3. Oasis’ Journey into anti-trafficking work
• Developing Oasis India in the early 90’s meant coming face to face with
human Trafficking
• Especially with women and children at the Asha Deep & Purnata Bhavan
projects.
• In the 00’s - Oasis started global education and advocacy initiatives
which developed into the abolitionist movement called Stop The Traffik
which now has over 2000 global members.
• Oasis has been directly involved in the rescue of over 300 women and
children from human trafficking.
4. Oasis USA
Helps local American communities fight HT in their own
neighborhood and city and in developing resources for the
global HT work
6. The TFC Goals
Traffik Free Community groups exist to enable local people
fight trafficking in their own local area. Oasis USA helps
by mentoring groups to:-
• Engage local communities to make it to “hot” for a trafficker to
operate
• Educate, equip and empower the local community, schools, civic
authorities etc..
• Advocate for the availability of slave-free products & just practices
• Mobilize care for survivors
7. The TFC Birthing Process
Step 1: Raising awareness in a particular community
Step 2: Forming a Leadership team
Step 3: Undertaking TFC research: “Discovering Our Community”
Step 4: Developing a strategic plan: “Making Freedom Happen”
Step 5: Begin working toward their TFC goals
Step 6: Share resources and learning insights with other TFCs
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8. It is important to start with a core team of
approximately 4 to 5 or more people, if possible.
• The core team and all those that join later must be willing to commit to
meeting on a regular basis.
(we recommend meeting once per month)
• Leadership teams meet and prepare the group to research their
community for areas of vulnerability prone to human trafficking.
(discover what are the trafficking issues in your city, where the needs are, what the focus of
the group will be)
9. From the research, identify the focus of the group:
•Developing mentoring groups for youth at risk of trafficking, present in all
the local high schools within the first year.
•Raising awareness about human trafficking through quarterly events
•Lobby City Government to improve city ordinances relating to massage
parlors or labor trafficking.
•Providing Freedom Bags to local law enforcement to be given to minor sex
trafficking victims. Undertake or arrange training for the local law
enforcement.
10. •Display outreach posters through the city and advocate for local
newspapers to stop escort ads. Lobby local and national hotels chains
•Develop opportunities and networks that help local business obtain slave
free products
•Raise awareness about human trafficking in an agreed% of all the faith
communities in the city within the year; assist the faith communities in
having prayer events related to human trafficking; provide opportunities for
the community to meet the needs of victims through a network of
resources, etc..
The focus should be attainable, measurable, and clear to any
who wish to join the group. All activities from the group should
be geared toward this focus.
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11. Current TFC Communities:
• Pomona, CA
• Pasadena, CA
• San Gabriel, CA
• West Palm Beach, Florida
• Los Angeles (downtown), CA
Other Traffick Free Community groups
are under consideration and several will be starting in the
near future.
12. One Key consideration is
funding.
Currently we estimate that a TFC costs approximately $5000 for Oasis to
develop. Of this we ask that a TFC contributes $3000/year.
Oasis USA will support the early development of any TFC. However, a
community needs to eventually fund its own initiatives as well as assist in
helping other TFC to start.
Oasis USA highlights 3 different options a TFC has for enabling a funding
strategy to be developed.
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13. 3 Options
1.A financial contribution from the TFC members or other supportive
people. ($250 per month)
2.The marketing of the Oasis 13 campaign. If a TFC signs up 20 people to
the campaign then the $3,000 is covered that way.
3.Various fundraisers organized by the TFC (mentored & assisted by
Oasis) during the course of the year with a target of $3,000. This might
also be allocated within a wider budget created for the workings of the
TFC and programs it establishes.
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14. Together we can end
human trafficking
one community at a
time!
For more information about the TFC model contact
Oasis USA at kevin@oasisusa.org
www.oasisusa.org
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Editor's Notes
Hello my name is kevin Potter and I welcome you to this brief presentation on Traffick Free Communities. Traffick Fee Communities is Oasis USA’s initiative that educates, trains and empowers local people to fight human trafficking in their own local communities.\n
Oasis USA is part of a global family of nations that are working with the poor, ostracized and disadvantaged people around the world. \nWe are in 10 countries and over 15 major cities helping people who have been left out and marginalized be reintegrated, find their voice and become part of community life once again.\n\nAs Oasis is involved in integrated holistic community development, it means that our work around the world can be different within each community as no two communities are totally alike. Therefore, Oasis is involved in fighting human traffiking, education, health care, developing community businesses and a host of other initiatives that help strengthen local communities and disadvantaged people group.\n
\nIn the early 90’s as we worked in India we came face to face with an insidious problem that was affecting every community, namely human traffiking. \n\nAs we worked with women trapped in prostitution and impacted by HIV & AIDS in Mumbai and children living on the railway stations we came to see the nature of the trafficking scenario. in the early 90‘s most women in the red light area of Mumbai had been kidnapped, raped and brought to the brothels of Mumbai to be sold and abused. The children we worked with and who lived on the railway stations of Mumbai were abused by police, gangs and traffickers. In one instance two children who normally came to one of the Oasis drop in centers disappeared and we found out that they had been sold by their alcoholic father for approx. $20 so that he could obtain more alcohol. Those children were never found.\n\nAs a result of these and other situations that Oasis encountered in its work we started an open global campaign to highlight the issue of Human Traffiking. This campaign has turned into a movement called STOP THE TRAFFIK of which the leader, a minister called Steve Chalk, is now a special advisor to the United Nations GIFT program. Global Initiative fighting Traffiking.\n\nAlso through global advocacy and community action Oasis has been involved in helping over 300 women and children be rescued from human trafficking situations. \n\nHowever, we are also aware that there are many people within the USA who need to be told about HT and others who need to be rescued from HT situations and helped to find a place back in community life. \nAs one of our hopes is that people are rescued, restored and reintegrated back into community life, We, therefore, need to educate the community and help a community be the place of change for its own population. \n\n“We are told that it takes a village to bring up a child, we also believe that it takes a community to care, protect and develop a child.”\n\nTherefore, Oasis USA has initiated and further developing a grassroots network called TRAFFICK FREE COMMUNITY groups. A TFC consist of a group of people who are willing to educate, advocate, train and equip their local community to make it too hot for traffickers to operate. \n\n
