Dear Friends and Supporters,
I write this letter as I shelter in place amidst the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic. The close tethering to our homes underscores the importance of communities even in today’s hyperconnected world. Likewise, eliminating slavery depends crucially on our ability to mobilize communities. The march to a world without slavery happens one village, one town, one state at a time, each igniting with the light of freedom as it spreads across the globe.
At Free the Slaves, we’re helping to lead the way to a slavery-free world by building community-wide slavery eradication and slavery resistance. Our front-line field programs help not only individuals, but assist entire communities that are victimized. The same economic, social, political and cultural conditions that enable individuals to be targeted by traffickers typically apply to their neighbors and family as well. By changing the systems and conditions that allow slavery to persist, we ensure that survivors are not re-enslaved after liberation — and nobody takes their place in bondage.
This year’s Annual Report highlights the many ways in which Free the Slaves is empowering communities to create lasting freedom. These are your accomplishments, too. Your continued support will help us finish the job begun by earlier generations of abolitionists more than a century ago. We don’t free slaves, you do. Together, we can build durable change.
Our deepest thanks,
Daniel Elkes | Board Chair
Read the 2019 Free the Slaves Annual Report here.
