Thought For Change

When a man shows interest in changing the lives of the thousands of women that are at risk to be trafficked and forced into prostitution, my heart can't help it but to skip a beat. See, women tend to get it. We think of these girls as one of us. Because it can very well be us. But when it's a man... naturally, the gender that makes up most of the demand for women and yet, ironically, has the most potential to end trafficking for sexual purposes... well, it's world changing.

Needless to say, when Nathan, my friend from Thought For Change, approached me for an interview on Home of Change, I was moved and excited to share. Nathan is an observant individual, with an innate gift to creatively write, teach, and share the things of God.


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Thank you Nate, for sharing our passion to be a voice for the things that matter. Read "The Spotlight: Home of Change" by Nathan Arcenaux.

PS. If you heart twitter follow us here:
Home of Change and Nathan Arcenaux

outrageousness.

"It's a third world country, you can do whatever you want."

These were the words spoken by a fishing tour operator at a hunting and fishing conference in Dallas, Texas. See, he is not only referring to the lack of follow-up by government authority or the excess of corruption of the same, we all know that is a given. The truth is that he is referring to the sad reality of how easy it is to get more than a fishing experience in South America. More along the lines of sex with minors, girls as young as 13, who have been abused and trafficked there with the false hope of getting a cleaning job to support their families financially.

As a citizen of a third world country myself, I am fed up. Fed up with first world foreigners, who 'should know better' who come to our countries, and our own native society leeches with that same attitude and do nothing but bombard our societies with drugs, arms, and they take our own daughters, sisters, and mothers to abuse, beat, and rape. Fed up that the government puts on the blindfold to this situation. But most of all, fed up that the people who have the power to really end this outrageousness (yes, I realize that is not a word...) sit back ignorant to the issue. That would be ordinary people like you and I.

When did we forget we are more than the few who control our countries? When did we forget that a collective shout can make the difference? Decades ago, the people who stood up against injustice, fought for freedom, were synonyms of bravery and seen as heroes. Today, the people with the same spirit are looked as dreamers, as if they were speaking of impossible things. Well here is a little insight in the words of Rob Morris, founder of Love146, "Ending human trafficking is not idealistic or naive. It is audacious. And it is people of audacity who change the world."

This is the report ABC did on this issue: Pleasure Trips or Underage Sex Tourism?

Lets not forget that ignorance is just as bad as the injustice taking place.

If you are a first time reader of our blog, Home of Change is a nonprofit organization fighting human trafficking through education and leadership implementation in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Visit our website for more information.

for her

You are not only providing hygiene products; you are helping them see that they are worth caring for, that they deserve dignity, which in turn becomes hope.

So on their behalf, thank you!

psalm 23 for haiti

Tonight we lift a special prayer for the people of Haiti. We ask God for protection, comfort, and strength over our brothers and sisters in this tragic time. Father we pray that you wipe their tears and fill their hearts with your overwhelming peace and love. We pray for a supernatural peace to flow in their nation. In Jesus name, Amen.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

At Home of Change, we encourage you to take action. We will be posting an update of local organizations who are in the trenches in Port-Au-Prince, and how you can help.

the time is now

It is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day today. I have been researching this social issue for quite some time now; and naturally, it had me interested in knowing the statistics of human trafficking in the Dominican Republic. I wonder if I am ever going to stop being surprised..... Clearly this is not that time.

I was shocked to find out that the Dominican Republic is not only a hot-spot for human trafficking, but according to research, it is ranked No. 4 worldwide following Thailand, Philippines, and Brazil. The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficking victims including men, women, and children.

According to research done by UNICEF, there is an estimated 4,000 children being trafficked annually from Haiti into the Dominican Republic for forced labor and sexual purposes. In addition, there is an estimated 500,000 Dominican women involved in prostitution in Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

My question is, what is the Dominican government doing about the estimated 400 trafficking networks working from within the country, responsible for this organized crime? Yes, I am aware of Law 137-03 established in August of 2003, stating the punishment for those involved in the traffic of humans. However, the government has, yet again, lacked follow up in prosecuting and punishing violators. It's like hearing the news that Mark McGwire used steroids...tell us something we don't know!

I ended my last post stating that Home of Change had become more than just a blog, and I had decided to take action. Well 2010 has arrived. After much research, continual planning, and a couple of God winks (my favorites!) I have decided to start a nonprofit organization.

Home of Change exists to provide educational, financial, and health-care resources to the girls and women of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Our goal is to reduce the risk of trafficking for sexual and labor purposes by instilling leadership in the community.

Our vision is to develop women into key leadership roles in their communities, while they pave their own road to social change.

Home of Change is a hub for education, leadership, and social impact.

Why girls and women? Research shows that when resources are invested in women, they invest in their families and communities, which leads to social change. They are also among the most at-risk citizens and more likely to become victims.

