{"id":1343,"date":"2021-04-06T14:43:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T18:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/sht\/?p=1343"},"modified":"2021-04-06T14:55:44","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T18:55:44","slug":"an-army-of-nuns-are-desperately-fighting-human-trafficking-wont-you-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/sht\/index.php\/2021\/04\/06\/an-army-of-nuns-are-desperately-fighting-human-trafficking-wont-you-help\/","title":{"rendered":"An army of nuns are desperately fighting human trafficking \u2013 won\u2019t you help?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This NBC report tells their wonderful, brave story like none I\u2019ve seen<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to NBC News for this feature<\/a> by Jake Whitman, Cynthia McFadden and Rich Schapiro.\u00a0 I\u2019ve known for years that Catholic nuns are some of the most ardent fighters against human trafficking, but I was never aware of the number of them that go out every day in search of ways to combat this scourge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to this report, more than 60,000 nuns are members of an organization called Talitha Kum<\/a>.  It was founded 12 years ago in Rome, and now labors in search of human trafficking victims in 92 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you want people to understand the urgency of the problem, you can\u2019t be tiptoeing around it,\u201d said Sister Jeanne Christensen, a member of the board of directors of the U.S. Catholic Sisters against Human Trafficking<\/a>, which works with Talitha Kum.<\/em><\/p>

The scale of the problem is huge: The International Labor Organization<\/a> estimates that roughly 25 million people are in forced labor across the globe, with nearly 5 million facing forced sexual exploitation. The majority of sexual exploitation victims live in Asia and the Pacific region \u2014 about 3.5 million compared to 200,000 in the Americas, according to the latest estimates.<\/em><\/p>

\u201cHuman trafficking is everywhere,\u201d Christensen said.<\/em><\/p>

\u201cIf you live in a small town in Iowa and there\u2019s a highway going through town,\u201d she added. \u201cAirports. Train depots. Bus depots. Take your pick.\u201d<\/em><\/p>NBC News<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a recording of their Today Show feature which aired 4\/4\/21:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While there are many organizations here in the US that are doing similar work, my heart goes out even more to those overseas, who don’t have offices, copy machines and technology conveniently at their disposal. If you feel the same, here are a couple of ways you can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n