Kiwi Millionaire needs our help

You may remember that a few months ago a supporter in New Zealand asked people to vote and help decide which charity he should donate to after running a marathon. You may also remember I got thoroughly over excited when we won with an incredible 40,000 votes!  AMAZING.

Well, Kiwi Millionaire is running this weekend and has increased his target  to £10000 which he has to raise in a week! Pretty impressive.

He wrote to me, and although it’s ambitious, Kiwi millionnaire is as determined as ever and claims to have a plan (he also said he has been ‘spewing forth information about STOP THE TRAFFIK in his sleep’ … everyone here in the London office would like to apologise to his family for this and hope he hasn’t driven anyone crazy!)

His approach to raising such a stack of cash is simple, get 5,000 people to view his short video then donate £2 each. This should help him reach his target in no time at all! 

You can check out his video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7UJdyRskIg

blog: http://thekiwimillionaire.com  (you can also donate via a justgiving widget on his blog)

donation page: www.justgiving.com/ryankilfoil

 C’mon everybody….. we can do it!

Use your body for charity…

…And join us on the Brussels 20km run!

On March 31st in Brussels the traffic will indeed stop – but only the cars, buses and motorbikes, which will make way for the Brussels 20km run. There will be about 30 people running as a group for STOP THE TRAFFIK and we are hoping that the money raised will help us to continue the fight against human trafficking around the world. If you would like to join us, on 31^st May  - you will get a free T-shirt, waffle and Belgian beer- and of course lots of fun. Please contact either Phil Lane, director of charity Oasis Belgium on 0475 927 507, phillane@oasisglobal.org  or Niels Vandereyken on 0487 466 399.

If you can’t make it, but would like to sponsor us, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/sttbrussels20km

Thanks!

Secret Diary of a STOP THE TRAFFIK worker…

Hello everybody!

I just wanted to personally say a huge thank you to all those who voted for STOP THE TRAFFIK in the Kiwi Millionaire’s challenge to win $10000!

I have to admit, I became slightly addicted to checking up on how we were doing!

After I posted a request for help on the blog, I was absolutely thrilled to see the votes begin to come pouring in. By the time the deadline came you managed to rack up had over 40,000 votes. 40,000! (In case you missed what I just said, STOP THE TRAFFIK received over 40,000 votes!).

It is brilliant to know there are so many of you out there checking in, poised and ready to throw yourselves into action.

Now we just have to help Kiwi Millionaire raise the money! http://www.justgiving.com/ryankilfoil I will update you on his progress as it happens! Thanks a lot everybody!

Victoria

And the award goes to…

This week, STOP THE TRAFFIK would like to extend a warm HUGE thank you to the amazing, fantastic and inspirational Red River Theatre group run by Nigel Roberts based in Hinckley, Leicester.

Directed by Mr. Roberts, a number of budding actors and actresses produced a film called STRANDED. This thought provoking drama highlighted different challenges facing three teenage girls.  

The stories which revolved around bullying, family abuse and trafficking intertwined as the girls shared their experiences after finding themselves washed up in childhood wasteland – a space where robbed youth is lost and found.

I was fortunate enough to sit with three of the young stars and asked them about their experiences.

Monika, played by Cassie Shilladay is a normal girl who falls for a nice boy with a nasty brother. She was eventually tricked by the promise of a modeling career and trafficked overseas. 

“I didn’t know much about trafficking’ said Cassie ‘it was incredible to learn how big the problem was and that Britain is involved. It really bought home that it [trafficking] happened to people our age”

I asked whether it was hard playing such challenging roles by day and then slotting into normal mode at night.

“It was definitely a challenge to get in the role of being bullied” replied Sophie Wightman Who played Abi – the bullied ‘new girl’ at school. “It was alright during filming – it was when you got home that it hit and touched you”.

Zoe Grain who played Lisa – a girl abused by her father, very honestly admitted “it was a totally different mindset; I was almost scared to play it”.

The emotional and psychological journey the entire cast went on must have been demanding but the final production was incredibly touching and something everyone involved in the project should feel immensely proud of.

As a result of their hard work and with the support of Mr. Roberts, the Red River theatre group have toured local schools with assemblies, Zoe has given presentations focusing on trafficking into the cocoa industry , their first production ‘Girl in the Photograph’ has been viewed over 16,000 times and Stranded was downloaded at a rate of 40 a day.

In addition to these awareness raising successes, as a result of the film one audience member made a donation to the youth group who then presented a cheque for over £1000 to STOP THE TRAFFIK. This money is vital for us to continue our projects and directly adds to the fight against the horrific crime of people trafficking.

As Mr. Roberts said  ‘a life can be transformed by experiencing someone else’s”

Coulsdon is STOPPING TRAFFIK. Are you?

HERE’S TO COULSDON!

 

Our day began outside a wet Herne Hill train station.  Victoria and I (Rich) were on our way to meet students and teachers from the Oasis Academy in Coulsdon, Surrey.  The school’s students had successfully hosted a number of chocolate fondue parties (much to the despair of the PE teacher and delight of the Home Economics teacher!). 

As well as hosting fondue parties to raise money and awareness, some students organised unique fundraising activities.  These included a sponsored silence (must have been bliss for the teachers!) and (despite strange worried looks from local residents) a sponsored pyjama day.   

In total a staggering £575.39 was raised for STOP THE TRAFFIK.  This simply had to be congratulated in person. 

