5 Ways to Fight Slavery This Holiday Season

Winter is a season of gatherings and gift giving. So why not make it count for something? Spread the joy of giving and receiving, and have a positive impact on the world while doing so.

1. Give a survivor made gift. Visit the Empowerment Store and help support a survivor as she embraces her new life.
2. Throw a holiday fundraising party. This holiday season, celebrate compassion, hope, and life by asking your holiday party guests to bring a donation of your suggested amount which you will donate to the Somaly Mam Foundation. Explain to them what their money will help give the gift of survival and empowerment. 
3. Give the gift of knowledge and awareness. Purchase Somaly Mam's book The Road of Lost Innocence and share it with your friends and loved ones. They will finish the book changed, aware of the horrors aof human trafficking and hopefull inspired to take action.
4. Buy slave free gifts. Check out the Ethical Shopping Guide for slave-free gift ideas.
5. Use fair-trade ingredients in your baking. You know those chocolate chips in your delicious holiday cookies? Sadly, the cocoa beans may have come from a farm that uses child slaves. One of the most in-demand products during the holiday season, chocolate has a not-so-sweet dark side. Child slaves in West Africa work for no money, starving and tortured. Purchase fair-trade chocolate from companies such as Equal Exchange to make sure that satisying your sweet tooth doesn't harm others. 

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out this list of gifts that benefit the Somaly Mam Foundation.

Use this guide to take action against slavery during the holiday season with your friends and families, but don't stop there. Together we can give others a reason to celebrate.

Postcards with Messages of Solidarity for Sex Trafficking Survivors

14 year old SMF supporter, Megan, used our postcard campaign to share her love, show her support, and become a sister to the survivors.

Megan included photos of her and her friends to give the girls a glimpse into her life, as they have given Megan that same opportunity through SMF and PROJECT FUTURES global. She also included a necklace and in the letter wrote, "Always remember you are loved. I really want to be your friend so I put in a necklace for you."

Please join Megan in sending a postcard to a survivor and share your love with a survivor.

Twilight Musician Bobby Long Fights Trafficking

British singer-songwriter Bobby Long, featured on the Twilight sountrack, placed his guitar up for auction on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Somaly Mam Foundation. The auction closed this morning, with the guitar selling for $2,125.

Thank you so much to Bobby for his generosity, and thank you to the auction winner for placing a bid to end human trafficking!

To learn more about Bobby's involvement with PROJECT FUTURES global and the Somaly Mam Foundation, and the collective work of Artists Against Traffik, click here.   

Hearts Aligned: Anusara Yoga with Kenny Graham

Hearts Aligned poster

The Hearts Aligned yoga event on July 10 in San Jose was a huge success! 50 activists gathered to focus their energy and brightness into bringing change to the world.

The workshop held at Downtown Yoga Shala. Thank you very much to Anusara™ teacher Kenny Graham and the Downtown Yoga Shala’s Noell Clark who generously led practice for the morning and spoke so kindly about Somaly Mam and the Foundation.

Thank you also to Prajna Vieira and Ben Leinbach for providing live music and kirtan for the workshop, a perfect accompaniment to such moving practice.

Most importantly, thank you to all those who attended the event, for bring all of your incredible energy and fullness of heart.

Interested in creating your own yoga event? Or maybe youhave another idea on how to get others engaged in the fight against trafficking? Visit PROJECT FUTURES global online and get started today. The future awaits!

Your Voices Heard: Activists Reaching Senators

A young constituent in Florida wrote to Senator Marco Rubio, asking him to pay attention to the issue of human trafficking, particularly the sexual exploitation of children. Watch Sen. Rubio read the letter, and hear his encouraging response.

You too can be a voice for the enslaved and exploited. For advocacy tips and templates for letter-writing, visit PROJECT FUTURES global. Speaking up works - people listen.

Fight Human Trafficking with PROJECT FUTURES global and Somaly Mam

Looking for a way to help in the fight of human trafficking, but don't know where to start? Do you have lots of energy and ideas to put into play? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of millions?

