Kelly Gage, PhD, Guest Speaker
NOMI Network
Dr. Gage, a past Rotarian Student Exchange participant, shared with us how her exchange in the 80's to Brazil set her serendipitous path to her becoming involved in human trafficking. There are 40.3 million enslaved people today: 71% are women. Human trafficking is a $150 billion industry and not one easily tackled. Human trafficking is fueled by generational cycles of poverty and exploitation, and in many cases, families don't realize their daughters have been subjected to slavery - they think they are away at school or are servants for wealthy families.The Nomi Network's vision is a world without slavery where every woman can know her full potential. Supei Liu, also of the Nomi network, shared her experience with working with India and Cambodia. Nomi focuses on the three P's of empowerment: People, Products, and Process - helping women empower themselves is a driving force behind the program. The Nomi Network provides training in life skills, create jobs, and empower women to be leaders in their communities to break the cycles of exploitation.
For more details visit www.nominetwork.org.