Impossible is a Dare

by Cooley, Ben;

  The Stand was an incredible night. We highlighted all of these wonderful organizations who had come and partnered with us. We were able to give an opportunity to these amazing causes and say to others; ‘Come on, look at what these guys are doing. It’s really good. Get involved with them!’

  Then the question came: ‘All right, what do we do next?’ What do we do with people wanting to give money to us? We’d had to create an organization and give it a name by this point, but I don’t think any of us imagined that Hope for Justice was going to be what it is now. Even after the event, I don’t think we thought: ‘This is what we’re going to do now: we’re going to step into the whole area of human trafficking and bring it down; this is going to be our fight.’ I don’t think any of us really thought that Hope for Justice was going to suddenly grow legs and arms and begin to run.

  But Hope for Justice has never run alone. The same heart for partnership that we presented at The Stand has stayed with us through our entire journey. In everything we’ve done then and since, we’ve tried to create something that shows people that it’s possible to work together and that charities don’t have to be in competition with one another, that they can actually be companions not competitors. For me, that’s the saddest thing we encounter, not just with Christians but with people of any faith and none. Such damage can be caused by acting in a way that suggests we’re in competition with each other and that one is better than another; there is such damage in thinking: ‘If you do well that means we’re not doing well, therefore we don’t want you to do well.’ All of that is so distracting, energy zapping and fruitless that we have made it one of the hallmarks of our organization to demonstrate to the church, the charity world, to governments, to organizations and agencies that it is entirely possible to work together. And not only possible but preferable, because the results are far superior when you do work together. That is what we would love to see: more partnerships and replication of what we see working in many other countries.

  We’re trying to build a movement not a moment. We want to create a movement because a movement continues long after the original movers have finished and long after they’ve gone. At Hope for Justice, our dream is ultimately to end slavery, but we also want to do ourselves out of a job! We want to be able to move on to something else because we have seen an end to slavery.

  * * *

  Chapter ten

  Ma Ni’s story

  Every little girl should be allowed to play, to dance, to laugh. Every little girl should feel loved. For Ma Ni, childhood was a very different story.

  Growing up, this little girl was ruthlessly exploited for labour by a family member. She rarely saw friends or played games. Instead she was forced to work relentless hours. She lived in Cambodia’s Battambang Province with an abusive father, and her family were scarcely able to afford one meal a day. They were sometimes so desperate they had to scavenge for food or beg their neighbours to feed them. This was barely an existence, never mind a childhood. As Ma Ni grew up, she wished for a better future in Thailand.

  One day a customer offered her a much better job across the border, as a house cleaner. With nowhere else to turn and desperate to escape her exploitation, she jumped at the opportunity. But soon after her journey started, her life became a living nightmare. She had been sold to traffickers. One of the men raped her many times. The next morning she was sold on, to another man. Her body was used to pleasure men twice and three times her age. She was in torture. All she had wanted was a better life, all she had wanted was to earn a living and make a future for herself. Now she felt worthless and alone.

  Taking a rare an unexpected opportunity, Ma Ni managed to escape and found her way back to Cambodia. She didn’t know where she was running to, but she certainly knew what she was running from. Whatever the future held, it had to be better than the darkness she was fleeing.

  The police eventually found Ma Ni and brought her to a Hope for Justice safe house for restoration. She was so scared at first that she couldn’t even sleep. She had so many nightmares about what had happened to her. Night after night the faces of her abusers would appear in her mind. Grinning, sweaty, dirty men. She would blame herself for everything that happened to her. She felt such a deep sense of guilt and shame. But over time things began to change. Through Hope for Justice programmes, therapy and treatment, day by day, Ma Ni got better.

  Ma Ni later shared: ‘Coming to Hope for Justice was a turning point for my life. My life is filled with hope now. I feel like I know what I want my future to look like.’ It is a future filled with hope.

  Better together

  Ma Ni’s story was an amazing one but it actually wasn’t one of ours. It was a story from a Cambodian anti-trafficking charity called Transitions Global. You see, there were other organizations that shared the same goal we had, which was to see the end of modern-day slavery for good. Transitions Global were working with another agency and our friend Stacia Freeman. Stacia worked for Abolition International and it was she who asked the question: ‘Why are we doing this alone?’ Abolition International had had separate talks with Transitions Global (which we had supported through our financial giving programme), and out of those conversations came the bold proposal that we all become one organization.

  Passionate, positive and all sharing a common purpose, the three of us agreed to continue and develop the conversation in what would turn out to be an incredible process. We all decided to lay down our agendas because the need to end human trafficking was far greater than the need to promote our individual organizations.

  I remember one evening: I was on the phone to Natalie Grant, founder of Abolition International. Here I am speaking with this unbelievable woman, an internationally renowned, Grammy-nominated singer, and the voice on the end of the phone tells me that she would be happy to lose her brand name because the people we were looking to rescue were more important. That was the spirit of the merger. It wasn’t about who got what. It was about how we build something that will more effectively see an end to human trafficking globally. The merger increased our capacity. Together we were stronger.

