This is our visual representation of 542 kids for each thumbprint.
This week we presented our project for the first time. It was just a practice run. We feel we did better than what we thought. The judges gave us some good feedback. They even gave us some new ideas to add. They thought that we should also have a way to educate the public and not just truck drivers. We decided to add this into our action plan when describing it. If you look at our second blog you could see a video that describes all the horrors of human trafficking. We believe that if this was a radio ad or commercial it could easily educate the public. Overall we feel prepared for the show case next week.
This week we were asked to write a bill that explains how we would like our action plan to play out. In this bill we included what we want done, and how we would like to do it. We put out the steps in which a BMV/DMV would have to follow to have a person obtaining a CDL license to correctly do. We thought that it would be a good idea for each trucker to have to watch a video about human trafficking, and then take a follow up test. The video would tell people how to see the crime happening, how to stop it, and how to report it. The would allow truckers to practice on these challenges. We believe that each person taking the test should obtain at least a 75% or better in order to get their license. In the bill we came up with some ideas of BMV’s that do not follow these rules. Some of the rules being the manager being suspended for a few days without pay, having to pay large fines, and if it continues enough the manager would have to leave for five years. If the problem is not fixed the branch will be closed. We hope that this bill can be effective enough to really help the victims of human trafficking.
This week we have been working on putting all our information we found, and putting them into categories that we can use on our poster board. We mentioned in our last post how we would like to organize our poster board, and we still are planning on doing that. We thought it would be a cool idea to have our thumb prints be the background of the poster, each print representing so many victims affected by human trafficking. We have started to also look at writing our speeches. We are working on how to present our public policy into the speeches. We are looking forward to the practice runs next week so we can better prepare for the showcase.
This week we are in the final stages of our project. Now we have to decide how to put the project together. We decided we want to use a poster board. We’ve decided to split our poster board into four categories.
1. Problem
First, we’re going to discuss the problem of human trafficking. This is where we will have most of our statistics. We hope to educate our viewers about human trafficking and just get them up to speed on how big of a problem it is. We’re debating on whether or not we should include a personal story from a victim of human trafficking.
2. Current Solutions
Our group has contacted many different human trafficking groups including Truckers Against Trafficking, Free The Girls, Prevail, The Julian Center, Polaris Project and more. From these groups, especially Truckers Against Trafficking and Polaris Project, we learned a lot of the statistics we will be using in our presentation. These groups have educated us on how to spot and report human trafficking. These organizations also have given us ideas on how to create our own solution for human trafficking.
3. Our Idea For Human Trafficking
Our group has debated on how to conquer the huge problem that is human trafficking. How exactly can that be done? We decided that education on the topic is extremely important. Once we figured out that, we asked and discussed who it is that should be educated? Unfortunatkey, it’s nearly impossible to educate everybody about the topic so we’re going to try and narrow it down. We concluded that truck drivers and students should be educated on human trafficking. We would like to propose that in order to receive a CDL liscence , which is the liscence needed to drive a semi-trailer, a video on how to effectively spot and report human trafficking must be viewed. a simple 20 minute video could save many victims from the horror of human trafficking. We also think that students in health classes that learn sex education should watch a video too. Since students are the future and human trafficking is the second largest organized crime in the world, why not let them know about it?
Since spring break is for the next two weeks, our group plans to meet. We want to get the supplies for our poster and hopefully plan out how we would like to organize our poster. We plan on writing a little bit of our speech during break and then finishing it outside of class once we come back.
Here is a flier someone could download to put up at true stops, gas stations, and motels. If a victim could see these, they would see people wanting to help them, and ways to get help.
This week we were asked to find an interest group the connects to human trafficking. We found the group called Polaris. This group does a lot for victims. They offer comprehensive clinical social services to anyone who has been affected by human trafficking. They even have offices in Washington, D.C and New Jersey. They advance state and federal policy related to the crime of human trafficking on a national scale. They help people learn to see and recognize human trafficking, and encourage them to help. The group operates the national hot line for Human Trafficking in the US. The group started Vison 2020 to expand their impact on a global scale. We emailed this group hoping to hear back for an interview, but so far haven’t heard back. On the website page it tells people how to help this group. They have fliers viewers can download to hang around bus stops, motels, and truck stops, so the victims can see them and get help. They have on line flier you can put on social media to aware your friends on how to help. The group is encouraging people to tell victims to call the hotline number to get help. This is a helpful group of people who can really help us when we hear back.