Join PROJECT FUTURES global as we empower a generation to take action against the great evil of modern slavery. Join the fight and end slavery.

Send a Postcard to a Survivor of Sex Trafficking

"Human presence and moral support is as important as ... financial aid to the girls, who need to be recognized as full fellow human beings." - Somaly Mam, The Road of Lost Innocence

Show your solidarity with survivors of sex trafficking and send messages of love and encouragement. Join PROJECT FUTURES global's postcard campaign to touch the lives of a survivor in the shelter, sending a positive message of support and strength.

If you're in the New York area, check out the campaign launch tonight (July 7) at DDC Lab for a volunteer mixer and to make a postcard. (427 West 14th Street, New York, NY; 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.) This is an excellent opportunity to show your support for survivors and to tell them about your dedication to ending slavery.

Not in New York or can't make it to the event? Send your postcards to the PROJECT FUTURES team before July 31st. We'll send them to survivors living in shelters in South East Asia so that they can hear your beautiful words.

Send Postcards to:
PROJECT FUTURES Postcard Campaign
c/o Somaly Mam Foundation
PO Box 4569
New York, NY 10163

Postcard Guidelines - Be sure to include:
"Dear sister"
Your name, age, and hometown
Something about you and your favorite things
Words of strength and encouragement
(Helpful hint: Think about what you would tell a survivor to inspire her and empower her for the future)

Tell Hotels to Help End Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking is not limited to street corners and underground brothels. It happens everywhere, even in hotels, and even in the United States.

Members of a gang in Virginia were recently indicted for allegedly trafficking girls for sex into homes and hotels in the Washington, D.C. area. A Dallas man forced two teenage victims to see clients in seedy motels. And recently, hotels have been busted for operating a sex trafficking ring with underage girls in a Wyndham hotel in California.

These incidents are not isolated. Hotels and motels can serve as convenient locales for illicit meetings, and survivors of sex trafficking have often reported seeing clients in such establishments. In this particular case in California, the hotel staff was allegedly aware of the problem and took no action to intervene, with some even lending help to the traffickers.

While this case is extreme, hotels still serve as a setting for exploitation and they are in a position to help with its eradication. Encourage hotels to sign the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.  asking Wyndham hotels to sign the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. Sign the petition here and learn more about The Code so you can support hotels that work to protect children from sexual exploitation.

SMF Celebrates Gay Pride!

This past Sunday, just a few days after New York passed the Same Sex Marriage Bill, the streets were filled with the celebration of Gay Pride. Over two million people marched from 36th and 5th to Christopher and Greenwich Streets in a colorful parade. The Somaly Mam Foundation and PROJECT FUTURES global joined the LGBT community, human rights groups, and other supporters to celebrate equality and justice for all.

We walked in celebration with our dear friends Michael Angelo and Scott MacDougall, who were brought together by their passion for ending the child sex trade in Cambodia.

During one of their trips to the Cambodian shelters, a few girls asked if they had wives back home. They told them that they had chosen each other and were in love and to that the girls asked if they were married. When they replied no, the girls exclaimed, "You love each other. You have to be married." We are so happy to have been able to support them and the rest of the LGBT community.





Team FUTURES at the NYC Pride Parade



50G- For Our Sisters

Team 50G

Some people set astronomical goals, resigned to never achieve anything. But when Gesche Haas, Jaclyn Mitleider, and Margot Weber decided that they wanted to raise $50,000 for the Somaly Mam Foundation, they decided that they were not to be stopped. Having raised over $30,000 to date, the 50G girls have shown remarkable dedication and passion in the fight to end modern slavery.

The idea first came into being after Gesche read Somaly Mam’s  autobiography, The Road of Lost Innocence. The story had such a profound impact on her that she shared it with her roommates.

"We naturally felt that Somaly’s fate could have been ours had we just been born into less fortunate circumstances," they explained. "We felt that the book gave us perspective – issues that we viewed as 'problems' in our lives seemed so laughable compared to what these girls had to endure."

