My quirky little store

I would love to have a quirky little store. I think I really would. There's a few things that keep me from opening a quirky little store. I have no business skills or knowledge and I have no money with which to open a store. And, I really think those are valid reasons not to have one.

But, if I had one I would want it to have French flea market finds, because I love France and I love flea markets. Put the two together = extra special.

Also, I would want it to have lots of handmade, re-purposed items like the ones my cousins make. Gorgeous stuff! Quirky, chippy, usable, well-worn = LOVE IT!

And folk art. I'm crazy about folk art. Stick me some place full of folk art and I start drooling. Like Yard Dog or House of Blues.

I wouldn't want to have a store just to have a store. The drive behind my store would be to fight slavery and to support the organizations that have homes for the people rescued from the horrors of slavery. Those rescued need huge amounts of support to get on their feet and be safe from getting drug back into slavery. The brave souls providing this physical and emotional support need support.

The store's purpose would be to support organizations that have real, practical, smart programs to end extreme poverty and slavery. So it would be stocked with fair trade items like coffee, chocolate, clothing, jewelry, art, etc...

But, like I said, I don't have the skills or money to make my quirky little store a reality. So, what I can do is tell you about some of the organizations my quirky little store would support.

Love146
Faceless International
Polaris Project
International Justice Mission
Free The Slaves
Trade As One
Not For Sale
Abolish Slavery Coalition

Kay Warren said in a piece for start> that she used to be a nice person, but she didn't feel nice now that she knew of the horrors of AIDS sufferers. She became "seriously disturbed" by their pain. She couldn't be quiet. And I knew exactly what she was talking about.

That's how I feel about slavery. I come across as fanatical at times. I can't stop talking about it. It hangs on me. It hurts my heart. Sometimes people think I'm joking about my passion for fair trade coffee, chocolate, sugar and clothing. Nope, I'm not. I'm serious as a heart attack. I don't want to knowingly participate in the slave industry or abuse those in extreme poverty. When I ask where those t-shirts are manufactured and if they are legit, I'm dead serious.

So, if it seems I spend a lot of time talking about slavery or it seems like I'm staring at you extra hard when I'm discussing it with you, that's because I am.

Wow, that got serious.

40 Day Fast: Help End The Child Sex Slave Industry

Make sure you check out the other 40 Day Fast blog for today from Kristi at Paper Therapy.

This is a hard blog for me to write on several different levels. I got the news a few minutes ago that my wonderful, delightful, sassy, sarcastic, funny as all getout, give you the skunk eye in a second, crazy as a loon cousin has passed away. We knew she was sick for about a week and now she is gone. I’m having trouble processing what life is going to be like without her. And my topic for 40 Day Fast isn’t easy. It makes me sick to think about and put the facts into words. But here goes:

Poverty and sin lead to a lot of bad stuff, but one of the worst is the child sex slave industry. Some people don’t even realize that there is such a thing in the world. Finding out the stats shake them to their core. Then in a few days they forget about the problem as the media moves on to other stories.

Love146.org works really hard at making sure these children are not forgotten.

The following is from Love146.org:
Most countries in the world are involved in the child sex slave industry – they may be a source of vulnerable children, a place they pass through, or a destination for trafficked children. Unfortunately, even the United States plays it’s part when U.S. “sex tourists” visit countries like Thailand or Cambodia and have sex with children, including those trafficked into the sex industry.

The organization to End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes believe that 45,000-50,000 persons are trafficked into the U.S. each year, 15,000 of them are children. (ECPAT-USA)

From UNICEF:

• Surveys indicate that 30 to 35 per cent of all sex workers in the Mekong sub-region of Southeast Asia are between 12 and 17 years of age.

• Mexico’s social service agency reports that there are more than 16,000 children engaged in prostitution, with tourist destinations being among those areas with the highest number.

• In Lithuania, 20 to 50 percent of prostitutes are believed to be minors. Children as young as age 11 are known to work as prostitutes. Children from children's homes, some 10 to 12 years old, have been used to make pornographic movies.

Visit the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons website for Images of Human Trafficking

Love146 implements and supports global campaigns, programs and projects that effectively enact change against child sex trafficking and offer trafficked victims the opportunity for restoration.

Love146 aims to reduce the risk for children in “high-traffic” areas through targeted field prevention efforts.

Love146 recognizes that students have one of the most powerful voices of influence to change culture. They encourage students to get involved in the movement to abolish Child Sex Trafficking and Exploitation. This not just on an individual level but, in solidarity with others. Find out how to start a Campus Coalition.

Love146's Faith Community Network (FCN) consists of congregations and faith communities that support Love146. This financial support and the human resources help them train and place caregivers, build safe homes, protect children at risk and gain momentum in the movement to abolish child sex slavery and exploitation.

The Love146 Abolitionist program is a grassroots campaign aimed at raising awareness and getting individuals involved in practical ways to prevent the growth of child sex trafficking and exploitation.

Love146 has also started a Craigslist Campaign. With its free postings and relative anonymity for its users, Craigslist's "Erotic Services" site has become a vehicle for trafficking of children. People sell children on Craigslist.

Explore Love146’s Restore and Empower program.

This blog could go on and on with stats and pictures and videos, but you can get all that information and more from Love146.org. They do a better job than I do. They make it very easy to see how you can make a difference and help change the lives of children who are being abused in the most horrific of ways. I mean, can you imagine being forced to service men over and over all day and night? Can you imagine the horror that these children trapped in this industry live through every day? Can you imagine it happening to your child? Help Love146.org rescue children.