Check out this link to a video about Polaris’s Vison 2020 project. Polaris would like to expand to other countries and get data from other countries to help end end human trafficking.
Our Project Citizen group made an info graph about how the media portrays human trafficking
This week we researched how the media portrays human trafficking. First, let’s talk about the key roles of media.
1. Illuminates the Problem
When the media portrays a topic like human trafficking, they not only educate the public on basic information and how to spot and report human trafficking, but they also shine a light on a problem that is not mentioned often.
2. Provides a Helpline
Often at the end of a news story that focuses on human trafficking, there will be a help line mentioned. These helplines are a resource to potential victims.
3. Shames the Perpetrators
Many news casters hide and protect the victims which is beneficial but too often they hide the trafficker too. These traffickers should be well known similar to how sex offenders are publicly known. The traffickers deserve the lime-ligh.
We started with The United Nations website and found tips on how to properly report human trafficking in the news. Some tips are…
1. Tell the truth. Be accurate, objective and overall fair.
2. Do not expose victims. Try to use “masking” techniques to keep the victim’s identity safe and secure.
3. Try not to violate the privacy and dignity of the victim. (ie questions like “How many times were you raped?” Or “How many clients did you see a day?”)
4. Be investigative, help to track down the victim.
(Information found at http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/how-the-media-reports-on-human-trafficking.html)
Our group found that the media portrays human trafficking as a negative crime. Though human trafficking happens daily around the world, the media tends to only cover it when it happens to people in our communities. These people are usually young females. The following link is of a story by Welsh News that highlights a human trafficking case where one woman was forced into prostitution. http://m.wesh.com/news/mbi-arrests-3-people-in-orange-county-human-trafficking-case/31013632
While covering human trafficking, the voice heard most of the victim’s. This is because many news casters use a an emotional appeal to attract views. The media does not often highlight the actual trafficker. According to The UN, this is a huge mistake. Exposing traffickers could end their career. How easy would it be report traffickers if we knew exactly who we were looking for? A lot easier than it is now.
Do you want to help fight human trafficking in your community?
Get Educated
How can you report trafficking when you’re not even sure what it is?
Raise Awareness
You can’t fight this all by yourself. Get your friends and family involved! “Share” and “Like” articles about human trafficking on Facebook and other mass media outlets. Post photos letting others know the horrors of human trafficking and why you stand against it.
Get Involved
The Polaris Project is a group that fights human trafficking daily. Their hotline, 1-888-373-7888, not only helps victims of human trafficking but helps those who want to get involved. Give them a call! They have tons of information to get you educated and involved.
You have the power to fight human trafficking sitting in your pocket. Mass media is seen by possibly millions of people. Media can affect public opinion which affects interest groups which affects minority parties which affect major parties which affect the future of America! One small action today could change tomorrow.
“The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.” – Elbert Hubbard
Stephanie Mbathi is one of the interviewees who we’re trying to get a a refugee camp counselor contact from. Stephanie was a missionary teacherin Nairobi, Kenya and is helping us recieve more insight on human trafficking from people who have experienced and worked with it first hand.
This week we tried to reach out to members of Truckers Against Trafficking, The Julian Center and Prevail but unfortunately, no one has contacted us back. A lady we interviewed at my church named Stephanie Mbathi was a missionary in Naroibi, Kenya. One of her friends is a refugee counselor and comes into contact with victims of human trafficking everyday. I’ve Skype interviewed her before for a different project and hopefully we will be able to contact her again to get her insight.
Today our group researched Mike Pence. We found out where his funding comes from and what congressional commitees he is on. Mike gets most of his money from 1. Republican Governors Association, 2. Indiana Republican Party, 3. Dean White, 4. Mike Pence CMTE, 5. Sue Ellsperman for LT Governor. Pence
Mike Pence, our Indiana Governor, who we decided not to contact based on his funding background
also gets funding from corporations like 1. Fuzzy’s Spirits, 2. HNTB Corp, 3. Continental Dairy Products, 4. AT&T, and 5. Fair Oaks Dairy Farms. The congressional committees Pence serves on are, 1. Congressional Internet Caucus, 2. House Republican Conference, 3. Tea Party Caucus and 4. The Congressional Task Force Against Anti-Semetism. We didn’t find much information that provoked us to reach out to Mike Pence. We concluded though that Mike Pence would probably agree that it’s a problem that victims of human trafficking don’t receive the proper treatment they need because often they are misidentified or though of as prostitutes. This is similar to how Jews are mistreated and prejudiced against. We believe that Mike Pence would agree with us because he is a member of The Congressional Task Force Against Anti-Semetism. Our group hopes to find another Congress member who we can reach out to. We’re also going to try and find more people we can interview.
