Not for sale!

Imagine a situation where you are 7 years old and plucked from your home and sent a thousand miles away to a strange place. That your parents, the people you trusted the most, sold you for a paltry sum. That you were starved, beaten and forced to have sex with men, not once but multiple times a day. That you had to live in 8 by 4 room in the brothel and were never allowed out. How would your world be? What hope would you have? What dreams would you have for your life? Sounds like a nightmare? Sadly, this is the reality for millions of children and women worldwide who are victims of trafficking.

I want to change this reality. My long-term goal is to start an organization that will empower individuals who have lived through this trauma and give them skills and an ability to make choices in their lives. My immediate plan of action is to volunteer with organizations working in this area to learn some of their best practices so that I can apply it in my organization. As a student in a Masters Program of Social Enterpreneurship and Change from Pepperdine University, I will be travelling to Nairobi in October to volunteer with HAART (www.haartkenya.org), an amazing organization that has been advocating, educating and rehabilitating rescued victims in Kenya.

I am inviting you to support me on this journey. I am currently raising funds to finance my trip and your support will help cover my airfare, stay and food. By funding this trip, YOU will be contributing to changing lives of rescued victims and saving lives of potential victims.

During my stay there I will be blogging and sharing my experiences so that you can see the impact of your contribution. And, for those who like receiving postcards, I am more than happy to send postcards from Kenya. Just let me know!

I look forward to having you join me in my campaign against modern day slavery and I thank you whole-heartedly for your support.

Thanks!

Kshama