Dr. George Bellitsos and Yonas Tesfay

Dr. George Bellitsos and Yonas Tesfay

The Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking, ISU Student NAHT, and Rotary Club of Ames joined forces to sponsor a lecture on Fighting Modern Day Child Slavery in Ethiopia. The program took place at the Iowa State University Memorial Union and was attended by over 300.

Yonas Tesfay, Founder and director of Hope for Children in Ethiopia shared his experiences dealing with the complex issue of modern child slavery and explained how his organization is finding solutions through social entrepreneurism and sustainable practices. Hope for Children in Ethiopia is a community-based organization which works side-by-side with community members to provide holistic care and support for children.

Much of the private funding for Hope for Children comes from right here in Iowa. The agency has served over 3,000 rescued children over its 8 year history. The children range in age from 7 to 17. The male children were involved primarily in labor trafficking and the female children were both sex and labor trafficked. The rescued children are provided safe housing, food, counseling and trade school education. The children have missed years of school so great efforts are made to help catch them up.

The trades taught include hairdressing, cooking, computer technology, and textiles. The weaving business is a large part of the job training program and the children make scarfs which are sold here in Iowa by Beza Threads. The volunteer fundraising organization has already sold 8,500 scarfs here in Iowa.

Fighting Modern Child SlaveryWhen you buy a scarf from Beza Threads, 100% of your dollars go directly to funding slave rescue and prevention programs provided by their partner organization, Hope for Children in Ethiopia. Click here to browse and order from their hand-woven scarf collection. If you would like to become a long-term donor towards the organization, Beza Threads offers two child sponsorship programs. To educate and protect young children from slavery, become a Beza Protector for as little as $5 a month. If you’d like to rescue young women from forced prostitution, give as little as $5 a month to become a Beza Rescuer. Click here to sign up and learn more about these sponsorship programs. Through their fundraising and scarf sales, Beza Threads has rescued more than 100 children from slavery. Join their movement to help more children live in freedom!

If you would like to host a program or additional information on this topic, please contact Elizabeth Carman. 515-370-5736, or visit www.bezathreads.org.