Prevail, Inc. educates and engages the community to prevent crime and abuse while helping restore the lives of those who have been affected.
The Julian Center of Indianapolis is an organization that helps victims of domestic violence.
In order to educate our community about human trafficking, Alex, Jessi and I need to be more educated ourselves. We’re trying to set up interviews with people who know more about how to spot and report human trafficking in communities. We’ve tried setting up an interview with a representative from The Julian Center, Indianapolis. Unfortunately, the human trafficking representative is no longer with their organization. Next, we contacted Prevail in Noblesvillle. We have not heard back from them but hopefully they will contact us soon. A representative from Free The People, an organization that helps put an end to slavery internationally, agreed to speak with us today, February 25th but unfortunately she had a meeting come up and was not able to Be interviewed. I talked to a lady from my church who was a missionary in Kenya for a few years. Her best friend is a counselor in refugee camps in Kenya. She comes into contact with victims of human trafficking every day. She’s not available to come into our classroom but hopefully she will be free soon for a Skype interview. I’ve actually talked to her over Skype before about refugee counseling and she has a lot of great insight. Even though no interviews were successful our first day, we have a lot more ideas and contacts. Hopefully in the next few classes we will be able to talk with some representatives.
Even though our group still agrees that a Teen Hangout would be very positive for our community, we have decided to focus on Human Trafficking in our community. Though this is quite a problem to tackle, it is still a major problem and we’re ready to take it on. We’ve interviewed members of our community on the topic just to get an idea on exactly how much people really know about human trafficking. We asked people, “What is human trafficking?”. The definition of human trafficking is “The illegal movement of people, typically for the purpose of forced labor or sexual exploitation.” Some members of our community said human trafficking was, “Prostitution.”, “Buying and selling people usually against their choice.”, “Abusing and using humans against their will.” and more. We also asked where human trafficking takes place at. William Rorer, 22, of Dumfries, VA said, “Bad countries like Thailand or Korea”. Kent Dickey, 65 of Noblesville, IN said, “Probably in under developed countries where there is poverty and the parents want to sell off their kids to make money”. Tamara Williams, 17, Westfield, IN answered with, “I would guess cities because there are a lot more people and it’s a densely populated place”. Later this week, our group is going to try and have a phone interview with a representative of The Julian Center and Truckers Against Trafficking. Alex, Jessi and I have decided to start off with trying to educate people on Human Trafficking because most of the people we interviewed were shocked at the statistics we showed them. Above are links to videos and websites. We encourage you to take a few minutes and simply familiarize yourself with the horror that is Human Trafficking.
Truckers Against Trafficking is a non profit organization that trains truck drivers to recognize and report instances of human trafficking.
This is a hangout in Atlantis. The kids are listening to music, having a fun time dancing together. This would great thing for Noblesville to have.In this hangout we see kids in a computer lab. It would be a great idea for a lab in a hangout in Noblesville. Exes precisely because all of everyone’s homework is online. Not everyone has access to wifi at home.
Alex, Jessi and I were given the challenge to create questions about our topics and go into our community (Teen Hangout)and receive their feedback. We went to our parents, churches, gas stations, schools, and more to find a diverse group of people to question. We had from positive to some not so positive feedback. Kent Dickey, 63, of Noblesville said, “Youth do tend to congregate so it would be best for them to have a safe place to be. I would definitely be behind that project.” While this citizen was all for the project, William Rorer, 22, of Dumfries, Virginia stated that he would not have used a youth zone. He said that “Teenagers are hooligans and they’re going to do bad things. As a group we feel it is a good idea that Noblesville has a safe, fun place for Noblesvile. It is a new idea for kids to look at on Friday or Saturday night. Overall, our idea had fairly positive feedback. Though a Youth Zone would be a positive impact on our community, we are still tossing around different ideas for our Project Citizen Topic.
Human trafficking 