A report on Human Trafficking was just released (HUMAN TRAFFICKING 2015 REPORT) and it shows that we still have a lot of work to do.  We quickly went to the Ethiopia Report where the report starts out with:

Girls from Ethiopia’s rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and prostitution within the country...The central market in Addis Ababa is home to one of the largest collection of brothels in Africa, with girls as young as 8 years old in prostitution in these establishments. Ethiopian girls are forced into domestic servitude and prostitution in neighboring African countries and in the Middle East.  

Please stop and think about what you just read.  The 8 year old girl mentioned above is a little girl and she has a name.  One of the challenges we face when reading statistics is to allow those statistics to remain nameless or faceless, but we would challenge you to make this more personal and then think about your response.  

We love our kids, they are often the reason behind our motivation in life and nothing hurts us more than to see other kids in vulnerable positions around the world where they are being exploited.  We have a job to stand and defend the defenseless.  With two daughters that were born in Ethiopia, one of whom is 11 years old it's hard for us not to consider the possibilities of our daughter being this little girl mentioned in the report and that thought is crippling.

As part of our work in Ethiopia, we have some incredible partners who are working hard to address the issues facing these young girls and women.  We stand along side them and other organizations who are creating economic opportunity for these incredible women.  Thank you to all who stand with us!

-Ian & Brittany 

Co-Founders | Parker Clay