At the end of January, I set off on a new mission among the refugees in the northern part of Uganda, where there is one of the biggest refugee concentrations in the world.
Refugees are prone to be trafficked and exploited because of their precarious situation and their vulnerability, especially children and young women. An effective fight against human trafficking requires some preparation, some knowledge about the realities of human trafficking and skills that can be useful in prevention and advocacy. To be better prepared for this task and to be actively involved in fighting human trafficking among those to whom I am sent, I followed a one-year online course that equipped me with necessary skills.
The course was directed to the leaders of Talitha Kum Network, to enable us to be actively involved and better collaborate with others in the fight against human trafficking. We studied the reality of human trafficking in various countries throughout the world, as well as human rights, conventions and other official documents and techniques we can use in advocacy for the survivors of human trafficking. Personally, I found very helpful the sessions on managing emotions and on leadership. These equipped me with tools for greater self-knowledge and leadership skills necessary to grow as a giver of life and a bearer of hope to the victims of human trafficking and those who are in danger of being trafficked.
An important accent was put on networking as a means to be more effective in our mission. We were reminded that we can learn networking from traffickers themselves as it is one of the tools they use that makes their crime so omnipresent and threatening. Only by joining our efforts and skills with those of others fighting human trafficking, can we approach such a complex problem in an effective way. In order to put the gained skills and knowledge into practice we have been divided into groups whose task is to elaborate and carry out a project in line with our commitment against human trafficking. The group to which I belong organized a one-day online workshop on the realities of human trafficking in Uganda, Kenya and in the Middle East. Our aim was to raise awareness among religious men and women in Uganda and Kenya and increase their commitment to help in preventing human trafficking.
From our sister Magda in Ukusijoni, Uganda
