Megan Withrow
Reporter
The W’s International Justice Mission joined Wesley Foundation in a night of prayer on Oct. 14 for victims of human and sex trafficking.
This is one of many events that IJM has held on campus, even though it is relatively new to The W. The goal of many of these events is to bring awareness to the hurt and pain that some people have to go through on a daily basis. Human and sex trafficking affects most of America, and more than nine million people across the world are victims.
“It’s not just someone in Honduras or someone over in Thailand. It’s girls here in Mississippi. It’s boys here in Mississippi. It’s the relatives of our professors. It is people in our own families,” said Betsie MacLellan, a student intern at Wesley Foundation.
IJM hoped that the night of prayer would bring awareness at The W and get more people involved in the fight against trafficking.
Rice was served in a small cup as the event’s meal, to show attendees what it’s like to live off of rice for your meal every single day. They served plain water in a cup of the same size to show how limited water resources can be for some people.
Morgan Kelly, president of The W’s campus chapter of IJM, spoke at the event and gave more information about what she hoped could be accomplished at this event.
“I really wanted to bring about awareness. Not just about the facts and the statistics, but I really wanted to bring to life the victims. I really wanted people to know that they’re not just a statistic. These are people,” said Kelly.
After worship, IJM had different individuals read the survival stories of some of the trafficking victims. After each story, people were asked to get into groups of two or three to pray for the victims.
At the end of the event, every person was given a balloon that represented a person who is affected by trafficking. They gathered in a circle and said a prayer before releasing their balloons as a sign of freedom for victims.