Weigh In #33

Freedom.

It's a word that is on the lips or in the minds of a lot of people, especially here in the US. We are a country founded on freedom. We fought, many times, for independence. We talk about of freedoms, our liberties, our rights. It's kind of a big deal...

But there are millions of people that will wake up today who do not have the word freedom in their vocabulary. It is not a word that they will say today. It is not a thought in their minds today. It is not even a hope in their hearts today. To them, freedom just does not exist.

Of all these things, it is the death of hope that is the worst. You see, when a person is enslaved and dragged into human trafficking and exploitation one of the key things that the slave masters do is kill the idea and hope of freedom in the persons heart. They do this to people through physical, mental, and emotional abuse. It is a tragic and horrific story each time.

So, I'm moving my regular postings back to Fridays with a purpose. Aside from tracking my progress and the like, I also want to expand on some stories in and around the world of human trafficking and those fight to abolish it and end the nightmare. Along those lines I give you the first in a (hopefully) long line of "Freedom Friday" posts.

Since I've become a fan and supporter of Love146.org, I'll start with a snippet of the story about how they got their name and began their work. The full story can be found here.

We found ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room, looking at little girls through a pane of glass. All of the girls wore red dresses with a number pinned to their dress for identification. They sat, blankly watching cartoons on TV. They were vacant, shells of what a child should be. There was no light in their eyes, no life left. Their light had been taken from them. These children...raped each night... seven, ten, fifteen times every night. They were so young. Thirteen, eleven… it was hard to tell. Sorrow covered their faces with nothingness. Except one girl. One girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. Her number was 146. She was looking beyond the glass. She was staring out at us, with a piercing gaze. There was still fight left in her eyes. There was still life left in this girl...

...Some time later, there was a raid on this brothel and children were rescued. But the girl who wore #146 was no longer there. We do not know what happened to her, but we will never forget her. She changed the course of all of our lives.

From there, the co-founders of Love146.org created an organization and a movement to free people from the bonds of slavery and to restore in them hope and love. It is an amazing story that is still being written. You can become a part of the story too. You can use the "Donate" in the sidebar on the right or you can go to the Love146.org site and see the many different ways they have to allow you to help out.

And there is always the option to sponsor me in my "This Must Change" challenge. As I have been losing weight, I have challenged myself and others to donate to Love146.org based on the amount I lose. With today's weigh in, I am at a total of 71lbs lost. With the help of very generous partners, they have increased the total amount raised so far to $262.00 (that number may have gone up depending on when you are reading this so you can check the counter in the right side bar for the most up to date amount). I encourage you to do what you can to help wipe out human trafficking and end slavery in our time.

With this move to Fridays, I weighed in this morning. Since Monday's weigh in, I have lost 1 more pound which brings me down to

250.0

I'm hoping to get below the 250 mark this week. And that puts me into only single digits remaining to reach my initial goal of 241lbs. But I'm way ahead of schedule and am setting a new goal soon.

Photo credit to ClearlyAmbiguous.