SO- Since September 2012, I've been working for Ignite, a Christian charity in Cardiff, and I'm going to share bits and bobs of what's happening in the Ignite office, and also in Tremorfa, as both are exciting places to be right now.
I'll start with the Ignite office-Its attentions and energies at the moment are all being plowed into #NotOnMyWatch. This is a campaign to expose the magnitude of Human Trafficking as a growing industry, and to add to the collective momentum that individuals, charities and movements are creating, to intervene with serious impact in the systems sustaining modern day slavery.
A few weeks back I watched the film 'Amazing Grace'. It follows the individual of William Wilberforce, the man who's been credited with abolishing Slavery. In a climactic moment a triumphant declaration is made...
'Slavery is no more'
It shook me that this is no longer true. Slave ships and iron chains may not be part of our society anymore, but slavery has resurfaced and in many ways it is much worse. It is more hidden, and much more complex.
'Modern Slavery' is difficult to grasp. I find it hard when faced with statistics and stories, and am well aware that in many ways I am disconnected from its reality. But the reality has been presented to me with force as I've looked more and more into it. Soaring statistics, unknown figures, victims, children, men and women, stripped of their freedom and dignity come up in the 100s at the click of a google search.
So as I delve deeper, I want to share what I find. And I'm sure of this, that we cannot be blind to what is happening around us, and each of us should have the opportunity to be involved in the processes to bring about change and justice. I get involved because I believe in a God of true and lasting Justice, a God of comfort and compassion, who longs to give people back their dignity, in every way.
#NotOnMyWatch will play a small part in bringing Slavery to light, and it's only in the light that it can be dismantled. Bit, by bit.
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