At the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta in 2017, I heard a presentation on Human Trafficking that rekindled my passion for the cause. During that presentation, the recommendation was made that each district have a task force to address the issue. At dinner that evening, I told Ruth Lee about the presentation and said that District 6420 should have an anti-human trafficking task force. Her response was, “That’s a great idea. Do it!” (As you can see, I’ve never learned when to be quiet!)
And so, a task force was formed. Our small committee met and decided that education was a vital part of the fight to end human trafficking and modern-day slavery. While we didn’t feel we could do frontline work, we did feel we could educate the public. We chose the tagline Education for Eradication. We made presentations to several Rotary clubs.
Then people moved, people had health issues, and a pandemic ensued. The flame of passion was flickering and about to go out when I reached out to all District 6420 clubs about our cookbook and Ginger Thompson noticed a reference to the task force in my signature block and it piqued her interest. (The line was basically there because I hadn’t updated my signature block to remove it.)
But, it only takes a tiny spark to start a flame! The spark was there, the flame was lit. I reached out to former committee members to find if there was still interest in the subject. One member was still eager, so Susan Burstzynsky, Ginger, and I are ready to continue the challenge. DG Laura has been advised that we are rekindling the fire and was happy to hear it.
But – we are only three and ours is a big district. Rather being a best-kept secret or the non-working committee, we want to be certain that every club in our district is aware of the problem. In other words, we want to spread the education so that it leads to eradication. If this is something that appeals to you, we would be thrilled to have you join us at our next Zoom meeting on Monday, October 3, at 6:30 p.m. Email me at tonisrotary@gmail.com and I will send you the Zoom link.
Education for Eradication