September 27, 2011
by Toni Yates
NEW JERSEY (WABC) — Police in New Jersey busted a child pornography ring, and among those arrested were five people who are kids themselves.
“As young as infants, it’s quite disturbing, quite graphic,” an undercover officer said.
It was very difficult for the undercover, internet crime investigators to view.
October 7, 2011
Houston Chronicle
A Houston man has been indicted on sex trafficking charges, accused of coercing three people, including two minors, into prostitution.
October 22, 2011
Fairfax News
Cooper Kweme, 31, of Silver Spring, Md., has been sentenced today to 132 months in prison for the sex trafficking of a female juvenile, stemming from a prostitution business operated by Kweme earlier this year in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
“Mr. Kweme trolled social networking sites and then lured and groomed a juvenile girl into his prostitution business,” said Neil MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Sex trafficking—especially of minors—is a heinous crime and has long-term psychological consequences for the victims. My office and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force are committed to catching sex traffickers before they can enslave more victims and bringing these predators to justice.”
October 20, 2011
by Nick Valencia, CNN
(CNN) — The director of a battered women’s shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was being held Wednesday on charges that she forced the women she cared for to commit sex acts with strangers, local authorities told CNN.
Authorities were also investigating if children who lived at the shelter — some as young as 5 years old — were forced into prostitution as well, Arturo Sandoval, spokesman for the state attorney general’s office, told CNN.
October 25, 2011
The Hour Online
NORWALK– A city man faces a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence after pleading guilty Tuesday to federal charges involving the sex trafficking of minors.
Theodore Briggs, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of an individual under the age of 18 with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He will be sentenced Jan. 13, 2012, at U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.
Courage House – Tanzania
“The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.” Psalm 145:13
Things are coming along at Courage House Tanzania. We recently bought chickens! One rooster and nine hens have officially taken up residence in the “Kuku Kabana.” A team named it “Kuku Kabana” in honor of the song “Coco Cabana.” Kuku is Swahili for chicken, and kabana is similar to the Swahili word kabati, which is something like a cupboard. Of course all the people in the village assumed we got confused and misspelled kabati. So, I have probably sung “Coco Cabana” at least 500 times in my efforts to vindicate our intelligence and creativity in chicken coop naming.
Even though we had a good harvest of bell peppers and tomatoes, our corn crop really struggled this year. The village completely missed rain season, and water has been in short supply. Currently, we are experimenting with a new way of gardening that will hopefully require less water. All the ground at the Courage House is sand so it sucks up water before the day is over. We decided to try digging the usual trenches, then putting plastic down, then replacing the sand on top of the plastic, and planting again. We’re hoping that the plastic will keep the water from being soaked up so quickly, and mulch on the top will keep it from evaporating. Keep your fingers crossed that God blesses our new “experiment.”
In our efforts to make Courage House as sustainable as possible, I have learned more random skills than I ever imagined. If I were in Girl Scouts, by now I would proudly be sporting some sweet new patches on my sash: Solar power and rewiring power outlets– check. Gardening without water, but lots and lots of prayer–check. All things related to chickens for meat and chickens for eggs…almost a check, as soon as I figure out whether the plural for chicken is chicken or chickens. (Maybe I should lose my English patch). Next on the list is installing a long drop and using the “product” as compost for the garden. Anyone want to join me on that project? It puts a new meaning to the phrase “getting your hands dirty!”
The past few months have been quite productive. After the summer influx of visitors and volunteers died down, we finalized our staff and had a week long staff training to make sure everyone was on the same page and excited about helping these precious girls. Then in September we hosted Dr. Becca Johnson for a week long training in trauma and a therapy plan called TF-CBT, specifically adapted for our girls. I think our staff feels much more confident and equipped in their positions now that they understand more about trauma and how to help. It was like a dream come true to see a whole room of people take ownership in their responsibility to help these girls. God is faithful.
For the past few months, we have been doing interviews with girls from different areas near Moshi. Please pray that God would give us discernment as we start to make decisions on who will be the first girls to live at the Courage House. Also pray that we can find help for the girls who aren’t ready to come to the Courage House, but have also endured difficult lives of abuse. In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about the difference in building your house on sand and building your house on the rock. While the Courage House is actually located in a very sandy region, we have been sure to build on The Rock. Sure it took a lot more time than we expected, but we tried to always seek the Lord and follow his direction throughout this entire process. Everyone has been diligent in prayer and preparation, and it gives me great assurance to know that whatever “storms” might come, once girls are home living at the Courage House, we will stand strong on The Rock. I know this is a ministry that will endure until every girl in Tanzania knows the healing and freedom that God has called Courage To Be You to share.
