Others First: Thailand

Did you know I’m not really a ‘kid’ person? I don’t consider myself someone who really enjoys being around children. Being the one who has to entertain a child for really any period of time, and the idea of having one of my own, just seems so ridiculous I often laugh at the idea of it.

Why am I not a kid person? No reason in particular—I’ve never had a bad experience with children and there have been no traumatic events. I treat children like humans (as they are) and they generally respond well. Any child I tend to be around kind of understands I am someone they can sit with, but if they want to play around a bunch, they should find someone else. Bottom line, if there were a hyperactive child around who yells, runs, and is constantly up to shenanigans, I would choose to not be around.  Does this all sounds harsh? Perhaps. I don’t think people say things like this out loud so it is something we don't become familiar with hearing, even though they may be feeling it. 

If you aren’t a kid person, you probably understand where I am coming from and you probably understand what it is like to hear from folks with, or without, kids that you will surely become a kid person one day and basically become Mother Goose and Mother Theresa in one. While it’s true, you may change and become the most amazing person with children ever (!!) it’s also true you just might not. 

Both of these are OK. 

I know enough kid people to keep the kids in our lives happy. To be the most effective in serving other people and adhering to the gifts and talents I have been given, I know my strength is to stick to treating children like adults.

Want to talk about how you are, how your day is? Come on down.

Want to just sit with someone and not even have a conversation? I’m your lady.

Want to hug, cuddle, or hold hands for a while without doing anything else? Come at me, bro!

I am so down for these simple acts of love that make a difference.

What’s the most funny about all of this ‘not a kid person’ businesses is how, in Thailand, I volunteer at a children’s home.

What I find to be the best is that I don’t have to be a ‘kid person’ to hang out with these kids and get along with them. We sit together, hold hands, colour in silence, hug it out, and simply smile at each other to share moments. I don’t have to run around and play games (although when it’s organized game time I do and it’s enjoyable). I also don’t have to come up with a million different things to do to keep them occupied. It’s simple. It’s comfortable.

After Hair-Braiding, these little ladies brought me a bottle
of water (which I never had to carry or open) and picked
flowers for all of us to wear in our hair.
Loving & Serving.

Being comfortable at the children’s home is something our volunteers find easy. The kids are the most welcoming, gracious, others-centered human beings you will meet.  Notice I didn’t say ‘children you will meet’, I do mean people. These children are being raised in an environment that has a ‘love filter’ on everything they do. From serving meals and chores to general playtime, the idea of someone else coming before you is a concept they easily live out. It’s second nature to them—and it’s convicting for me. As an individual who strives to live an others-centered life I can say, with all amount of honesty in me, these kids put me to shame. Their priority is always to love people and ensure those around them are doing well before they think of themselves. When it’s a mealtime they ensure the other kids around them (especially the little ones) are ready to go. When it’s time to do an activity it’s ensured everyone around them knows what is going on and can fully participate with all the resources necessary (sharing is caring—even with oil paints and glue). When guests are around, ensuring they feel like they fit in, helping them figure things out and mesh with the routine is a priority you can feel.

Thanks Pinterest!

It’s truly incredible to experience yourself being the individual put first when the person putting you first is around 10 years old—or younger. When the person taking care of you (ensuring you are being well fed, hydrated and pampered with coffee, cookies, and the best seat in the house) is younger then half your age you feel a few things—humbled, convicted, gracious, and a sense of ‘wow, I have a lot to learn’. The way I feel I can learn so much from the kids around me at the home is quite awesome. It reminds me of the following scripture:

"And He called a little child to Himself and put him in the midst of them And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:2-4 (AMP)

I believe the characteristics the children at the home display are contributing factors to what the Bible has to say about having child-like faith. The ease of sharing and caring, loving and accepting, and mostly prioritizing others are the simple things children can do without giving it another thought. It’s often adults, tainted by our history and perceptions, which cause us to loose that child-like wonder.  What is even more amazing is these kids have every reason to not act like this. The assumption is their previous exploitative or at-risk situations would make them act the exact opposite! Talk about really being put to shame in how we act!

Let’s strive to put others first, always. I know I will think back to this time in Thailand and use the children’s acts of selfless kindness as my inspiration and example of every-day simple ways I can put others first. It doesn’t have to be some huge expression, some elaborate display of selflessness—it’s the simple things that can consistently show the most love, the most kindness, the most priority of serving others first.

Thanks Pinterest!

Human Trafficking Prevention

Image found on Pinterest

I’ve heard January be referred to as Human Trafficking Awareness month.

As the beginning of research generally starts, I opened up Google and typed in ‘Human Trafficking Awareness Month.’ Upon skimming through the top few headlines one link in particular caught my eye. Posted by the White House, it was a letter that President Obama wrote announcing January 2014 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Every part of me was filled with excitement.

This is exactly what we need.

Awareness is one thing, and a good thing, but prevention is where we should be focused after awareness has been reached. Once you are aware, there needs to be another step involved-- something practical and tangible and that, my friends, is Prevention.