  The process of merging is always a challenge, but it is one of the best things we have done as an organization. Through merging with Transitions Global in Cambodia, founded by James and Athena Pond (who went on to lead our Cambodian Hope for Justice office), we have acquired experts in aftercare, which is something we have never had in the UK before. Through Stacia and her team we were able to learn more about training and the issues around child sexual exploitation in the USA. We are now better equipped than ever to see an end to modern-day slavery. If you decide to merge, you have to be of the right mindset. I’m so proud of everyone involved in this merger because it wasn’t about position, it was about legacy. We believed that our joint legacy of freedom would be far greater than anything we might achieve separately.

  I’ll never forget about a week or so before we announced the merger when I was having dinner with James and Athena in Cambodia after a day of filming. As we talked and laughed together, I just got this overwhelming sense of pride. This couple had given up all the comfort and convenience of the USA to work in the hot, sticky and challenging environment of Cambodia. They had sacrificed so much and all because they believed in the fight against modern-day slavery and the vision to see victims restored.

  Only a week later, we launched at an event called Night of Freedom. I was backstage talking to Natalie, and I’ll never forget how humble she was as we said a little prayer together. I felt so proud to stand alongside her and continue to feel so to this day. Exactly the same with Stacia, James and Athena. In our hearts we are all Abolitionists. The three organizations became Hope for Justice. Their story is our story but you should probably hear it from them.

  Natalie’s story

  Natalie Grant, singer, songwriter and co-founder of Hope for Justice (Intl.)

  I remember the first time I became aware of modern-day slavery. It was 2004 and I had been on tour as part o
f my work as a contemporary Christian recording artist. It was my day off and I was at home watching one of my favourite TV shows, Law and Order – it’s a fictional show but they say that every episode is based on factual cases from the headlines. The episode I saw depicted children being sold as sex slaves in New York City. They showed several kids being held in the basement of a Manhattan apartment; I remember thinking, ‘Which headline has this been ripped from? This is not real. This is not happening.’

  At the end of the episode, I googled, ‘What is human trafficking?’ Although not many people were talking about the issue back then, I found a document published by the US government called the Trafficking in Persons Report. I don’t think I understood half of it but I understood enough to realize that human trafficking was real, that slavery still existed and most slaves in the world were children.

  Soon afterwards, I found an organization involved in combating slavery; I called its toll-free number and said, ‘This is going to sound crazy but I am a singer. I stand on a stage and I feel like people need to know this is happening in the world.’ I ended up going on a trip to India with my husband; I saw the red-light district at first hand. I’ll never forget looking up at a second-storey window and seeing a little girl, no more than 6 years old, literally sitting in a cage. It was one of those moments in life when you are not really sure what you can do, you just know that you have to do something.

  I came back from that trip determined to use my platform to make a difference. I started the process of creating my own non-profit organization to raise awareness about trafficking and slavery. That is how Abolition International came to be in 2005. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing; I just wanted to address a huge injustice. Amazingly, some really incredible people crossed my path who were able to aid me in getting the charity off the ground.

  In those early days, we had some wonderful trained medical professionals and psychologists who helped us to focus on our heart for restoration. Although we could see other organizations raising awareness, the statistics showed that, without good-quality care and the proper clinical training in place to restore individuals, over 90% of those rescued from slavery would return to being enslaved. It’s hard for people who have never been victims to understand why on earth someone would ever go back to slavery after being freed. Yet there are deep psychological issues that have to be treated to ensure the cycle of slavery is broken. That’s why we initially set our sights on writing manuals for standardized care.

  Abolition International was fantastic but there was always a little piece missing. If I’m honest, I want to be the kind of person who could carry out a raid. I want to go in, get the bad guys and get all the kids out, but that is not part of my skill set. My greatest gift is that I have a platform in the public eye; people listen to me. Although I want to be involved in all the various aspects, I’ve had to learn that there are other people who have the right abilities and are able to use them far more effectively than I can. It is people like this, with the relevant training, experience and infrastructure, who would take the charity to the next level.

  I first became aware of Hope for Justice through one of my dearest friends, Charlotte Gambill. I remember telling her about the passion I had to fight human trafficking. She said to me, ‘Well, we have a really good friend called Ben Cooley who is doing incredible work here in the UK.’ When I came over to England to meet Ben for the first time, I thought he was crazy – crazy, boisterous and loud – but I always say you have to be slightly crazy to make an incredible difference in the world; you have to be crazy enough to believe that you can. Ben has that belief. A lot of people will look at a situation and ask, ‘Why?’ Ben will look at it and ask, ‘Why not? Why couldn’t we do that? Why couldn’t we change the world?’

