World To Form

Wed, 09/02/2009 - 22:40 — h3yitselaine
Region of the Globe (state/district, country): 
CA, Los Angeles, USA
Project Type: 
Project idea
Project Type: 
Ongoing project
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
Poverty
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
World Peace
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
Personal Peace
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
Education
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
Youth Voice
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
Community
Issues Addressed (Mark all that apply): 
Entrepreneurship
Number of People Involved: 
20
Number of People Impacted: 
200
SEE it: What is the mission of your project? What has inspired you to envision and implement it?: 
Many believe that slavery was a problem of the past. In reality, human trafficking is the fastest growing form of international crime of this day and age. A silent business, human trafficking is happening in our backyards. Even though the victims don’t speak our language and they live in poverty, we must understand that they have dreams and aspirations, just like us. They did not choose the circumstances that befall. There are 27,000,000 slaves in the world, half are youth under 18 and 80% are women. Traffickers make more than Starbucks, Google, and Nike combined. The lifespan of a female sex slave ends at 15 years, due to the physical and emotional distress. These slaves are forced to see up to 40 men a day in brothels. Youth are robbed of their lives and freedom. We must have compassion for those who are tainted by their surroundings. Poverty is a huge contribution to trafficking. Parents have no choice but to sell their kids. A couple in Algeria sold their children to traffickers to buy a color television. It’s ridiculous, but the most we can do is to help the victims. Some traffickers claim that this trade is good for the economy. The fact is, allowing slavery will slow down the process for a country to develop and industrialize. Slavery is not a common subject in the media so it is our mission to educate others. I am an avid believer that dedicating time to directly work on a project is a lot better than sending money. We want to teach them how to create their lives. We don’t want to keep on giving. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Some of my most important values are independence and freedom. I can't imagine a life without being able to do what I love and a place where I am applauded for who I am.
ACT upon it: What does your project do? What action does it take to accomplish its mission? Who does it involve?: 
World To Form will start off by advocating with petitions, information tables, flyers, and collaborations with local clubs. Our first fundraiser will be selling flowers at schools plays (a tradition). First, we need to get approval from the school and the director. We will then call 20 or more local florists and ask if they would like to donate flowers. Flyers, information sheets, and an opportunity to sign up for our pen pal system will be available at the concession stand. We have also taken the challenge of completing all the 33 Responses of Call+Response. World To Form plans to pick a genocide and support it by awareness. As our first event, we would like to hold it at a venue called Nucleus (an art gallery). World To Form will need to gather funds to pay for their discounted charge to use their location. At our event, we will have petitions, appetizers, applications for more information/pen pal system/to join our club, and prize drawings. World To Form will need to contact schools and request students to submit artwork on the theme of Freedom. After most of the organization has been organized, we need to send press releases and invite journalists to our event. We also need to send invitations to teachers, students, and friends in the community. Participants will also be encouraged to wear orange, because orange is the color of freedom and it shows our support for the Not For Sale campaign. In our international communications system, we have collaborated with Maggie Doyne, since she has direct contact with the kids. This is where our pen pal program will start. We are also hoping to work with a women’s shelter in Nepal. This will start our Dream Project (to provide materials for trafficked victims to succeed). In a part of our Culture Shock department, we will have movie nights with local orphanages and banquets with a particular type of food. I currently serve as the president/founder of World To Form. It is my duty to manage and run the organization, to provide novel ideas, keep our supporters interested, and execute events and plans with organization and preparation.
INSPIRE from it: What has your project accomplished? Where do you see it going in the future? How can others get involved?: 
I am confident about this project. We just need supporters and organizations to help. We would love to collaborate with organizations. We would also love to contact orphanages and shelters around the world if they are interested in our pen pal project.