By Kaylin Zech
Grade 10 LSS student
The Ladysmith Secondary School Interact Club is made up of a group of students looking to make a positive change both locally and globally. It tackles difficult issues in our communities, organizes fundraisers and spreads awareness on world issues. This March, for Women’s History month, the club has decided to focus efforts on fundraising and increasing public awareness of the devastating realities of victims of human trafficking in Canada.
Interact is taking action in partnership with The Canadian Centre To End Human Trafficking, a reputable national charity that strives to create new and innovative strategies to combat this issue. Its goal is “to mobilize collective action and system change to end human trafficking in Canada.” It aims to gather sponsors and support to take action to stop human trafficking. It also works to lift up survivors and make victims’ voices heard, as it believes sharing knowledge is crucial to improving this issue.
Throughout the month the Interact Club has conducted numerous fundraising events locally in the school and community. It ran concession stands at Ladysmith Secondary School for students to purchase pizza slices and popcorn, all proceeds of which went to The Canadian Centre To End Human Trafficking. On the March 5, a Saturday, Interact held a fundraising event outside the 49th Parallel Grocery, where members offered pins and ribbons to help spread awareness within our community.
Human trafficking is occurring more frequently then many may think and it is our job as a community to educate ourselves and be aware of the threat. Knowledge is power in eliminating these types of crimes. Trafficking typically happens for three reasons: sex trafficking, forced labour and organ harvesting. Trafficking is an organized crime that, for a single trafficker, can bring in billions of dollars per year. It’s easy to see how large the scale of these activities are. Over 95 per cent of victims are women and girls.
If you have any information or anonymous tips, the number to call is 1-833-900-1010. The national human trafficking hotline is open 24/7 and there is also a chat feature.