Though they were previously unaware of how widespread sexual slavery is in the world, the book helped the trio gain awareness and knowledge. Their passion for justice and close personal bonds made their idea become reality.

"Our philosophy is to do good, yet to never let it become a chore but rather an enjoyable process that allows us to bond with friends and that is also compatible with us working full time. Charity is so important - it should be a natural, integral part of our lives," they said.

Though all three women visited Cambodia, it was before they had learned of Somaly Mam and the fight against humn trafficking. They hope to visit in the near future to see firsthand where their impact has been made.

"We have seen quite a few photo and video footage of the shelters," they said, "But being able to see these things with our own eyes, being captivated by the strength of all the girls and perhaps seeing the results of our fundraising efforts would truly be a dream come true."

To learn more about the 50G project or to donate to their efforts, visit their site here.

Visiting Voices for Change

Charlotte, SMF's Director of Anti-Trafficking Programs, is currently visiting with members of Voices for Change. These empowered survivors share their stories and have their voices heard in courts of law and public perception and have influence and impact on effecting positive change in Cambodian society. They are helping themselves by helping others. To learn more about the program and other SMF initiative, visit their website here.

Volunteer Profile: Jacquelene Adam

This volunteer story was shared by Jacquelene Adam, a volunteer with PROJECT FUTURES global. To share your story or to highlight a volunteer project in your area, contact futures@somaly.org.

"The ancient city of Angkor, smiling faces and kind conversations are what made me fall in love with Cambodia. The extreme poverty and human trafficking industry in the country are what made me decide I wanted to do something to help these people and this beautiful country.

My trip to Cambodia happened by accident, I was traveling through Thailand for over a month with the hopes of continuing my travels in that country. After I crossed the Malaysian border and was stamped back into Thailand with only a 15 day visa, I decided to travel to Cambodia with the remaining time I had left until flying back to the states, 25 days later. Little did I know, that this country and these people would change my life.

I rode around with my travel companion and our tuk tuk driver who became our dear friend, through the streets of Siem Reap, visiting the temples of Angkor and the floating villages. We spent nights chatting with our new Cambodian friends and navigating our way through the night markets. I educated myself on the countries history, watching videos and visiting museums and my heart was broken. I visited the killing fields and prison in Phnom Phen and cried at the base of a memorial. After dinner, on our walks back to our hotel, we passed young girls, outside buildings wearing make up and luring in visitors. At that time, I was completely unaware that I was probably passing a brothel, that these girls were sex slaves. I just walked by, ignoring them.

Upon my return I began reaching out to different organizations that worked in Cambodia and helped with education, poverty and health care. While searching, I stumbled upon the Somaly Mam Foundation. I watched the videos on the page. I read about the programs and the girls living at AFESIP. It took me only two days to read Somaly's book, The Road of Lost Innocence. I became aware.

Since then, I have been volunteering with the organization, working on this blog and helping at the events. I was excited to be part of the New York launch of Project Futures global and will be traveling to Los Angeles for the launch with the floral company I work with, Gira, who kindly donated floral arrangements for both events.

I continue to be moved by everything Somaly Mam, the foundation, and Project Futures does for these girls and I am thankful to be a part of it. Join me in the fight and become aware."

This volunteer story was shared by Jacqueline Adam, a volunteer with PROJECT FUTURES global. To share your story or to highlight a volunteer project in your area, contact futures@somaly.org. 

Shay Mitchell: Slavery Exists

Actress Shay Mitchell, star of ABC Family's hit television series Pretty Little Liars has joined the Somaly Mam Foundation in the fight to end slavery. Check out the PSA she recorded on a visit to the shelters in Cambodia.

PROJECT FUTURES global Launch

The Project Futures global New York launch event was an absolute success! Thank you to everyone who made it happen and attended the event. We raised nearly $20,000 and received hundreds of new commitments to joing the PROJECT FUTURES team.
Read some press coverage of the event in PAPERMAG, Vogue and WSJ.

New York Committee

Couldn't make the New York party? Join us as PROJECT FUTURES global launches in Los Angeles on July 23rd!