September Appeal
We Are The Missionaries Of Africa
Dear John,
This may be a difficult letter for you to read. As you read it, I only ask that you
keep in mind that this information has been provided by our own missionaries working
in the field as well as other independent sources. If you find this letter disturbing, I apologize.
I find it disturbing, too -- but someone must speak out for those who are voiceless.
Slavery is nothing new to humanity.As long as humans have been around, people have held one another in captivity or bondage. The strongest have taken advantage of the weakest. This year, it is estimated that as many as 2,500,000 (two and a half million!!) people will be sold into slavery this year. The main difference between the slavery of a hundred years ago and the slavery of today is that the words have been changed. Instead of the term “slavery,” it is now referred to as “human trafficking.”
But whatever term is used to identify it, the end result is the same. People are being held as slaves.
Of the millions of people who will be sold into slavery, more than one and a half million are children. And many of them are from Africa. One writer recently described the statistic as “disturbing.” But if the majority of these children were from the United States, no one would consider it “disturbing.”We would call it horrifying -- and we would demand that something be done. Now!
Recently I received a letter from one of our missionaries, Fr. William Turnbull, who is working in Lilongwe, Malawi, in southeast Africa. Fr. Bill has worked in Africa nearly his entire life and has a great heart for and dedication to reaching out to the poor and those who are suffering.
“Since our founding more than one hundred and forty years ago,”Fr. Bill writes, “the Missionaries of Africa have fought against slavery of every kind. We have seen its evil -- how it destroys not only a person’s life, but their spirit as well.”
“Human trafficking takes various forms,” he continues. “A child can be sold into slavery as payment for a debt that her parents might owe. The child is then often sexually abused. Or a woman whose husband has died and is trying to earn money for her family might be told to come to a certain building where someone will offer her a job. When she gets there, men then abduct her -- and she is sold in Europe or perhaps even the U.S. as a servant.”
“It is unbelievable, but it is happening every day!”
“Malawi is a center for human trafficking,”he concludes. “What we are trying to do is to make people aware of what human trafficking is . . . and the need for laws in Malawi against it (currently there are none!). We are also working to rescue women and children who have been sold into slavery. But this is not something we can do alone -- we desperately and urgently need financial support to keep the program going.I am praying there is some way you can help!”
To date, the group in Malawi has helped free more than 140 women and children from the hands of human traffickers -- those who would sell them into slavery and sexual exploitation. They are doing an incredible work! And it is imperative that we help them in whatever way we can.
I am praying we can raise at least $35,000 to help the mission Fr. Bill wrote about in Malawi as well as help other missionaries working among the poor and those in need. Young girls in Malawi are particularly vulnerable for exploitation! It is critical that we raise as much as we can. Whether you can send a large gift or a smaller one, please know how greatly I -- and all of our missionaries -- appreciate the sacrifices you continue to make for those who are suffering.
God bless you for caring.
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