Casa Alianza has 22 years of experience as a street outreach to vulnerable kids. We have connected with them to tell the at-risk and prevention story. They are an amazing prevention org that serves as a drop in shelter and home for abandoned children and youth. They have some great programs and 150 beds. We will be featuring them in our media communicating prevention and child protection work. David, their street outreach director, took us to the areas of the city where kids are most vulnerable living on and under the streets. We hung out and played Uno and Soccer to break the ice. The kids then opened up and gave us tours of their homes. A group of about 20 teens live in a small tarp village. Another group lives under the streets. We climbed though drainage pipes and tunnels under the city where we sat and talked with them. In spite of it all, they have made these places home. They were so gracious and hospitable. We definitely made some new friends.

Each of the street tribes have girls that live with them. The leaders have their pick. We hung out with one 15 year old girl who is two months pregnant. All of the kids are so addicted to sniffing/huffing that they will do anything for it. There are crack pipes and PVC glue cans laying around everywhere. They pour the PVC glue into plastic water bottles, dip tissue in the solvent then huff and sniff the soaked tissue. Local pimps use this to exploit the girls and force them into prostitution in exchange for the glue. Four of the girls at the safe home were rescued from this very scenario. Two of the safe home girls have had babies from when they lived there… one from a pimp. One of the girls was 13 years old when she had her baby. We gathered some great artifacts for our exhibit, including the bottles, tissue, PVC glue can, and a crack pipe… all given to us as gifts from the kids.

We were escorted by armored/bullet proof SUV through the most dangerous and infamous areas for street prostitution in Mexico City to gather exploitation media. We were in one place there where you can rent a motorcycle and machine gun by the hour to do drive-bys… not joking. Many underage girls are being exploited here. Women in these areas line up on the streets to be chosen by clients. In another area the girls are paraded in the alley one by one in front of a lineup of men until one chooses her. This is where Rosi Orozo, the founder of the safe home that we partner with, personally rescued the first girls three years ago.

To contribute click DONATE

We regularly host iEmpathize Showcases that immerse people in our advocacy experiences and feature ways to partner with us. The showcase highlights our field partnerships and projects explaining how and why we support them.

This Saturday at 7PM we will be in Colorado Springs at the Loft. RSVP if you would like to come.

iE Gallery – Thanks to the generosity of a few of our supporters the iE Gallery will be available through the end of May. Our SE Asia Child Trafficking Exhibit is installed in our gallery space in downtown Boulder, CO. The space is available for  your own private awareness and fundraising event. Just schedule the date with us and we will help you with the rest. Brad, iE’s President, will personally share the stories behind the film, photographs and artifacts. If you live in the Colorado Front Range area book an evening and invite your friends to come be a part!

To contribute click DONATE

Mexico City Update 3 from Brad Riley on Vimeo.

iEmpathize was in Mexico City gathering media that will be used to raise awareness and funds to end the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in Mexico. In addition to partnering with a safe home that is restoring 25 girls ages 9-18, we are rallying behind a movement of mass anti-trafficking legislation, rescue efforts, and prevention programs. There is a powerful group of Mexican abolitionists that are passionately leading the way and we are proud to come along side them. The media is being developed into two Mexican street exhibits to be used by university students, and an iE mixed media immersive exhibit that will be in English and Spanish. We believe these tools will have a profound impact both in Mexico and the US.

We had a film interview and photo shoot with Rosi Orozco who is the founder of the foundation that runs the safe home. We filmed interviews with survivors and gathered all kinds of candid media of all the girls throughout the safe home. It was terrific and aesthetically beautiful. We spent time at the safe home sharing stories, laughing with the girls, and holding the babies of a couple of the girls. The stories are heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

Maria was 9 years old when she was first prostituted. She was trafficked from Guatemala to Mexico. Her father killed her mother and she went to live with her grandmother.  Her aunt brought her to Cancun, where her alcoholic uncle pimped her out to neighbors. Her victimizations included being raped by two men at same time. To this day, she uncontrollably wets and soils the bed from the damage she suffered. She is now safe and experiencing deep love and profound healing. We enjoyed her laughing, smiling and teasing us all day. (name changed in behalf of her dignity)

To contribute click DONATE

Mexico Update 2 from Brad Riley on Vimeo.

We attended a Presidential event where President Calderon lit us up with a passionate address specifying the fight to see organized crime crumble. Among other things, he shared his disdain for the trafficking of children. It was such an inspiring evening and we were honored to be a part of it.

To contribute click DONATE

iEmpathize Mexico Media Expedition Day 1 Update from Brad Riley on Vimeo.

Brad and the Sex-Cafe from Tom Davis on Vimeo.

Because of its geographical location and current economic situation, Moldova has emerged as a major country of origin for trafficking in women and children. It is also a transit country for trafficking from Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

We arrived in Moldova to learn more about their human trafficking dilemma and explore partnership opportunities. One of our first meetings was with a safe home director who works with survivors rescued from the sex trade. Our driver picked her up and she greeted us with the statement, “I have a surprise for you.” Moments later we were in the heart of  the capitol city, Chisinau, at a cafe.