I know, I know. You might be thinking ‘How can I prevent slavery?’

You may not be actively involved in the sex trade, which is where most of the attention on human trafficking tends to go, so you don’t think you are involved and actively growing the 2^nd largest criminal industry in the world. Think about it, if human trafficking and modern-day slavery were only about sex, would it be the fastest growing criminal industry in the world? While some may answer yes, I would guess probably not.

Human Trafficking and Slavery exists in every area of our lives—from the clothes we wear, to the food we eat, to the electronics we use. What we use for entertainment and enjoyment, someone is paying the ultimate price with their life for its creation—and often we don’t think about it.

If you read my blog, you’re probably already aware. I’ve written numerous posts regarding human trafficking and modern day slavery; I documented my time in Thailand working in a Children’s Home with those who have been either exploited or at risk for exploitation, I’ve written about my life changing experience with Not For Sale, I’ve challenged you to end slavery in your life by participating in ethical holidays and being a conscious consumer. Awareness is all around us—from activists to slacktivists, organizations like IJM, Not For Sale, Love 146 and World Vision and even campaigns like MTV Exit and the A21 Campaign.

Time for prevention.

As I was reading Mr. Obama’s letter, I fell in love with this paragraph that is a call to both action and duty.

“As we work to dismantle trafficking networks and help survivors rebuild their lives, we must also address the underlying forces that push so many into bondage. We must develop economies that create legitimate jobs, build a global sense of justice that says no child should ever be exploited, and empower our daughters and sons with the same chances to pursue their dreams. This month, I call on every nation, every community, and every individual to fight human trafficking wherever it exists. Let us declare as one that slavery has no place in our world, and let us finally restore to all people the most basic rights of freedom, dignity, and justice.”

That is prevention—changing the way we have lived our lives up until this point. Ethical business practices, a sense of world community, knowing the basic rights of freedom, dignity and justice are the foundation for a world that can thrive.

Below are what I think of when I contemplate prevention and steps we can take, as every day individuals who understand the value of the human life, to no longer see any more innocent victims to something that is preventable.

1 – Make sure you know the facts

Awareness is the first step to prevention. Do you know what human trafficking is? When someone asks do you find yourself stumbling upon what the exact definition is? Spreading basic awareness is as simple as knowing the definition and having some examples of what it is.

Image taken from Not For Sale

2 – Educate yourself on your personal contribution to the continuation of modern-day slavery.

Take just one hour out of your day and search out information on the companies of the clothing you happen to be wearing. Free2Work is a great place to learn about companies. Think of what you are planning on eating for dinner—research what kind of slavery exists in the growing, harvesting and production of what you are planning to eat. Did you know people work in factories peeling shrimp? There are documented cases of exploitation (unfair wages and working conditions to name two of the issues) to those workers peeling shrimp. Are you using a laptop to do your research? Labor issues around Apple have been documented and are easy to find upon doing a google search. And check out Slavery Footprint to see a rough estimate of how many slaves are working for you.  This isn’t meant to make you feel bad—but to make you aware of your personal contribution.

Screen Shot from the Slavery Footprint Questionnaire

There are 30 slaves working for me-- my personal Slavery Footprint results!

3 – Research alternatives to your current lifestyle contributions.

Instead of shopping at Forever 21, shop at H&M. Buy second hand clothing where the money goes to a charity instead of the company who originally made the garment. Instead of buying chocolate from Hershey or Nestle, buy from Divine or AlterEco. Try to buy locally made products (even if they are a little more pricey). While it may be impossible to cut out slavery from your entire life, your purchasing power says a lot and changing a few basic parts of your shopping habits can make a difference in the long run. Check out Free2Work.org for company ratings to see how your favourite brands compare to others.

4 – Be the change.

Ethical leaders are needed for real change to happen. Planning on starting a business? Do it right from the start. Be a person who is committed, in whatever they set out to do, to do it in such a way that doesn’t allow the exploitation of some for the your own personal gain. Find out you’re surprisingly passionate about the cause? Start a blog, share your story of justice-seeking, speak to others. Combine your current passions with a goal to end slavery.

David Batstone, founder of Not For Sale, posted a quote on his Twitter feed that was retweeted by MTV Exit where I happened to stumble upon it. It goes like this:

I encourage you, not only during Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month but also throughout the year, to do just that-- change your view of slavery where your current life finds you and design creative ways to come against it. Be pro-love  and be the change that is needed to end modern-day slavery.

What are some creative ways you have found to raise awareness or prevent human trafficking?

The Angry Humanitarian

Oh the Angry Humanitarian.

No one really intends to become one. You try to stay friendly, educational, and open but eventually get to the point where you get angry at the decisions and ignorance of the people around you.  Why can’t they understand? Why don’t they change the way they act? Why don’t they care about the rest of the world?

The Building Dreams group on the last day of their trip!

