Fanatic At Large

William Wilberforce, the great British abolitionist once said, “If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” I do not have the passion or persistence of Wilberforce but I know that his work is not done. Although the British Empire abolished the slave trade during his lifetime and slavery as an institution soon after his death in 1833, the buying, selling and exploitation of our “fellow-creatures” continues today, in 2009.

The problem of human trafficking and modern day slavery is massive and reaches nearly every country. It almost seems too big, too widespread to defeat but the size of our foe should not determine the size of our fight. We must persist. We must do what we can. Mother Theresa said, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

As I have been writing about for several days (this is the eighth of nine blogs on the topic), Diana Scimone, Founder and President of Born To Fly International, is one of those "fanatics at large" who cares beyond all normal measure for her "fellow creatures." Her organization is working against human trafficking and deserves our help and support. Tomorrow, 9-9-9, they are looking for 9,000 friends who can spare a mere $9 each to help them publish educational materials aimed at raising awareness of children and parents around the world. Please take a look: http://born2fly.org

I was nine years old when I was abducted

I was nine years old when I was abducted. True story. I was nine years old when I was abducted, along with another boy, in New York's Riverside Park. One of the two abductors claimed to have a gun in his pocket. We had no choice but to believe him. The details of what happened next aren't particularly important. What is important is how a nine year old boy feels in that situation. I was too naïve to know all of the possibilities. If I did, I'm sure I would have been even more scared than I was. Even so, I experienced the full measure of fear for my life.


The whole thing didn't last very long. By the grace of God, we were soon set free. These guys were just looking for some quick, sick "fun". We received good medical attention at the emergency room and were home with our families by evening. In spite of the short duration of the event and the lack of permanent physical injury, the events of that day left a deep and permanent impression.

Today, all these years later, I have a tiny window into the suffering felt by the victims of human trafficking. That's one of the reasons I am so passionate about the mission of organizations like Born To Fly International. A million kids lose their lives to human trafficking each year, not their physical lives, but their future. Unless they are among the fortunate few who are rescued and given a chance to reclaim their future, all of their rights and opportunities, their hopes and dreams - all that makes one truly alive, is stolen from them.

Human trafficking, violence against the weak and exploitation of the vulnerable are massive problems with many variations, from small parallel stories like mine and bigger stories like Jaycee Dugard's 18-year imprisonment, to the $9 billion worldwide organized sex trade. There is no single solution. The problem must be confronted from many angles. We can all do SOMETHING. Will you join me between now and 9-9-9, next Wednesday, by chipping in at least $9 to Born To Fly International's education project? Click here to visit their web site.

Better than sudoku, a numbers game that can save a life

No Sudoku For Me

I don’t play Sudoku but I do enjoy an occasional numbers game. Well, here’s something that grabbed my attention – a play on the number nine that has nothing to do with fun and games. On 9/9/9, Born to Fly International (http://born2fly.org/) is asking you to consider a $9 donation to support their extremely important cause. It would be really cool if you would also tell 9 friends about it. Nine of your dollars plus nine of your friends on 9/9/9. How cool is that?



So what is this important cause anyway?

What? The cool numbers game isn’t enough? Of course not. Okay. Let’s get serious. Born to Fly was founded by veteran journalist Diana Scimone to help fight the hideous practice of human trafficking – especially the enslavement of young children in the sex trade. What could be more heinous and more exploitive? The mission at Born to Fly is educating kids and their parents about the dangers of trafficking, with the ultimate goal of ending it. They have been working on a wordless book that teaches kids to make wise choices – wordless so they don’t have to translate it into hundreds of languages. Along with a companion curriculum, the wordless book is nearly ready for publication. That’s where you come in. Born to Fly needs funding to get the materials published and into the waiting hands of schools, missions and aid organizations. Your $9 donation might just make the crucial difference in a child’s life.



Check it out!

Visit http://born2fly.org/. Read about it. Think about it. Pray about it. Do something about it.