I thought the surprise might be the best espresso in the city but I would soon learn the reality of the space I was in. We sat down and she explained that this cafe was a front for Middle Eastern traffickers. One of the girls in her safe home was trafficked by the very men that surrounded us.

Traffickers lurking over our shoulders

The operation goes down like this: A group of older Middle Eastern men run the place. Young attractive guys work the cafe and “befriend” the girls. Moldovan girls are lured in by ads in the paper and by the younger guys working the streets. Jobs are few and far between so young Moldovan girls jump at the chance. After a season of learning Middle Eastern customs at the cafe the girls are then transferred to Turkey. Before they know it they are being prostituted in a foreign land. There was clearly a sense of eerie control the men at this cafe had over the servers and random girls coming in and out of the cafe.

Cafe owner with young Moldovan girl

The young woman from the safe home trafficked by these men suffered horrific exploitation but thank God she is free now and experiencing beautiful restoration. It was an incredible feeling to blatantly film an interview on the cafe patio in broad daylight. We made the whole cafe crew very nervous.

To contribute click DONATE

May 4th we leave for Mexico City on an iE Media Expedition. Brad Riley, in collaboration with photographer Peter Gibson of NYC and filmmaker Simon Scionca of Colorado Springs, will be producing a new mixed media exhibit on the issue of child trafficking in Mexico.  We begin the trip with the honor of attending the President’s Cinco de Mayo Celebration and then jump right into capturing the story of a young girl prostituted at a seedy hotel brothel in Mexico City. Her story continues with an amazing rescue and beautiful restoration. We are partnering with Congresswoman Rosi Orozco who leads the government’s human trafficking task force. Rosi is also the founder of Camino a Casa, the first Mexican safe home focusing entirely on the restoration of child trafficking survivors who have been sexually exploited.  The exhibit will be produced in Spanish as an awareness tool in Mexico. Mexican university students will be installing the exhibit on campuses beginning this June. In addition, iE will have an English version for advocacy in the U.S. Funds raised will support the Mexico safe home and prevention projects in Mexico City. Follow us on twitter and the iE blog for exciting step-by-step updates of the expedition and undercover work!

To contribute click DONATE.

iE Gallery – This month we installed our SE Asia Child Trafficking Exhibit in a gallery space in downtown Boulder, CO. The space was in shambles but over six days several volunteers flipped it and made it a beautiful gallery. We have had groups of people hosting awareness and fundraising events all month long.

Thursday the 29^th from 7-8 PM we will show the iE short film and Brad will personally share the stories behind the photographs and artifacts. If you live in the Colorado Front Range area invite your friends and come be a part!

To contribute click DONATE

In recent weeks, iEmpathize and a host of other organizations have experienced a rerouting of personal and private funding going to address the needs in Haiti. Your participation in this simple giving program will help iE in profound ways.

This year’s Martin Luther King Day was deeply moving for me as I journaled some concepts inspired by listening to and reading his speeches.  It was not a radical request but a reasonable one for a person to drink from the same fountain and sit in the same seat on a bus as everyone else.  What was radical was that some were willing to die for that reasonable request. Change comes about through the convergence of the radical and the reasonable. Our team has streamlined our personal budgets to brace for the delicate phase of launching a non-profit. We chose this road and we are not asking everyone to make the same radical decision that we have, but we are asking for people to do something reasonable.

We have had demonstrable success in raising awareness and significant resources for child trafficking efforts. Since our public launch in September, we have raised over $100,000+ for our cause and engaged thousands in the issue. We have partnership commitments in the US, Cambodia, The Philippines, Thailand, India, Russia, and Mexico. We are poised to raise hundreds of thousands more this year with our new advocacy tools and programs but all of this is in jeopardy without your help. Learn about iE’s impact and what you help us with… read more!

iE team members are now experiencing the dip in support on a very personal level,  seriously impacting our personal finances and housing.

• We have an immediate need of $2,500.
• We need to raise $10,000 in monthly support so we can focus on our mission.

In the next few days, will you tell our story to a handful of people that you influence and personally invite them to help us with the 1:10 Project? There are two components to the 1:10 Project:

• INSPIRE friends and family to support iE at least $10 monthly in the next 10 days.
• ASK those friends to do the same.

A phone call then forwarding this message works great.

• To make a monthly or one-time tax deductible donation today click DONATE

• To learn more about iEmpathize visit www.iEmpathize.org and www.facebook.com/iEmpathize

Sincerely,

Brad Riley

One Year…

February marked one year of incredible existence for iEmpathize and we are thrilled about year two! This list would not be a reality without you. With your help, here is what our small but effective team has been up to over the past year or so.