“It always seems impossible until its done” -Nelson Mandela


For more information on Home of Change, contact me at carolina@homeofchange.org

my piece of half the sky

I love to read. Reading comes easy to me. I am one of those people that picks up a book, and quickly gets wrapped into each and every word being read. I tend to get emotionally invested in most cases. Those of you who know me also know that it usually does not take me more than a month to get through a book.

I have been reading Nicholas Kristof's column in the New York Times for quite some time now, and must say I am never less than inspired and impressed. Needless to say, when I found out he and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, were writing a book together, it soared right to the top of my must-read list. Not only are they the first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism, but the book is about "turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide"- like I said, a must-read. I picked up my copy of Half The Sky at good old Borders one night after work, and after getting over my disappointment of not being able to stay there for the rest of my life (OK, so I admit this happens often), I drove home. I was like child with a new toy, filled with excitement and curiosity.

A couple of pages into the introduction of the book, the excitement turned into indignation, and the curiosity into responsibility to do something about it. As I continued to read, I found myself putting it down at times just to get a hold of my emotions. When I read the stories like that of the 3 year old baby girl that was repeatedly raped by soldiers in the Congo and eventually killed after they fired their guns into her, it's hard not to get emotionally invested. To read, time and again, of the thousands of mass rapes and honor killings, deaths due to lack of health care and education because of their gender, girls being trafficked and turned into prostitutes by age 11, and in many cases at a younger age; the list just goes on and on.

We are wrong if we think this is not our problem or our responsibility. As a young woman, I am broken by the suffering my sisters worldwide have had to, and continue to unjustly endure. I can not imagine what it would be like to be kidnapped, repeatedly raped for days, returned home,and since I am a girl, I am not worth spending the money at a hospital to be treated; so I am left to be eaten by wild animals by my own family because they can not stand the smell coming from the fistulas or infections in my body caused by the rapes. I am a daughter, sister and hope to be a mother some day... these women too. It is our responsibility.

"Every year, at least another 2 million girls worldwide disappear because of gender discrimination. ... We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality in the developing world." -Half The Sky

When I started this blog, I made the decision and stated that "I choose to be an advocate for change and equality for the voiceless." Well, now I am making the decision to advocate through action and social entrepreneurship. So this post is a battle-cry to my fellow sisters to take action. Get educated and get involved.

I encourage you to visit Half The Sky and join the movement. Remember you're not going to fix the global problem, but make a significant difference. If everyone does that, well then we just might change the world after all! Make the decision to make a difference World Changer... that would be You!



As some of you know, Home of Change has become more than a blog for me. After much thought and planning I am looking into taking action formally beginning towards the first months of 2010.

I have decided to hold up my piece of half the sky.

water tweets

Twitter has been described as the prime example of time wasting activities. Sure, as every other social networking site, there are the occasional leeches of social progression roaming around. However, Twitter has become a rally for social causes all over the world, to shine light on some of the most mind raveling global social injustice issues and, in effect, recruit warriors to fight these battles.

My personal activity on Twitter is quite limited, nonetheless it gives me the opportunity to follow some of the heroes of our generation including Rob Morris (founder of Love146.org) and Nicholas D. Kristof (New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner). In my following, I noticed that both Rob and Nicholas tweeted about a fellow named Scott Harrison. Of course, it did not take long for the curiosity in me to strike up and research this man, if he was worthy of Rob and Nicholas' tweets then he certainly must stand for something great. Sure enough, Scott Harrison is nothing less than great. He is the lead advocate for the one billion people who do not have access to clean drinking water. Yes, one billion, that is one in six of us humans around the world.

That is a lot of fathers, mothers, children, sisters and brothers. So I did more research. I learned about the children in these third world villages that, instead of sitting in a classroom, have to walk hours to the nearest water source and find that it is nothing more but a contaminated, mud-filled fest. To my surprise, not as shocking to them as it is to me. It is all they have and ever known. I guess after a couple of walks everyday, the dirty, disease infested water would probably lose its shock value to me too. After a full minute of thought, I take that back.

See, if our bodies are made up of approximately 65% water, and the water these people are drinking is made up of preventable illnesses..well then....that explains the estimated 4,500 children dying daily from water related diseases. Yes children, the future of our generation. Yes, daily.

It is so cliche. The whole "it's the little things we take for granted," "we don't know what we have until we don't." We don't think about the one billion people who cannot open the tap and get a drink. But it is classic. Can you imagine not being able to go to school because your job is to go fetch the water, that by the way, is among the leading contributors to your death. When put that way, it is not such a "little thing" to be taken for granted. More than thinking about these people, we need to start doing for them. It is time we start realizing the world-changing abilities in us.

charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years. www.charitywater.org

Scott Harrison is a visionary. Scott Harrison realized he is a world changer. We are no different.

I encourage you to look for the opportunity in everything. A little less Spears, Hilton and Kardashian; and perhaps a little more Clinton, Morris, and Kristof (to name a few!) on Twitter can be a real eye opener.