Help combat human trafficking - Live Below the Line with me!

Here's a way you can help to combat human trafficking - live below the line.
Live below the line is a challenge where first world people buy all our food for the equivelent of the extreme poverty line. It used to have an acronim of LBL which is quite unfortunately associated with something else. (Google it).
Let us not use that.

The extreme poverty line (Thanks year 12 social studies) is an amount of money; whatever is trading at the equivelent of $1.25 USD.  People below the line live in many different countries and circumstances, but people who have less than this to pay for their living expenses per day, are living below the line. The problem is that currencies are not all worth the same amount of money, and the cost of living varies a lot from place to place, which is why I don't like defining poverty by how much money you have. I've seen that poverty is more than the lack of money. Poverty is the lack appropriate living conditions, and, too often, the lack of hope.

But, I do like 'live below the line' because it gives us a taste of what a struggle life is for these people.

I did live below the line, I think about three years ago. Now I'm doing it again.
I'll be blogging my experience, videos, information, and my menu, here, and on my live below the line page.

A way to prevent slavery- Sponsor a child.

You feel appalled at slavery and want to help combat it? Great! keep your eye on this blog because over the coming weeks I will be posting a series of ways you can do just that.

Prevent slavery- Sponsor a child!

Believe it or not, sponsoring a child can really help to prevent slavery.

Say, for example that there is a seven year old boy called Johny, and the government of India pays for him to go to school, and provides a small meal there. This helps, because at home, money is tight. Johny's father is a labourer and is lucky enough to earn about $2 per day. Johny's parents find it almost imposable to buy food and pay the rent. Johny is growing out of the uniform the bought him when he started school, which is the only clothing he has, and Johny's sister is almost about to start school. The family may have to go without food for a couple of days to buy the school books and uniforms they need. Then, they're offered a solution. Johny can work in a cigarette factory.

Now you can see why this kind of offer is tempting to parents, but you can also see what they can't see. If the child is a bit older, and is working after school for a few hours a week, and getting paid, it's not so bad, but Johny's job could be dangerous. Many children who work in cigarette and other factories aren't given proper safety equipment, and are exposed to chemicals no child should be exposed to. It's not an everyday after school job. Sometimes children in this situation are pulled out of school to work. But even those who work after school sometimes work soo much that they are tired in class and fall behind. And worst of all, of course, some children are taken away from their homes to "work" and their parents don't hear from them again.

There is an alternate ending to Johny's story. He and his sister could enrol in a sponsorship program, which will pay for a uniform each year, a meal each day, food to take home where it's most needed, and literacy night classes for their parents, which in the long term could get their father a better job. The children will also receive extra tuition after school, which will enable them to excel in school and get themselves better jobs. I think I know which ending would be better, and I'd like this ending to be passable for every child in poverty, but that can't happen without our support.

Groups you can sponsor through;

Several groups exist through which you can sponsor a child. They offer different things to the children, but all the groups listed here work with some children who are at risk of exploitation. Any charity that relieves desperate poverty protects people from exploitation.

Compassion (TEAR Fund) - Children attend tuition programmes, get nutritious meals, medical and dental care, clothes, and other benefits depending on the particular need in that area. All of this is run through a Christian Church, but families from other religions also benefit. The funds you give are concentrated on your child alone, but their family will also recieve benifits. View profiles of children at risk of exploitation. 

World Vision - Works to help to improve many aspects of their lives, including educating children and protecting their rights, food, income generation, sanitation, and access to health care. Funds are spread out to help a whole community, but the focus is on improving life for the children. Sponsor a World Vision child NZ, International

Destiny Rescue (Freedom Founders) - A charity specifically focused on rescuing children from sexual exploitation. Sponsor a child in slavery prevention, or a child who has been rescued.

Win Our Nations - You can sponsor an orphan in India or Cameroon. I've visited the children's home in India (Read about my trips to India) and met most of the Indian children. Unprotected orphans are especially vulnerable to exploitation, so being in these homes protects them.

Aids Orphans and Street children - With the aim of providing for as many orphans as passable, Units provide food and medicine to orphans who live in their area, as well as educational help and camps. They children sleep in other places and are raised by their own people. Funds are pooled to your sponsored child's unit. Sponsor International  Australia

Write letters to encourage your child;

Sponsor letters can have a huge impact on children because they let them know that someone far away cares about them. Letters help develop their literacy skills, give them confidence, and add to their small number of possessions. Children usually keep their sponsor's letters and read them over and over again.

Children also love getting stickers and colourings and pictures of their sponsors. Start a relationship with a beautiful child today.