Nuns – a potent adversary to human traffickers

Manila (Agenzia Fides) – As many as 26.065 women from Asia were prevented and rescued from human trafficking in 2021 by “Talitha Kum”, a Federation of Catholic nuns that is committed to combating and eradicating human trafficking.
“Prevention was the Asian networks’ priority. It was fostered through training and awareness-raising campaigns in schools, parishes, and local communities, targeting especially women, youth, religious, tribal communities, and migrant workers”, said Sr. Abby Avelino, director of Talitha Kum Asia.
“As the economic problems become increasingly complicated, more vulnerable people get trapped in exploitation in order to survive. One area of entrapment is cyber-based trafficking and Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC), ” says Sr Avelino, a member of the Maryknoll congregation.
“We have organized activities using the Sufficiency Economy Program, helping women and young people in villages and mountainous areas to manage natural food resources, such as herbs and vegetables that can be found in the local forests. This program has had a satisfying impact on the local community in supporting and promoting capacity building,” Sr Avelino notes.
“We launched the Talitha Kum Anti-Trafficking Youth Ambassadors program in 2021 to engage more young people with the vision and mission of Talitha Kum. Young women and men, representing ten countries in Asia, were trained to be anti-trafficking youth ambassadors among their peers at the grassroots level,” she remarks.
These trained youth leaders developed their skills in promoting Talitha Kum’s work at the grassroots in creative and innovative ways with the coordination of Sisters in the networks. As a result of this program, many young people’s awareness of the issues of trafficking grew as they participated in various levels of Talitha Kum’s anti-human trafficking campaigns.