Day 18. Education is essential.

"How do you fight back against an evil that has many faces? How do you combat a problem that cannot be neatly defined?" writes my friend, Katie Tilden, who is on staff with YWAM in Bangkok, Thailand. 


Katie wrote an article Kidnapping Leads to New Strategies to Prevent Human Trafficking. Katie highlighted what the ARK International Thailand. 


This is why ARK exists: 

• Rescue children  -  from abuse, neglect and other exploitive situations while seeking to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment for them
• Restore children  -  through education, life skill training, discipleship and love
• Advocate  -  a real and effective commitment to the principle of children’s rights through raising awareness and mobilizing individuals, families, communities, churches and governments to action
• Resource  -  gather the necessary resources for children at risk
• Train  -  provide training that is versatile and flexible in various nations with a commitment to equip workers and locals in specific areas of need
• Research  -  a commitment to research and assess the needs within existing organizations and their nations
• Network  –  develop a global network of consolidated bodies that will create a stronger and united force to impact the lives of children
• Prayer and Intercession  -  fight the battle of freedom and wholeness for children at risk in prayer, intercession, spiritual warfare and worship

After an attempted kidnapping last month, ARK decided to take more preventative measures to reduce the risk of trafficking in this community in Bangkok. This community is home to many desperately poor illegal immigrants, making them vulnerable to traffickers. The ARK is teaching this large community about the "dangers of trafficking, how to identify a trafficker, and tips about how to protect one's self and one's family." ARK realizes that as this community becomes better equipped to dodge the advances of traffickers, they will change their tactics as well. This is why organizations, such as ARK, are essential. They stand with the vulnerable and prevent injustice from occurring by educating them and providing them with much-needed resources and support. Awareness and education are keys to conquering human trafficking.