A TFC group looks at the 8 main principle players that would affect someone who is being trafficked or at risk of being trafficked and develop a plan as to how to impact them\n\nWe see the principle players as the Police and law enforcement agencies; School and other places of education and learning; the Business sector: Local consumers: health clinics and other first responders; Local city authorities; Faith communities and Media and the arts, \n
A TFC group looks at the 8 main principle players that would affect someone who is being trafficked or at risk of being trafficked and develop a plan as to how to impact them\n\nWe see the principle players as the Police and law enforcement agencies; School and other places of education and learning; the Business sector: Local consumers: health clinics and other first responders; Local city authorities; Faith communities and Media and the arts, \n
A TFC has several goals:- (read the list)\n
The process for starting a TFC is quite simple but relies on the passion and desire from local community residents to bring change.\n\nOasis USa has various advocates around the country who network and rassie general issues regarding Human traffiking both locally and Globally. In some instances local community members come and ask how they can get involved.\nThis is were the advocate and the Oasis national office help guide and mentor the burgeoning group through 6 simple steps.\n\nUndertake events that raise additional awareness about HT in their community\nFrom those events forma leadership team of committed individuals.\nThat group helps initiate a simple process whereby they look to learn what are the vulnerable areas are within their community that are susceptible to HT.\nUnder guidance but focussing on their own local issues we help them develop a plan where they can look to combat existing areas of HT or help strength areas of vulnerability so that HT does not occur.\n\nWe help the TFC connect into the wider TFC family and gain encouragement as they drive towards strengthening and protecting their community. We also encourage that groups share their knowledge with others so that we all can form a clear network. In this way each can learn from the process and ideas that we develop and help mentor each other. However it also means that we form a united interconnected entity that works together for the benefit of the people within the universal communities we are connected with.\n \n
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Each TFC can develop various ways to impact their community such as;\n
\n
Currently we have several TFC engaging their communities\n
The cost of working with Oasis and developing a TFC;\n
Although TFC’s are the brainchild of Oasis the secret of their success is local ownership by people who represent different stakeholders within a given community. Oasis therefore seeks to provide the impetus and expertise to help TFC’s get going rather than control what happens. It’s approach is to empower a local working group to take ownership and responsibility. At the same time it strongly encourages groups to remain connected to Oasis so that ideas can be shared with others and initiatives replicated.\n\nWhat Oasis will provide for you\n\nAssistance in the birth of a TFC through input and facilitation\nA clear approach to how to get started focusing on research and building understanding within your community\nA menu of resources to help address trafficking from a variety of angles\nA website that has a generic template used by other TFC’s which can be used from day 1 and altered as required\nA range of visual brand resources \nConsultancy to enable you to get going and keep going over the long haul\n\nWhat requirements Oasis has from TFC’s\n\nTo use the brand provided that identifies the group as a TFC\nTo either provide some level of funding for Oasis central support operation for TFC’s or to fundraise for this. (A number of options are provided)\nTo keep connected to Oasis and share information about progress made that can be shared with others\n\nEvents and Awareness Raising\nAn important role of Traffik Free Communities is organizing and participating in local events. Consider joining with other like-minded organizations to raise awareness in your community.\n\nEvent ideas:\nUse holidays to celebrate and promote ‘traffik free’ chocolate. Valentines, Easter, Halloween and Christmas are all big chocolate holidays.\n\nHost some film screenings of a film about Human Trafficking and have a discussion time afterwards.\n\nHave a booth at community events to hand out information about Human Trafficking.\n\nPlan activities alongside the 8 stakeholders such as Prayer Stations for trafficking victims in Churches or Benefit Concerts in Schools.\n\nA major part of all of these activities is that it gives your Traffik Free Community a great chance to network and recruit! \n\nMake sure to be conscious when talking to the public about the 8 stakeholders we are targeting and think about the way in which various people may be able to feed into those.\n\n27 Ways to Free the 27 Million\n\n\n27 hours of sponsored Rock Band\nWii Championship Tournament\nSponsor 27 hours of silence\nScreen a film about human trafficking\nSwim 27 laps\nRun, walk, bike 27 miles or 27 laps\nSkate, rollerblade, longboard, surf for 27 blocks\nBake and sell Freedom Cookies and/or Fair-Trade brownies\nHave a Freedom Yard Sale\nWash 27 Cars in a Car Wash\nOffer to do 27 hours of chores for the week\nHost a Battle of the Bands concert\nHost a Talent Competition or your own “American Idol” event\nHost a karaoke night\nOrganize a Comedy event with local comics\nGet your local Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop to host an event\nTake $27 and turn it into $270 or $2700\nEnter your city marathon or 5K and run for freedom\nCoordinate your own AquaRun\nArt show or manga / poster competition\nA raffle for donated items\nHost a fair-trade chocolate fondue party\nInvite people over for fair-trade S’mores\nChange your Facebook status and ask people to get involved with the work of Oasis USA\nFollow @OasisUSA on Twitter\nTweet about anti-human trafficking efforts\nGive each of your friends a change box and ask your friends to collect their coins for 27 days\n\n\n
