery and the racial inequality it...
Did you know that Mauritania was the last country in the world to ban slavery? Slavery dates back hundred of years in Mauritania, from a period when Arab Berbers raided and enslaved black Africans settled along the Senegal River, dominating and eventually submitting...
For more than 150 years Haiti and the Dominican Republic have shared the island of Hispaniola. Their relationship, however, has not been pleasant. Sadly, this antagonism has led to the creation of racially biased policies against Haitians in the Dominican territory. ...
Are you aware of the caste system in India? If you’re unfamiliar, it is a social structure that divides different groups into ranked categories. A person’s caste determines their social status, their livelihood, who they can marry and where they can live. In the...
Did you know that 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children? At 7 years old, Kwezi left his childhood home with expectations of a better life and more opportunities. But that was far from his reality. Instead, he was tricked by traffickers and was forced to work...
Racial injustice is a legacy of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment outlawed slavery in the U.S., and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights helped prohibit slavery around the world. But these remarkable achievements did not end slavery. And...
The COVID-19 state of emergency and curfew continues in the Dominican Republic as the contagion spreads. Hospitals are full. Government aid has not reached impoverished communities where Free the Slaves works because of discrimination toward residents of Haitian...
As the country director for Free the Slaves in the Dominican Republic, I work in tandem with local partners against the conditions that perpetuate exploitation and trafficking in vulnerable communities. Many of the people we work directly with are undocumented Haitian...
June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor, a time to reflect on the fact that millions of children toil in harmful and hazardous jobs. Many are forced to work by their families or by traffickers. Many are beaten and whipped into submission. That is what happened to...
On behalf of Free the Slaves, we stand in solidarity with the growing global outcry against racial violence and for racial justice in the United States. Free the Slaves is appalled by the ongoing systemic injustices directed at Black people and other people of color...
Your generosity has changed lives around the world. The programs you support at Free the Slaves help people learn new skills and start microenterprises that build financial resiliency. Your contributions mean that slavery survivors are less likely to be re-enslaved,...
I hope that you and your family are healthy and safe during these difficult times. I am reaching out to you today to share about how the Covid-19 global pandemic is affecting communities where slavery makes people especially vulnerable to disasters and financial...
The year 2020 brings several important anniversaries. It’s the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Palermo Protocol, the landmark treaty to confront modern forms of slavery worldwide. It’s the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the...
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.” Author William Faulkner’s thoughts about the value of standing up and speaking...
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt once observed that “the future belongs to those who believe in their dreams.” At Free the Slaves, we dream of a future where everyone is free from slavery. Roosevelt believed in that dream too. Freedom from slavery is near the top...
It’s a simple concept, and a universal value: acceptance. “He who is different from me does not impoverish me — he enriches me,” wrote the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. But in the Dominican Republic, a lack of acceptance fuels modern slavery. Haitian...
It takes resilience to live in rural Nepal. Mountainous terrain and a lack of roads limit access to healthcare and education. Caste systems and violence against women and children create socioeconomic disparity. Dependence on agriculture and tourism limit the national...
Every child has the right to grow up in a safe environment that provides opportunities for a decent future. It’s a fundamental value, self-determination. Unfortunately, thousands of children in Ghana are denied this basic principle of fairness. Instead, they are...
Today is the most important day of the year for social justice. Millions of people will contribute to organizations that make the world a better place. I’d like to take a quick moment to explain what you can accomplish by donating to Free the Slaves on #GivingTuesday:...
Summer is over and kids are back to school. But not enslaved children. For them, each day brings a lesson in hardship and mistreatment. They have no school mates, no pep rallies, no recess. Just backbreaking work and beatings. That’s why Free the Slaves invests so...
On this World Day Against Trafficking In Persons, you might be wondering if there's anything you can do to end modern slavery. Turns out, as a Free the Slaves supporter you're already doing a lot! The Free the Slaves rescue boat in Ghana liberates 15 children from...
Jisika Jean Claude was only 10 when her father sent her away to live with another family. She thought she would go to school, but was forced instead to do chores, iron and wash clothes, and care for other children as a household servant. It was not the life she was...
When people map how modern slavery plagues their villages in the Dominican Republic, it’s a real eye opener. The simple drawing becomes a road map for freedom. Everyone in bondage is identified, and residents pledge to liberate every last woman, man and child. It...
A single piece of paper can change someone’s life. That’s why Free the Slaves provides vital legal support for people we liberate from bondage. This summer, you can double the number of survivors who receive official documentation to put slavery behind them and resume...
It costs $180 to send our new rescue boat onto Lake Volta to liberate 15 children from fishing slavery in Ghana. If you donate $180 (just $15 a month), we can send the boat twice. A generous foundation will match your contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000...
Every shekel counts! That’s how Arava Lightstone sees it. Arava has been studying the story of Passover (Pesach) for the past month in her school, and also at home with her parents. She was deeply moved by the story of how God chose Moses to help Him free the Hebrew...
The holiday of Passover has a foundational premise, based in biblical narrative and law: those who suffer enslavement have a unique insight and responsibility to help the vulnerable. As Exodus 23:9 declares: “Do not oppress the stranger, for you know the soul of a...
No parent wants to force their child onto city streets to beg, but that’s what is happening in Senegal. Many village parents think their children are going to the city for religious boarding school. Instead, heartless traffickers force many kids into begging slavery....
Sustainable fashion activist Amy DuFault is worried these days. Worried that the word feminist – and all it stands for – is under assault. That’s why she’s designed a new way to stand-up for women’s rights, loud and proud. For International Women’s Day, Amy and TS...
Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States, a key part of Trafficking Prevention Month. There are three simple things you can do right now to spread awareness that slavery still exists. It will only take one minute. Literally. Share the...
I dream of a world without slavery. I hope to see that world one day. I am writing to tell you my story because I hope it will prompt you to take action. There are so many people victimized by human trafficking just like I was. For me, it started with a dream about...
International development work can be tricky. Imagine building a school for 100 village children in Africa, but on opening day 20 desks are empty because those kids are enslaved at a mine. Disappointing, and tragic. That’s why we say that everything begins with...
Traffickers target people in financial trouble. When a medical crisis or other emergency strikes — like a fire, flood, drought, cyclone or earthquake — traffickers offer quick loans to desperate people who promise to “work it off.” When the borrower arrives at the job...
Traffickers steal more than a person’s labor and wages, they attack a victim’s basic humanity. They spit on the enslaved. They beat them. They’re assaulted sexually. The slaveholder’s goal: force people to give up hope. Our message to those is slavery is simple:...
People everywhere dream about a better future for their children. We all want them to have the education and opportunities necessary to lead fulfilling lives. For millions of families, those dreams aren’t possible. Traffickers promising schooling in return for easy...
Inequality is one of the major root causes of modern slavery. Traffickers thrive when women’s rights aren’t respected, when gender-based violence is ignored, when girls are denied education, and when people of different races, tribes, nationalities or social status...
There are no classrooms at the mines, plantations, fish camps or sweatshops where children are enslaved. Their schooling stops the moment slavery starts. That’s why your support in liberating child slaves makes such a difference. Freedom changes the trajectory of a...