While spending time with youth empowerment humanitarian organization Live Different in the Dominican Republic we warn volunteers about becoming the Angry Humanitarian. It’s possibly the most common reaction to your surroundings when you head home after a completely life changing experience. Our volunteers just spent 10 days in an impoverished different country, not only building a house for a deserving family, but also really gaining perspective on how a majority of the world lives. They put stories to statistics and faces to nameless individuals whose lives are exposed in articles on living conditions and struggles existing thousands of miles across the globe.

How can your life not be changed after this kind of experience?

On the last day of their trip our volunteers take part in one final debriefing session. We have volunteers who have been on trips before mention feelings they experienced when arriving home—most being anger, guilt and frustration. This summer, our final debrief leader was a fun kiwi named Kent and he always gave such a great description of the Angry Humanitarian to the volunteers. Loosely quoted, it went something like this;

“The Angry Humanitarian is someone who is having dinner with their family and gets mad because people are throwing out leftover food into the garbage and are saying ‘that food could feed 10 starving children in Africa’, but really, it couldn’t because that food is on your table in Canada and not in Africa.”

We warn our volunteers that while this reaction is easy to have, it’s not the most productive way to encourage your friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances to live a life where focusing on positively impacting those around you is a priority. As individuals who now have the mantra “Life is about people, not stuff”, they need to take time to respond instead of react to the circumstances around them.

I encourage everyone who has had a life changing experience to evaluate how they react or respond to those around them. Are you keeping a lighthearted tone and creating an educational conversation where you are inspiring those around you to join you in a new lifestyle of positive change? Or on the contrary, are you abruptly spitting out comments to make those you are talking to feel bad about their lives? They don’t know what you know; they don’t have the same experience ingrained in their hearts that completely changed their lives. You cannot get mad at someone who doesn’t know—but you can take every opportunity to educate.

Be the individual who educates well, shares passionately, and lives inspirationally. Let your actions show you want to see poverty, slavery, gendercide, denied education and other forms of injustice end. Be a great model so when people hear about your experience and reasons why your life is changed, they don’t want ignore the reality of how the world is functioning, but want to join you in your new adventure.

Image from Pinterest.

I like Cats and Ending Slavery.

When you meet someone have you ever wondered why one of the first questions is often, “What do you do?”. Most of us answer with our occupation. My question is, why do we let our jobs define us? I have learned that your job does not define who you are. Your actions, your beliefs, your experiences – those things define who you are. I work in radio and in retail. If you ask me what I do, I'll answer with “I help change the world. I'm a humanitarian.”

When writing to friends and family to gather financial support for our second Hero Holiday to Dominican Republic in July of 2011, that blurb above was my opening paragraph. I thought it was pretty darn good. I was defying social norms and sharing a valuable lesson; your work does not define who you are. When I look back now, I realize I was also doing something else-- telling people who I am. For people I may not have kept in touch with after my move to Winkler, or for those who thought they knew who I was, I was re-defining their image of me in their mind. Regardless of what people knew, I was redefining myself as a humanitarian.

Defining who you are to people is an interesting thing-- from first impressions based solely on your looks to only having a brief conversation, or to generalized assumptions taken to the extreme because of one fact people learn, it's definitely something that has been of great interest to me lately.

One thing I have learned over time is that while you can choose what you put out there of yourself to show to the world, the world will attach itself to various things. These things might be exactly what you'd like them to be, and then again, they might attach themselves to things you don't necessarily agree with or place as much value on.

An example of the above, and in my opinion a perfect example, is my total of five months with Not For Sale. While there you live with people, start to work with them, and get to know them immediately. My time was spent focused on the professional, work aspect of the Fellowship. Keep in mind,  you are not only working with an entire staff and fellow fellows but also living with and literally 'doing life' with the other fellows. In these situations, and to a certain level, people can cling onto little facts that will show they know you (they listen to you, they are making an effort to become friends, etc). You may share a random fact or two and those facts become who you are...

For me in this situation the fact was that I like cats.
I have a cat at my parents house.
Her name is socks.
I think cats are cute, cuddly, and adorable.
You look at my Facebook wall from my time with NFS and...
IT'S ALL CATS.
CATS.
CATS.
CATS.

An example of a post on my Facebook wall.

And while that's not a bad thing, it is certainly something that I reacted to in a few various ways: I thought it was funny at times, some what annoying and even heartwarming.

How did these people pick this one random fact to be their main point of "knowing me"?

While living with these fine fellows there were other things that stood out to them; my love of baking, my inner grandma, the fact that I love Jesus. But the cat thing was unlike any other.

To this day I still receive pictures and other hilarious articles to do with Cats posted on my Facebook wall. I absolutely love it now. It is more heartwarming than ever, never annoying, and always funny. It's nice to know that while cats were the random point of connection then, to this day the picture of a too adorable cat reminds them of our time together, working to end slavery.

My life with cats and cupcakes with NFS.

What is it about you that others tend to cling to when they think of "knowing you?" What do you think of the connection between you and that one "random fact?"