Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Cam-Suze lives in Haiti. At the age of six, she became a child slave. A family bought her. They forced her to work for them. Children in this position in Haiti are called restaveks.
Cam-Suze began her day at four o’clock in the morning. It ended at one o’clock in the morning. Difficult work filled her day.
Voice 2
“I did a lot of work. I would carry water, I would sweep. I would take the children to school and they would beat me, they hit me.”
Voice 1
Cam-Suze survived like this for years. Sadly, her story is common. Many thousands of children in Haiti live through similar experiences. But Cam-Suze’s story does have a happy ending. A group called Limye Lavi helped free Cam-Suze from slavery. Today she is a happy fifteen [15] year old girl. She now describes her life this way:
Voice 2
“Oh my life was in danger! But now my life is beautiful.”
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on groups like Limye Lavi. These groups help to stop modern slavery. You may have heard Spotlight programs on modern slavery before. Slavery is illegal. But many people still suffer as slaves. They may work as child slaves like Cam-Suze. They may be sex workers. They may work as slaves to pay off an old debt. And slavery exists in almost every country - from Haiti to Sweden to the Sudan to the United States. But there are people and groups working to stop modern slavery. Today we would like to tell you about two of these groups.
The first group is the group that freed Cam-Suze - Fondasyon Limye Lavi. In English, this is the Light of Life Foundation. Limye Lavi is devoted to ending the child slavery system in Haiti. Here is Liz Waid to tell about the work of Limye Lavi.
Liz Waid
Slavery is illegal in Haiti. In fact, Limye Lavi says slavery has been illegal in Haiti longer than any other nation. But the restavek child slavery system is still very common. Many of the child slaves do not have equal rights. They do not receive education. And many are sexually abused by adults.
Limye Lavi works in different ways to break the restavek system. They work with community leaders like church leaders, health workers, teachers and activists. They show people the bad effects of the system.
Then Limye Lavi asks communities to become involved in solving the problem. They ask each community to look at the causes and solutions for these problems. They work with the community to care for these children.
Limye Lavi also leads a radio program on Haiti’s most popular radio station. Here, former restavek children share their experiences. People can call the station to discuss the problem. The community can explore the problem and solutions together.
Finally, Limye Lavi joins with other groups in Haiti. Together they help former restavek children communicate with the government. They look for ways to reduce child slavery and protect the victims. Limye Lavi has worked in Haiti since 1993. Since that time they have helped to free thousands of child slaves.
Voice 1
Limye Lavi works in a particular area. But there are slaves of all ages and sexes all over the world. Other groups work more widely to help slaves. One of these groups is Free The Slaves. Free the Slaves, or FTS, estimates that there are over twenty seven million [27,000,000] slaves in the world. Joshua Leo tells about the work of FTS
Joshua Leo
The goal of FTS is simple. Their goal is to end slavery worldwide. They know it will be difficult work. But they believe they can achieve this goal. However, the key is that every person must work toward this goal. FTS calls on governments, businesses, international aid groups, and people like you.
Slavery comes in many forms. And there are many solutions for stopping these different forms of slavery. FTS says “there is no single path to freedom - the paths are many.” They work to find any path to freedom for every slave.
To achieve their goal, FTS works directly with people helping to free slaves. They provide basic needs to slaves who are freed - like food, shelter, and safety from former slave owners. They teach former slaves how to live on their own. FTS also researches the problem of slavery. In this way they can know the problems and find solutions. Slavery can be a hidden problem - often people in a community do not see or even know about slaves. So, FTS also shares stories of slavery with people around the world.
Today, thousands of people work with FTS in many different ways. Some work directly with slaves. Some work to spread information about slavery. And some earn money for FTS to do its work. One of those people is Hannah Frank. Hannah is from Ohio, in the United States. Can one person change the world?
Voice 3
“Of course one person can change the world, seriously!”
Joshua Leo
One summer Hannah Frank wanted to do something during her break from school. She was only sixteen [16] years old. But she asked herself this important question:
Voice 3
“What can I do this summer to end slavery?”
Joshua Leo
And she had an answer. Hannah decided to organize a music concert. Hannah asked three bands to perform. She spread the news about the concert through her community. At the concert, one man told about his experiences as a former child slave. And Hannah asked for people to donate money to help free other slaves.
FTS will use this money to help free slaves everywhere in the world. Hannah believes that people can change the world. She says:
Voice 3
“It really just takes heart and hope for the world and that will change the world.”
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