Africa (MNN) — Every Child Ministries is employing
new weapons to fight the war against human trafficking.
Twenty-seven million people, mostly
children, are currently held captive as slaves.
"I think it's going to take a massive effort by
everybody in order to combat the problem," says Lorella Rouster, who
founded ECM with her husband.
A young girl is lured into prostitution by a pimp; he buys
her gifts and makes her feel loved. However, says Rouster, these
actions are all "cold and calculated." Once the girls enters into
prostitution, she is told she's indebted to the pimp for what he spent on
"recruiting" her. By then it's too late to back out; she's become
enslaved.
ECM is playing a part to fight prostitution and child
slavery by refocusing their ministry to address these issues. For the next six
months, staff will be trained under the new module.
"Then we'll decide where we need to go from there as an
organization in increasing our efforts in this arena," Rouster concluded.
Recent training has given Rouster more ideas for
the new program and opened her eyes to the reality of the problem. Information
about child slavery and the sex trade has been added to the ECM website. Click
here to learn more about child slavery. Or click here to learn how young girls
are recruited to become prostitutes.
"It's very hard
for slaves to hear the Gospel," explains Rouster. "Their movements are
restricted; many times their minds are controlled or dominated in some way by
their masters; and trust has been breached by adults who are important in their
lives."
Pray for wisdom for the ECM staff and founders as they refocus
their ministry. Pray that more eyes and ears would be opened to hear ECM's
message and that hearts would be moved to make a difference. You can help
raise awareness by telling your small group or Bible study about these issues.