  It was from there that I began to learn what Hope for Justice does. The more I learned, the more I realized that what Abolition International had – my public platform and a way to raise the profile of human trafficking – was what Hope for Justice needed. And what Hope for Justice had – infrastructure from a professional standpoint – was what Abolition International needed. After all, without the ability to rescue victims, who are you providing restorative care for? Later, Hope for Justice introduced me to the wonderful Athena and James Pond and the amazing work of Transitions Global in Cambodia. The more we explored together, the more it seemed like a perfect match – that our three passionate organizations should become one.

  Naturally, when we were talking about merging Abolition International, Hope for Justice and Transitions Global, there was the question of which name we were going to use. Honestly, in my humanity, that was a struggle for me at first. I thought, ‘Wait a second! This is our name!’ And yet, the moment you put your feelings to one side, you realize an issue is so much bigger than someone’s pride or agenda – all that matters to our charities is that we free as many people as possible and restore them to a better life, a hope and a future. I’ve learnt over the years that non-profit work usually comes from a good place – the desire to help – but then people become involved and they can mess everything up! We all have our own agendas and our own ideas, and people’s feelings can get hurt. It’s very hard sometimes to put those things aside for the greater good. When you do, you soon realize that ‘together is better’ is more than just an optimistic phrase – it’s a reality.

  It is hard to find the people who are able to put their agendas aside and partner together but, when you do, there is such a great opportunity to make a difference; there is power in numbers. Together you can accomplish so much more than you ever could apart. I remember being so excited about announcing the merger at Night of Freedom for that very reason. You hear a lot of people say, ‘Together we can do this’, then they all go back to their own corners of the world and get caught up in their own things. But here we were in Nashville, Tennessee, where everybody says ‘y’all’, and this guy with a strong British accent gets up to talk about fighting human trafficking. It was such a beautiful picture of the three organizations joining together on an international level to take on an international problem.

  I believe our merger has really allowed me to put Abolition International into very capable hands, to let it to be carried by Ben, Athena, James and their teams, enabling me to go back to what I do best: using my platform to tell people how they can play a part in fighting slavery. There was such a lesson in it for me: sometimes we can hold on to our own ideas or goals too tightly. The tighter I held on to my dream, the more I stifled its growth; the more I let go of it, the more it grew, and I’m really grateful that I can trust Ben, Athena and James and the rest of the team. I know of their integrity; I know that action backs up their words. I long to see the work in Cambodia grow, and it is! I long to see the work in the USA grow, and that is happening as well. The progress is just slower than I want it to be; yet I know that slow and steady wins the race. Hope for Justice is tackling this issue in the right way, making sure it’s work will last.

  It’s funny the way things become trendy – not just fashion but causes too; it’s part of human nature to jump on a bandwagon! And right now it does seem that human trafficking has become a very trendy cause: people are making bracelets inscribed with slogans about it and writing red Xs on their hands. I’m not saying this to take anything away from these initiatives. In fact, I am so grateful that they are flourishing because, when a cause is on trend, the awareness becomes so massive that a lot is achieved. But what’s important is that organizations are set up to handle their business in the right way. Then, when mainstream culture moves on to a different cause, they will still carry on the real work. That’s what I believe about Hope for Justice. I believe in our work so strongly that I know – long after trends come and go – we will still be there doing the work, getting real results and seeing freedom come to so many more people. That’s why I believe deeply in what we are doing – we are building something to last.

  Another side to the story

  Athena Pond, Inter
national Programme Operations Director and co-founder of Hope for Justice (intl.)

  James and I first heard about human trafficking in 2004, and our hearts were instantly broken at the thought of human beings – children – being sold for sex and profit. We knew we could not look away, could not hope that someone else would intervene, and so we began a journey to learn more about the problem and what we could do to help. In 2005 we chose to move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and start a long-term aftercare shelter with an organization there. We sold our house, our cars, most of our belongings, and left the USA with our three children, Ashley, 15, Gabriel, 13 and Alexis, 9 years old. This began a truly amazing adventure for us as a family and re-set the course of our lives for ever.

  We knew nothing about running an aftercare facility for girls who had just been rescued from slavery, but we knew we could learn and we knew we were willing. As we began the work we quickly saw the need for a more professional, intensive, focused strategy that helped girls complete the transition back into society with viable life and job skills. We were committed to building a programme based on excellence and the ethos of everything we did for the girls in our care being what we would do for our own daughters. To achieve our goal, we moved back to the USA and started our own organization, Transitions Global, so we could create the holistic initiative we dreamed of.

  With a major focus on this programme, we spent the next seven years travelling back and forth to Cambodia, building relationships in the community and a reputation for excellence in aftercare. Aside from our incredible Khmer staff and a few wonderfully dedicated volunteers, James and I did the work of creating programmes and running an international non-profit organization alone. We didn’t have support staff, a marketing team or a development team, and it was very challenging to cover all those roles ourselves. There were very long work days, no time off for holidays or vacations, and the entire burden of keeping things going fell largely on us. It was a very long and lonely seven years!