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 costs about $600 to guide a community through a mapping exercise. If you pledge that amount today, $50 per month, we can start the journey to freedom for two villages. A generous foundation will match your contribution dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 during our Doubling Down on Freedom Campaign.
Social mapping is an essential first step of the Free the Slaves strategy. We do it in every village we help. By charting demographics, and access to social services, clean water, electricity, cultural institutions and legal support, residents themselves identify the root causes of vulnerability. The goal is to begin building a slavery-resistant community for everyone, forever free from slavery.
“Our first contact with communities is having a very important impact,” says our Dominican Republic country director, Gemma Bardaji. “Almost immediately, people can identify cases that they previously did not regard as crimes. Now, they feel motivated to change the situation.” See her moving FTS blog post here.
I hope you’ll feel motivated to help them on their journey to freedom.
