Did you know January is human trafficking awareness month? Human trafficking is modern day slavery and it is a global epidemic. Every day there are at least 25,000 victims of sex trafficking being exploited in Italy alone.

As you know, Tesori Raggianti, our anti-trafficking ministry, is taking strategic steps to respond to the crisis in Italy. Victims of sex trafficking are coerced, abused and broken by the evils of the commercial sex industry and they need holistic care to put the pieces of their lives back together.

A curriculum was created to train caregivers to provide transformational care to those women, children and men wounded by the injustice of human trafficking. This comprehensive Christian material was written to equip caregivers to reach out to survivors of trafficking with hands that heal.

Such materials don’t exist in Italy and we are trying to change that. We want to give caregivers a tool that we know will empower them together with survivors to write new stories of freedom and healing. We are producing an Italian version of the “Hands that Heal: International Training Curriculum” and want to invite others to take part in putting that curriculum into the hands of Christian caregivers so that they can be more effective as they reach out to make a difference in the lives of Italy’s modern day slaves.

So this month it is fitting that we launched a campaign called “Write Their Healing in Ink”. The purpose of the campaign is to finish funding the translation, editing and publishing of the Hands that Heal curriculum. Our goal is $3,000, which will cover the cost of a professional revision of the 300 page manual so that we can send it to print.

My ever so creative and hard working husband has graciously committed his time and talent to turning pens and gifting 100% of the proceeds of their sale to this project. Every hand turned pen purchased allows us to write stories of healing by supporting the transformation of lives once captive to injustice.

It’s human trafficking awareness month. What will you do? The purchase of a pen puts us one step closer to publishing this manual that will impact the nation of Italy by bringing hope and healing to its survivors of trafficking. Click the image of the pens above to visit the website where you can browse the current inventory of hand turned pens. Buy one for yourself or a friend or spread the word to your family and friends and help us “write their healing in ink”!

-Erika

P.S. Sex trafficking is happening in America too. In fact, Nightline recently did a great report to titled “Lured Off the Streets, a Look at How Young Women Become Sex Trafficking Victims” and if you’re living in the U.S. I recommend taking the ten minutes to watch and learn about the situation in your own backyard. There is also a new film,  “A Path Appears,” premiering on PBS tonight at 10PM EST if you have more time to invest in educating yourself on this important issue!