After arriving at Coulsdon South train station, we made the 40 minute UPHILL journey by foot, to the school.   The school is located in a leafy suburb of Surrey, what a great teaching environment, lucky kids!  Lots of green open spaces to work off all the chocolate! 

We were shown around the school by the excellent Mrs Butcher.   We were mightily impressed by all the facilities the school had on offer and the politeness of the students, especially the year 9 students who raised the most money. 

The cheque was presented to us at the end of the year 9 assembly, this gave us a chance to thank everyone involved and express our deepest gratitude. A special mention must go out to year 9 student Bethany Frost, who single handedly raised over £100.

The school also recently held a sponsored swimathon – the aim was for 10 students and 4 teachers to swim as many lengths as humanly possible.  If they swam as well as they ate chocolate STOP THE TRAFFIK are in for a real treat!  Watch this space.

We left the school with the realisation that STOP THE TRAFFIK are equipped with a vast array of talented individuals.  An inspiration to us all.

A huge thank you to EVERYONE who took part and the three fabulous girls (Anneka Nevin, Sophie Williams and Rochelle Reid) who are driving STOP THE TRAFFIK into the future.

Secret Diary Writer needs your help…

Dear reader,

This week, I have a favour to ask…….

As a charity organisation we are not funded by government / the EU or any other body for that matter. This means we rely totally on the generosity of our supporters to keep our campaigns alive and growing.

A lovely chap in New Zealand is going to run a marathon collecting money for charity along the way (he is hoping for $10000). He has listed a number of big, well-know charities on his website and is asking people to vote who should get the cash. One of the charities you can vote for is (dadada) STOP THE TRAFFIK!

The problem is that not many people are clued up to the scale and size of trafficking so when it comes to voting and funding, trafficking (despite being a mass violation of human rights)  always gets overlooked. PLEASE HELP!

STOP THE TRAFFIK need that money! With that much money we can:

-       set up community groups to research trafficking potential in their area

-       expand the businesstravellers.org website which is seeing a growing number of  tip-offs leading to the rescue of victims of trafficking

-       finalise the global webcast (a resource filmed from the UN in New York. It will be translated into 6 languages and aimed at raising awareness among communities who are at risk and in schools where other people can act as the voice of those who are victims)

-       campaign for the eradication of child trafficking in the cocoa industry 

If you have a second, PLEASE check out this website and get STOP THE TRAFFIK some votes! http://thekiwimillionaire.com/

THE DEALDINE IS IN 3 DAYS….

Get voting and send the link to as many people as you can!

Thank you for helping STOP THE TRAFFIK remain a force fighting traffikers

Victoria Kuhr

CompassionArt

 

This week, STOP THE TRAFFIK would like to feature the creative collaboration of Compassion Art. Twelve songwriters who have felt deeply about poverty, injustice and compassion have come together to make music, literature, and give importance to issues that need our attention and that we need to be more informed about. We are delighted that STOP THE TRAFFIK has been chosen as one of the issues that Compassion Art is addressing deeply. Please take keep a look out for their publication ‘The Art of Compassion’, now available to buy. All the proceeds from sales will directly benefit the nominated projects, so please make your way to a good bookstore near you and get your hands on a copy! 

The Freeset Project

STOP THE TRAFFIK is inspired by innovative projects around the world helping to rehabilitate the victims of human trafficking and inspire new hope and confidence. This week, STOP THE TRAFFIK wants to feature Freeset.

Freeset trains women who have been rescued from the sex industry in Kolkata, India, to make jute bags, fabric covered journals, and sari blankets in an environment that nurtures a spirit of emancipation and camaraderie. Here, the women are able to hope for a better future, learn marketable skills and receive a basic education. Freeset was founded in 2001 with 20 women. Now in 2008, there are over 100 women working at Freeset and the organisation grows from strength to strength.

Please support freeset and STOP THE TRAFFIK through purchasing one of their bags designed in support of the campaign! To purchase a bag, please visit http://www.stopthetraffik.org/shop/bags.aspx for more info. You can also support Freeset and help even more women towards a better, brighter future! http://www.freesetbags.co.uk/

 

A HUGE THANK YOU to Miriam, a 12 year old TRAFFIK STOPPER

 

Miriam, A 12 year old TRAFFIK STOPPER organised a STOP THE TRAFFIK stall to raise awareness of the issue people trafficking at her school fete and raise money through selling Freedom Keys and Badges. 

Miriam says “It was really good because we told people about trafficking and they really listened. One of the things we did on the stall so that it wasn’t just a shop was have a freedom wall that people could sign. We also had a ‘guess the number of badges in the jar’ competition, the winner getting a FairTrade cake (which was made by me, using FairTrade ingredients).” 

Me beside the stall wearing a STOP THE TRAFFIK t-shirt

 

 

Technorati Tags: STOP THE TRAFFIK,human trafficking,school fete,awareness raising,fundraising,fair trade

Los Angeles Annual Sport Fun(d)raiser for

It’s time again for the Oasis USA/STOP THE TRAFFIK annual sport fun(d)raiser!  Come join us for a community swim and run.  This year the swim will be hosted at the new La Mirada Aquatic Center with a run through beautiful La Mirada Regional Park.

Mark your calendars and start training!  More information on registration and volunteer opportunities are coming soon www.oasisusa.org

Technorati Tags: OASIS USA,STOP THE TRAFFIK USA,sport,fundraiser,swim,run,La Mirada Aquatic Center,La Mirada Park