Think back to your American History class. Try to recall the boring lessons your teacher presented on African-American slaves in the United States. Remember that war we fought once? What was it? Oh yeah, the Civil War. Part of the reason over 620,000 Americans were killed in that war was because slaves were being bought, sold, and used to work against their will. Good thing those days are past, right?
Wrong. Those days are not past. In fact, there are more slaves in the United States today than at any point in the history of our nation. However, we don’t see or hear about them because it makes us uncomfortable. These slaves are ordinary humans, many of them young girls averaging 14-years-old, but spanning across all age ranges, whose bodies are being sold to anyone and everyone who is willing. It is a sick situation, and it is getting worse.
What is The Phoenix Phase Initiative?
The Phoenix Phase Initiative was born out of a desire to help these innocent and often mislabeled women. After hearing about the problem through the amazing non-profit Garden Gate Ranch, Collin and Danielle realized that they had a duty to help. While there are several organizations who help these women in the United States (though not nearly enough), there were very few abroad. We chose to take on this daunting task.
Since many of these women are taken from their lives at a young age, they are denied a basic education and lack any sort of job training. Because of this, even if these women do escape, they have no means of providing for themselves and (as is often the case) their children. They therefore slip back into the only lives they know. The Phoenix Phase Initiative wants to change that.
Our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is providing occupational training for these sexually trafficked women. We will build training centers (using all local labor) that can house approximately 8-12 women for up to ten months. While they are in these centers, they will learn specific job skills that they can then immediately implement to create a new life for themselves. Counseling, financial management, and basic agriculture will also be taught so that they have a strong foundation upon which they can live. By having these new skills, we believe they will better be able to care for their children and pay for an education, thus benefiting both the next generation and those to follow.
The first occupational training center will be located in Northern Uganda, and plans are already underway to help the many sexually trafficked women living there. The Phoenix Phase Initiative is going to do some amazing things in the lives of these women, and we hope you will be a part of it! If you would like to donate, you may do so by typing info@phoenixphaseinitiative.org intoPayPal. We will send you a receipt that you can then use for your tax deduction.
Prayer is also always necessary, and we appreciate any and all that you can lift up for this cause. To keep in touch, please continue to check our blog or contact us at info@phoenixphaseinitiative.org!
Sources:
Child Trafficking Statistics. Ark of Hope for Children. 2019. www.arkofhopeforchildren.org. Accessed 26 November 2019.
Civil War Facts. American Battlefield Trust. 2019. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-facts. Accessed 29 October 2019.
The Facts. Polaris. 2019. https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts. Accessed 29 October 2019.