by Dean Beveridge (Chairman of the Board of Captivating International)
Sending my daughter across international borders to work? Each year around this time I reflect on how blessed I am that I was born in Australia and can enjoy my family as they grow up in safety and relative affluence. I try, as much as I can, to imagine what life is like for fathers who love their children as much as I do but were not so lucky with their birth place. I have a daughter who is about to turn 13. She gives me incredible joy and I love her very much. This Christmas my dilemma is what to buy her and where will we go for our annual holidays. Do I buy her an iPad, new clothes or some sporting equipment? These holidays will we go water skiing or surfing? The pressure is on.
During 2015, I travelled to Nepal to visit our human trafficking work. While travelling I spent some time talking to a father of a teenage girl. His dilemma is vastly different to mine. He is struggling to provide for his family and is considering allowing his 13 year old daughter to travel to India to work and earn money to help the family. What an incredible contrast. My problem – surfing or water skiing, iPad or sporting equipment. His problem – whether his daughter will cross the border at the risk of becoming a victim of the sex industry in India.
I discussed this dilemma with my daughter and we have decided to join with this Nepali father to see if we can make a difference. For around $100 we can intercept and rescue a girl the same age as my daughter. For $300 we can provide a micro loan to help a family like that of this man establish an enterprise to increase his income to avoid the trafficking of his children. Well that has solved my dilemma. This Christmas we can all make a difference. Maybe forgoing one gift each would lead to the gift of life for a daughter of Nepal. Will you join with us this Christmas season?
If you would like to help Captivating fight against human trafficking and give girls and their families a brighter future, contact andrewc@captivating.org or juliec@captivating.org.
(Photo – Dean walking through the streets of Nepal, seeing the struggles families have each day)
Sita* (name changed for privacy) was discovered by the police in a traumatized and abandoned state. Despite being transferred to a shelter in India, staying for several months, and taking medication, her mental state did not improve. Due to the language barrier, the India team could not counsel her. The organization contacted various Nepalese NGOs to...
22 SHARES
Trisha* (name changed for privacy), 17, was enticed with a tempting offer: an attractive salary and free lodging in India. She was about to be taken to India by a pimp when our team in Nepal intercepted her.
A month ago, Trisha completed her 10th...
26 SHARES
He came to meet her and asked her to come with him to India without informing her parents.
64 SHARES
A very crowded family of 15 members makes up Sheryl's" family (name changed for privacy). Her family lives in a remote village in Nepal and they are involved in agriculture and labor work. As a consequence of the weak economic conditions, she was unable to continue...
36 SHARES
Cielo's (name changed for privacy) family worked on farmlands owned by others and were very poor, so her parents sent her to her aunt in Hetauda where she completed high school. Her family is from Dhading and now she is 23 years old.
As soon...
24 SHARES
Two sisters were transferred from Kathmandu to our Women's Safe Haven because they were victims of sexual abuse and internal trafficking.
34 SHARES
