Simple Acts of Kindness

There is a moment when you realize you have the capacity to make an impact on the world. When a cause, practice or single idea moves you so much that you couldn’t ignore it even if you tried. Some pursue fulfillment through exploration, swiftly moving through places and ideas. Others prefer to dig in and relish a challenge. For Flora Baik the anti-trafficking movement sparked a deep passion for social justice and in celebration of her 21st birthday, instead of asking for shoes or clothes, she collected more than $2,400 for Polaris Project.

Flora was introduced to the anti-trafficking movement through a documentary about the exploitation of men, women and children around the world, called Nefarious. As a volunteer for the International Labour Organization team Towards Elimination of Child Labour program in South Africa, she worked with victims of neglect and abuse. Living with a host family helped her realize that she already had the material possession she needed to survive. Instead, she wanted to liberate and restore the lives of people who had theirs stripped away.

She initiated a fundraising campaign thought the Polaris Project peer-to-peer fundraising webpage and slowly donations began to come in. By November 24, she had 40 donations from family, friends and even people whom she hadn’t spoken to in years. With the money that she raised, Flora’s efforts will be able to provide one week’s worth of food for 48 survivors, that’s more than 1,000 meals!

While all clothing and jewelry will eventually get lost or fall apart, the joy and love that Flora’s fundraiser gave will always be remembered. Here are some simple acts that you can do right now to make a difference in the fight against human trafficking.

1. Start your own peer to peer fundraising campaign
2. Share this blog with 10 of your loved ones
3. Post a link on your Facebook wall
4. Tweet about it on Twitter
5. Make a donation to Polaris Project, even $10 will make a difference in the life of a survivor of human trafficking.