On September 15, 2011, I attended my first Courage Concert at Adventure Christian Church. However, unlike many first time concert-goers, I had also been volunteering to help coordinate this event. We had worked hard for many months, expected the evening to be great, and were hoping for many people to be moved. I did not, on the other hand, realize how God was going to move me.
During the concert, God’s presence seeped into every inch of the venue. I couldn’t help but feel full. God deeply touched my heart through the worship and I had a revelatory defining of myself. I now know what it is like to worship through work.
It was amazing to be surrounded by so many God-gifted people who were all together for the same reason, spreading the same message. I felt lucky, not necessarily understanding why God had chosen me to play a part in this organization. It’s like I was given a gift to be able to live my life for a greater purpose and to touch the lives of others who are in desperate need. I am so fortunate to be able to give my time to an organization like Courage to Be You and to help plan and attend concerts like these that will do nothing but good for a greater cause.
Jordan Sauvain
My plane took me high above the clouds. It was a beautiful sight as the sun was setting. The clouds looked like pink cotton candy balls ready to be picked. I was seeing all sorts of fun animals as my imagination took over. We glided through the air like it was the best type of 3D fairytale land. I was simply enjoying the scenery and reflecting over my last month spent with Courage To Be You. However, as we descended in the plane, I saw that the underside of those same clouds were dark and lined with heavy rain. I never would have guessed, as I enjoyed my fairytale land in all its beauty above, that underneath a dark storm was raging. I thought how interestingly similar this related to the victimized girls and to the Hawaiian Islands in general.
Beautiful, and appearing to be happy, a girl in the sex-trade industry tries to lure in a John to make enough money to pay her pimp that day. If you look at her from a different perspective, it’s easy to see the dark clouds storm beneath. Hawaii itself is so beautiful on the outside yet, below the surface, conceals so much darkness and ugliness.
We have to see both sides to get the full perspective of what’s really going on.
It was excellent to be able to collaborate with the California C2BU team as I was able to go and visit their amazing staff! They are excited to be up-and-running in California and Tanzania. They shared much wisdom and insight as they helped us along this journey of implementing a Courage House in Hawaii. We thank you all for your time and effort on our behalf in service to the Lord! We are so glad to see the fruit of your labor and the impact you are having on the world.
While visiting home, I was able to meet with several pastors in the Truckee and Reno area and was encouraged that projects to build homes are spreading rapidly all across the world. With enough interest from churches and individuals in Truckee and Reno, we are hoping to see a Courage House built in Nevada as well. We shall see how the Lord moves.
I have saved some of the best for last. We were able to take part in a screening of Youth With a Mission’s excellently produced video “Sex and Money.” If you have a chance to see this 90-minute documentary of a team’s trek to uncover this horrific crime, then please do. We are so thankful for Hope Chapel West in Oahu for showing the documentary, allowing us to speak about Courage House in Hawaii, and for the donation they took on its behalf. The event was a huge success and we were privileged to be a part of it.
Many projects are in effect and volunteers are stepping forward to help fill roles that desperately need to be filled. Currently, we are on the hunt for property, starting the huge undertaking of a licensing process for the home, collecting music from amazing artists using their talents for this cause, producing documentaries to show what is going on in the high sex-trafficking areas of Hawaii, planning more speaking engagements and, oh, so much more. We covet your prayers in all these areas.
This is such an exciting venture and has already started uniting churches, individuals, political parties, and all different types of people from different walks of life. We cannot wait to see what unfolds next in this amazing story to build this much-needed home for the children of Hawaii.
It’s 8:45 a.m. and I pull up to my neighbor’s house for our morning carpool.
My daughter hops out of the car and runs up to the porch to get her friend, like usual.
A few minutes pass,
then
instead of her and her friend *Sophie coming back out, Sophie’s mom hurries over, a worried look on her face.
“Is she not coming to school?” I ask, thinking Sophie might be sick.
“I can’t find her,” she says. “She went outside to look for the cat and hasn’t come back… and that was over twenty minutes ago.”
