2015 « Free the Slaves

Archive for 2015

Last Chance to Donate During our 15th Anniversary

Posted by Maurice Middleberg on December 29, 2015

Your generous support has empowered Free the Slaves to liberate people from inhuman mistreatment in bondage and change the conditions that allow the evil of slavery to persist.

If you haven’t had an opportunity yet to contribute in 2015—our 15th year as an organization—I hope you will take this opportunity to donate now.

As we conclude our 15th birthday celebration, I’d like to call your attention to our four-step formula that applies the tools of social science, economics, education and law enforcement to the work of bringing read more >

Congolese religious leaders, FTS staff and our frrontline partners plan ways faith communities can confront slavery

Religious Leaders Vow to Fight Congo Slavery

Posted by Gabriel Deussom on December 23, 2015

Seventeen religious leaders from different faiths agreed they’ll take action with their congregations to confront modern slavery, following an in-depth workshop with Free the Slaves and our Congolese partner organizations in Goma earlier this month.

The training session was designed to increase knowledge about slavery among local religious figures, and facilitate an interfaith discussion on practical steps that faith leaders can take to overcome slavery in one of the world’s worst trafficking hot spots.

The workshop emphasized that Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu read more >

15 Lessons Learned About How to Free Slaves

Posted by Maurice Middleberg on December 22, 2015

Free the Slaves is wrapping up our 15th year of fighting for freedom. It’s a good time to not only reflect on our most important accomplishment, freeing 10,000 people from slavery. It’s also important to distill the lessons we’ve learned from years of working with slaves, survivors, activists and governments.

Slavery is stopped by strategically redressing vulnerabilities: Slaveholders and traffickers prey on critical vulnerabilities. Effective programs use a well-grounded theory of change to identify key risk factors, adapt interventions and focus read more >

New Ghana compact leadership team's launch meeting in Accra | U.S. Embassy Photo

FTS Pioneers New Child Slavery Approach in Ghana

Posted by Christy Gillmore on December 17, 2015

The U.S. and Ghana governments have signed a historic compact to accelerate the fight against child slavery in Africa. Free the Slaves has been chosen as one of the key organizations to lead the way.

The four-year project will not only free more than 400 children in hot spots among Lake Volta’s fishing communities and the surrounding region, it will also train more than 2,000 community members, traditional authorities and government officials in ways to sustainably combat child slavery for many read more >

You’ve Made our 15th Birthday a Huge Success

Posted by Maurice Middleberg on December 16, 2015

Our 15th anniversary year comes to a close in just a few days. It’s been a remarkably successful year.

Our front-line anti-slavery programs have crossed two important benchmarks: freeing more than 10,000 people from slavery and educating more than 100,000 to prevent their enslavement.

Our global advocacy initiatives have helped convince Nepal to outlaw slavery in its new constitution and prompted members of the U.S. Congress to introduce bills to increase anti-slavery funding and establish nationwide corporate accountability for slavery in products.

We’ve read more >

FTS South Asia Director Supriya Awasthi (right) beside Ambassador Samantha Power in India | State Dept. photo

U.S. Diplomat Calls on Governments to Respect Civil Society

Posted by Supriya Awasthi on December 14, 2015

America’s ambassador to the United Nations says nongovernmental organizations are under threat throughout the world, and it needs to stop.

Ambassador Samantha Power’s remarks came during a reception in India last month, where she met with government officials and attended the 2015 Women in the World Summit.

“My boss,” Power noted, “began his own career as a community organizer in Chicago. And in that capacity, a young Barack Obama worked to help marginalized citizens press their local government for changes that would read more >

Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the U.N. committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights | U.N. Photo

On Human Rights Day, Remember That Slavery Still Exists

Posted by Terry FitzPatrick on December 10, 2015

Today marks the anniversary of United Nations adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was a momentous achievement in 1948 to craft a charter of rights that should apply to every person on the planet. The declaration is widely accepted as the foundation of international human rights law.

The persistence of slavery in modern times was clearly on the minds of delegates as they crafted the declaration just three years after the end of World War II. They put read more >

New Animated Video: Our Formula for Freedom

Posted by Maurice Middleberg on December 8, 2015

It takes more than passion and indignation to eradicate the evil of slavery. It takes science. That’s why Free the Slaves has developed our Community Based Model for Fighting Slavery. It’s a four-step formula that guides our work to bring entire communities from slavery to freedom. It’s one of the most important innovations of our first 15 years as an organization.

How does this formula work? Our newest animated video takes you through the steps in an read more >

FTS Marks U.N. Abolition Day on the Streets of the Congo

Posted by Eugide Bashombana on December 2, 2015

Anti-slavery organizations around the world are commemorating today’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, including Free the Slaves. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a coalition of our front-line partner organizations, called COSCAE, marked the occasion with events to build public awareness of modern-day slavery and programs to end it.

About 500 COSCAE members from 11 organizations joined with the Orange Company and DRC police for an awareness-raising carnival.

The COSCAE board met with Goma’s mayor read more >

New Urgency on International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Posted by Terry FitzPatrick on December 2, 2015

Today marks the official anniversary when the United Nations passed its Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. It was approved in 1949, and the U.N. has honored this landmark anti-slavery treaty by commemorating its passage each Dec 2nd as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

This year, Abolition Day takes on added urgency. A newly-passed Protocol on Forced Labor has been developed by read more >

Stay Informed

Archive for 2015

Last Chance to Donate During our 15th Anniversary

Religious Leaders Vow to Fight Congo Slavery

15 Lessons Learned About How to Free Slaves

FTS Pioneers New Child Slavery Approach in Ghana

You’ve Made our 15th Birthday a Huge Success

U.S. Diplomat Calls on Governments to Respect Civil Society

On Human Rights Day, Remember That Slavery Still Exists

New Animated Video: Our Formula for Freedom

FTS Marks U.N. Abolition Day on the Streets of the Congo

New Urgency on International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

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