Transformation
I recently had the surreal experience of hitting my 9 month mark on May 20th. As I start to see the end approaching, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my time here and the HUGE ways God has been moving and transforming me and the world around me. The theme of this post is the hope of transformation. I’ve experienced this in my own life but also in the work around me and what God is doing here in South Asia.
As a member of the communications team, I get to be a part of the advocacy and structural transformation departments. Structural Transformation is an IJM word so let me give a quick description of what it actually means. The public justice system is broken; the law is not enforced, the cases don’t move in court, the labourers are not rescued. It is not that there are not laws or systems in place to make justice a reality, but the system is broken. Structural transformation means fixing the public justice system so that it will work to protect the vulnerable and oppressed. It is a big task. The advocacy department, which I am a part of, works through trainings, media, and community events to create awareness and public and political will to fix the system and end bonded labour. We have seen two big, transformational successes recently that I would like to share.
In a city in the south, a government official who had attended and IJM training conducted a rescue operation on his own. He rescued 42 labourers from slavery in a brick kiln and called IJM to ask for guidance on how to properly conduct the rescue and initiate the rehabilitation of the victims. He used the Best Practices Manual that IJM had out together on how to enforce the law on bonded labour. This is a huge success to see that as a result of our trainings, government officials are learning how to enforce the law and are actually doing it! Check out the full story here: http://web.ijm.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=19202.0&dlv_id=20243
Recognizing the media as a crucial tool for raising awareness and public and political will to take action on bonded labour, we work closely with them pitching stories and inviting them to our events. Recently, one of the big newspapers here attended our Freedom Training and wrote an incredible article! If you haven’t heard me mention it before, Freedom Training is a three day event that occurs shortly after rescue as the initiation of their two year rehabilitation program. The labourers receive trainings on a variety of topics such as their fundamental rights, vocational opportunities, budgeting, and other basic life skills. It is an incredible experience to witness these people who have been enslaved for years and sometimes generations realizing for the first time what it means to be free. At this event, as they start to learn what it means to walk in their freedom, I am reminded of how God has freed us from our sin and calling us to walk in our freedom as well. I don’t think I can express how beautiful this comparison is better than my roommate Rachel. She described what she wants to tell the victims and compared it to what God wants to say to us. She wrote:
This is what I long to share with our clients. I want to say, “Please don’t fear anymore! You are redeemed, you are the chosen ones. We have summoned you out of slavery…by name. We knew your names before we met you, we longed for your freedom and prayed for your freedom before we even saw you.”
What a beautiful comparison.
The journalist captured the beauty of redemption after a life of bondage in his article. This is a significant article because it is a direct result from our advocacy efforts as a member of the media saw the importance of the issue and was moved to write about it. Here is a link to the article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Exploited-labourers-tell-tales-of-torture/articleshow/13370544.cms
This month I had my first and probably only visitor. My dad was able to make a trip over here and experience the craziness of South Asia! He could not get over how insane the traffic was or how close vehicles got to me when I walked on the side of the road but most of all, how much honking there was. It was funny because all of these things have become so normal to me now. While he did have one day where his stomach could not handle the food, the rest of the trip was jam packed with fun and travels. We did everything from touring ancient forts and seeing snake charmers to riding elephants and drinking tender coconuts on the side of the road. But one of the best parts of our travels was seeing other NGO’s around the country working for justice in their own ways. We visited 3 amazing NGO’s, Freeset, Destiny, and LCA (I can’t say the full name) who are all working towards rehabilitating girls coming out of sex trafficking through vocational training and experience. Freeset started in early 2000 and has grown to now employ over 160 women! Check out Freeset’s website: http://freesetglobal.com/ We got to hear incredible stories of girls who were given a second chance at life and a job that made them feel valued and independent. Most women in the sex trade find it difficult to get other jobs even if they want to because of the stigma society places on them. Here, they are taught how to make bags, journals, wallets and other handicrafts that are then sold in south Asia and around the globe! These organizations give them real, sustainable jobs and show them that they are valued members of society. They are given a new sense of hope as their lives are literally transformed with a respectable job and people around them who care. For those of you who live in Jacksonville, check out this store where you can actually purchase products from the NGO’s I visited as well as get involved in the cause of transformation though your purchases: http://www.rethreaded.com/about-rethreaded
God’s transformative power blows me away. As I’ve noted, South Asia is experiencing this in so many ways, through the media, government initiated rescues and trainings, and vocational trainings and opportunities as alternatives to sex trafficking and bonded labour. As I reflect on this past year, I’ve also seen his transformative power in my own life. We have a biblestudy every Tuesday night and we are focusing right now on how we learn more about God when we learn more about ourselves. This year, I’ve learned a lot about myself, my weaknesses and my strengths, what makes me tick and motivates me, and so much more. Through each of these realization bout myself, I’ve learned even more about how God relates to me and who he truly is. One of the biggest things I have learned is that God is my redeemer. I’ve always known that in my head but through my experiences, I’ve come to really understand that he has and continues to redeem me. Whether it be broken relationships that I could not see any way of mending or situations that looked impossible for me to get though successfully, he has shown up in powerful ways every time, accomplishing the seemingly impossible. I feel like in some ways, being here for the last 9 months has fast tracked my spiritual growth because I’ve been thrown into something so completely different than anything I’ve ever known. He’s stripped away familiarity and things that I thought I knew so that I could see him and myself more clearly.
My dad visited our office and had the chance to share with the staff. He spoke about how broken this world is and how no matter what we do to advance his kingdom, it just looks like another drop in the bucket. The task of ending bonded labour is daunting to say the least. We have rescued about 4,000 victims of slavery but there are about 4 million still trapped in slavery. Yes, it seems impossible. But this is God’s work. Nothing is impossible for him. Through him, the world is constantly being redeemed to himself and we are called to share in that mission. Seeing the successes that I mentioned earlier with the government initiated rescue and the media writing that compelling article are small signs that transformation is happening in the public justice system. What a hope I have as I witness his transformational power in my own life and in the world around me.