I’m immediately concerned. Just a few days before, one of our other neighbor’s houses was robbed in the morning, which never happens in our neighborhood. Visions of Sophie chasing the cat around the corner and then encountering…
I won’t let my mind go there.
“Do you want me to drive around and look for her?”
“That’s okay. I was just going to do that,” she says.
“I’ll go to school and do drop-off and I’ll come back and help you,” I tell her.
“Okay. Thanks.” Then, shaking her head… “I’m worried.”
“Me too, but I’m sure she’s alright.” My daughter gets back in the car and I drive away, a pit in my stomach.
Please let Sophie be okay, I pray the whole drive. Please let her be okay.
I remember how I felt one time when my son was about two and had wandered around the corner at a neighborhood BBQ. I thought he might be lost… forever.
I remember that sickening feeling of not knowing where your child is…
and I feel that for Sophie now.
She’s not family, but she’s my daughter’s close friend,
and I feel that.
After dropping my daughter off, I race back to Sophie’s house, gripping the steering wheel and scanning the sidewalks.
Please let her be okay, please let her be okay, please let her be okay.
When I pull into her court, her garage door is open and her mom is standing in the driveway.
I open the car window, my heart beating fast. “Did you find her?”
And then,
the sweetest word…
“Yes.”
Thank God. The weight lifts from my heart.
“She was in the backyard,” she says, still shaken. (Evidently, their cat had gotten out and climbed over the fence and Sophie had been back there trying to get him. She hadn’t heard her mom calling.)
“Do you want me to take her to school?” I offer. “I’m heading back that way anyway.”
“Would you?” She runs her hand through her hair. “My gas tank is on empty.”
Sophie comes out of their garage and gets in my car, crying. We drive away and head toward school.
“Are you okay, Hon?” I ask.
She nods in between tears.
“Are you crying because you were scared?”
“No,” she sobs.
“Are you crying because you think your mom is mad at you?”
“Uh-huh,” she says, sniffling.
I imagine the reaction I would have had with my twelve-year-old if I’d been calling her, looking for her, driving around the neighborhood… and she was in the backyard the whole time. I would’ve been overwhelmed with relief, but I probably would have had a few words about answering me when I call and being ready for school when it was time to get picked up.
“Your mom’s not mad at you,” I promise. “She’s just glad you’re safe. We moms get a little frantic when we think our kids might be missing.”
“Uh-huh,” she says again.
The sniffles start to slow.
“Everyone’s just glad you’re okay,” I tell her, swallowing the lump in my throat.
By the time we get to school, she stops crying. And the minute she gets out and closes the car door, I start.
I cry and cry – not just out of relief that Sophie is safe,
but for all the girls out there who aren’t,
for all the girls out there–11, 12, 13… younger and older–who don’t have a mom frantically looking for them,
who don’t have neighbors or others in their lives who care about where they are.
For all the girls out there who run away or are taken away… and nobody goes to find them.
Through my involvement with Courage to Be You (a non-profit that is building homes for children rescued out of trafficking), I’ve learned the truth: that there are countless girls (and boys) out there—even in our own communities—who don’t have someone looking for them,
who don’t have someone who cares about them
who don’t have someone who misses them.
It’s a fact that pierced my heart over a year ago, and a fact that stays with me daily.
The exact number of kids being trafficked is unknown because the crime is so hidden, but a University of Pennsylvania study estimated nearly 300,000 youth in the United States were at risk of being exploited for commercial uses. The Justice Department’s National Incidence Study reported that 1.7 million children run away or are thrown away each year, with just 357,600 reported as missing to the police. In addition, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) estimates that at least 100,000 children are enslaved in the insidious world of child prostitution each year.
If this grips you like it did me, there are ways you can get involved. We moms can make a difference. Stop by C2BU.org and find out how.
Because every child deserves to have someone looking for them.
Every child.
Genny Heikka
Volunteer Director of Communications
October 5, 2011
by Julius Bwahama
allAfrica.com
Trafficking in human beings has become a global problem which affects every region and is considered to be the fastest growing form of organized crime and the largest transnational crime profit source.
According to the Anti Trafficking Unit Desk of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Tanzania, the crime is placed third globally after illicit trade in drug and arms. This modern day slavery is estimated to entrap 27 million people netting an estimated profit of 32 billion dollars annually.
