I’ve long been motivated by a collaborative outlook -- that it’s better together -- since capturing a saying from when I went to school that went like this:

“Let us do nothing apart which can be better accomplished together.”

Whilst this can sound a little like a headline from the latest political campaigning, it is more than an aspirational phrase. It really is better together, not easier -- better!

For three years now, Love146 Europe have been working in a highly collaborative manner with other organisations across the UK and Europe to see a more sustained impact happen on issues of Abolition. It is perhaps reflected most in the work we have been doing in Greece since a road trip in January of 2010 where we first met projects working on victim identification and prevention there. Sometimes it can feel painfully slow to invest in relationships as a foundation for working together but the marrying of friendship to shared objectives is, in my view, the glue of collaboration.

Greece is not just a country in economic meltdown -- it is quickly moving towards a humanitarian crisis with 50% youth unemployment, a growing number of soup kitchens, 2,000 homeless in Athens and a growing risk of violence to its vast migrant community.

As with all humanitarian crisis, those who suffer most are children.

Over the last year, we have seen a partnership form with KEAN, an NGO which has been working with young people for the last decade in Greece.

KEAN mobilises young people as community activists in environmental and humanitarian issues. We are working together to impact Greek school children and educators marrying their expertise in youth mobilization to our expertise in innovative prevention strategies.

We also gathered a team of educators with a panel of execs from the government and non-profit worlds. In looking at the problems facing exploited or abused children in Greece, the clearest cry was that there is a need for a clearly identifiable starting point for a response. Love146 Europe is committed to working in partnership with others to see that happen. 

We are delighted to be assisting in international conversations in Greece this summer that will seek to see online data put in place for children as an aid to better pathways of care and as an aid to swift identification and recovery of those who go missing from care.

It has been a strong aspect of my personal narrative to say that we are committed to long-term solutions. I am increasingly finding that this cannot just involve a response to those who are already exploited, though respond to those we must. What we also need to invest in are the changes to systems that are failing children, lest we seek to graft a healthy branch onto a sick tree.

The reason for this is that it is an important aspect of what historical Abolition looks like, it seeks to serve those and impact those at the grassroots level who are caught in slavery’s grip, but it also seeks top down change at all costs to end it. The film Amazing Grace about William Wilberforce and the recent Lincoln film surely portray the need to win or find likeminded people and gather around a shared, desired outcome.

Why is a collaborative approach critical for protecting children in Greece?

I can say with conviction that there are very good people in Greece who are working hard to do the best for children and they too want to see systems that are counter productive change. They are working to do good things for children and it is delightful to be working alongside them in creating change.

So for us collaboration is more than being together, it's more than agreement, its more than something in writing. Collaboration is participating in a changing landscape and a sense of something new emerging in how collaborations happen. 

Collaboration creates the bones of Abolition, around which forms the sinew, muscle and skin of our actions and hoped for change -- personal, local, national, global change.

It really is better together.

Every month, our inboxes are filled with stories of restoration and recovery. They provide us with immeasurable hope and a renewed resolve to continue fighting for justice.

Reintegration is a key component of our aftercare and another step a girl takes in her journey towards restoration and recovery. Joining a safe community, whether it's with family or independently, is a big part of the process and a step we're always excited to see survivors take.

In the last month, our Round Home has been a hub of some extraordinary stories expressing the kind of reintegration that strengthens and encourages us:

Sharon and her husband are growing sweet corn, tomatoes, string beans, and other crops in a small farm owned by her father-in-law.

Michelle has started helping her mother-in-law sell vegetables at the local market.

Heather was provided financial assistance when her baby boy suffered from fever.

Heather went on to say that she and her husband have changed and that she cannot express how thankful she is for her new life:

"Our lives have changed because of Love146. When we were in the street, we starved and we spent whatever money we had extravagantly. We even got sick and we received no medical assistance from anyone. Now, we are all healthy. We can eat well and we are brought to the doctor as often as needed. Thank you very much for your unwavering support."

We would not be able to walk with these girls as they become reintegrated back into local communities or with their families without you.

Heather's sentiment deserves repeating:

"Thank you very much for your unwavering support."

Give monthly and help girls like Sharon, Michelle and Heather continue to experience hope, healing and freedom.

We're just two weeks into Tread on Trafficking and nearly 300 Abolitionists have already begun to run, bike, swim and climb -- using exercise as a way to fight child trafficking and exploitation.

That's nearly 300 people ready to make a change in the lives of children all over the world -- and you should join them!

Meet Rachel, one of those passionate Treaders:

"The story of the girl in the brothel is what got my attention. What reeled me in was the number of trafficking victims in the United States.

We're supposed to be the freest country in the world, but slavery is still here. We have slaves here in the United States.

That's a travesty.

I was already training for a half marathon this summer and getting involved with Love146 is a great way to stay motivated. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and there's a donation on my page and I can't say no to running that day. My friends and family believe in me and they want to do good for the kids that you all help protect.

It's definitely different than other issues I've been a part of. It's not just about wearing a ribbon or putting on a bracelet. It's something different, something real. People have really gotten behind it.

On my down days -- when I felt sore or tired or just plain didn't feel like running -- I'd think of all the people who had faith in me, who donated money to help me with this cause. If I didn't run, I was letting them down in a way. It felt like I was letting those children down in some small way, too. How can I ask for money to help them if I wasn't willing to put one foot in front of the other and earn it?"

Exercise can do more than make you feel good -- it can do good. Put the active in activism this summer and Tread on Trafficking.

There will be tens of thousands of people today, inspired by the End It Movement, who will wear a red ‘X” on their hands to symbolize a commitment to end slavery.

Philosopher and rhetorician Kenneth Burke wrote extensively on the power of symbolism. He believed that people naturally respond to symbolism in their quest for identification and that it is a powerful means of “inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols.”

Throughout history symbolism has been used to inspire and galvanize social movements. Symbols have even helped unite people within a movement who have differing philosophies, approaches and agendas for a common good. Sometimes words aren’t even necessary. The symbols below speak volumes in their imagery, history and the feelings they provoke:

At the end of the day, these symbols didn’t bring about any meaningful change. But the people behind them did. A symbol doesn’t change anything. People do. And if a symbol can help “induce cooperation” and inspire more people to the fight…then I’m in.

So… a red ‘X’ won’t end slavery. But the people who wear it might.

Rob Morris
President & Co-Founder Love146
(t) 203-772-4420
www.love146.org 
Twitter:@ROBLOVE146

Tomorrow is a day to be heard, to come together as a movement, and to proclaim, "No more!"

This winter, seven organizations working to end modern-day slavery partnered through a coalition called End It.

Tomorrow is the culmination of this campaign; it is a day for us to raise a collective shout and shine a light on slavery. Tuesday, April 9th, we're asking you to draw a red X on your hand in defiance of slavery, in honor of those still trapped, and in the hopes of starting a conversation. 

Be heard tomorrow -- but don't just let the X on your hand do the talking. When friends, classmates, or co-workers ask about it, tell them it's there because there are millions still enslaved in our world and because children are being trafficked and exploited for commercial sex in our country. Tell them about Love146 and the wider movement working to end slavery, and invite them to join in -- there's always room at the table when you're fighting for abolition.

On Instagram or Twitter? Use the hashtag #enditmovement

Will an X on your hand end slavery? No...
The courage to have conversations about it will…
The compassion to inspire loved ones towards action will…
The resolve to not retreat a single inch until total abolition is accomplished most certainly will…

In the face of slavery, be as uncompromising as justice.

Be in it to end it.