We are continually and extensively researching the cause and effects of justice issues impacting vulnerable children. We began by addressing the child sex trafficking issue in several countries. We met with academic experts, government leaders, law enforcement, investigators, practitioners, NGO leaders, at-risk families and children, and the child victims and survivors themselves. We are currently focusing on seven countries: the US, Mexico, Russia, India, Thailand, The Philippines and Cambodia. We have developed strategic and solution-based partnerships and projects in each of these countries. We are continually developing mixed-media experiences and events that immerse people in the issue and give the public practical ways to engage and become part of the solution.

This past year, we developed our business model and became a 501c3. We hired two full-time employees and one part-time. We established partnerships with photographers, filmmakers, musicians, and other artists. We mobilized a host of volunteers effectively partnering with us on a regular basis. In our launch year, we raised over $240,000.00 and legitimately brought exposure to tens of thousands of people for this issue.

Field Work…

Cambodia

iE’s Research

We met a persecuted member of Cambodian Parliament and listened to her efforts and her plea for governmental and grassroots change to end child sex trafficking within her country. We interviewed the regional director of social work for southern Cambodia and were personally guided through the country by a Cambodian practitioner and expert on the issue. We did extensive research with a Cambodian network of 40+ orgs working in child protection, intervention, and restoration efforts. We met with safe-home directors and caregivers; we visited five prevention centers and interviewed their staff. We interviewed an investigation and rescue organization that shared many of their cases with us. We interviewed a leader of social entrepreneurism creating sustainable career paths for at-risk youth and survivors of child sex trafficking. We visited many at-risk areas, a recently closed child brothel, and sadly, we experienced a mother’s attempt to prostitute her very young daughter to our media team.

iE’s Response

• We gathered substantial media used in our exhibit and film.
• We entered into an official partnership with Chab Dai, a network of 40+ orgs working within the issue.
• We participated in funding the development of a prevention-training curriculum for boys and girls at risk to be trafficked. The program has proven to be effective in at-risk communities.
• We have entered into an official partnership with Transitions Global (TG) through child sponsorship, monthly funding, and expansion plans to India. TG provides safe environments and innovative solutions where girls can heal through intensive trauma therapy, life skills training and learn viable, sustainable job skills.

Yeng (Chab Dai) presenting prevention curriculum. iE helps fund curriculum taught in at-risk communities in Cambodia.

Thailand

iE’s Research

We did field research in Bangkok and Chang Rai Thailand. We visited a safe home, interviewed caregivers and leadership, visited a transition home that Brad Riley had helped fund previous to launching iE. We met with child survivors and witnessed current victims.

iE’s Response

• We gathered substantial media which was used in our exhibit and film.
• We committed to a partnership with a safe home in northern Thailand where 30 girls are being restored. It is a forerunner in after-care with Transitional Housing for older girls to learn how to balance their new independence: taking care of themselves, their own small apartment, and school/work. This safe home is self-sustaining with its own fish farm, water supply, and orchard.

The Philippines

iE’s Research

We did field research with and extensively interviewed one of the leading experts on child trafficking in the Philippines. We visited a safe home, interviewed caregivers, and had conversations with child survivors.

iE’s Response

• We gathered substantial media which was used in our exhibit and film.
• We entered into an official partnership with The Round Home; a Love-146 safe home in the Philippines providing holistic care for survivors of child sexual exploitation and trafficking. The Round Home’s restoration process is leading the way and needs to be replicated. We are committed to monthly support, funding specific projects, and helping fund training for caregivers and counselors.
• We funded a major security upgrade for the Pilipino safe-home that was recently completed.
  

  Upgraded security wall and fence for safe home

Mexico

iE’s Research

We met with the key influencer of the Mexican abolitionist movement and head of the governments anti-trafficking task force. We attended the Mexican congressional hearings on anti-trafficking legislation. We strategized and cast vision with members of Mexican congress. We visited an org with 20+ years of experience protecting the vulnerable children of Mexico City. We visited the only safe home in Mexico, met with Mexican practitioners, an attorney for the child victims, and safe home directors and caregivers. We witnessed current victims, and met the child survivors.

iE’s Response

• We entered into an official partnership with Comino a Casa; the only safe home in Mexico providing holistic care for survivors of child sexual exploitation and trafficking. This safe home will serve as a model for other safe homes to be established. We are committed to monthly support and funding specific projects.

Advocacy Work…

We developed iEmpathize.org, our blog, a justice personality profile web tool, and educational web tools. We produced an immersive mixed-media exhibit that powerfully engages the public on the issue of child sex-trafficking. We produced a top quality short film on the issue in SE Asia that has proven to deeply impact it’s audiences. We developed academic forums, a film forum, and launched the Empathy Week on university campuses. We developed a private funding initiative with a goal of providing a way for 100% of public and event donations to directly impact our field partners. Our mixed-media advocacy experiences have exposed thousands of people to the issue of child trafficking. We are currently being featured in two novels and one nationally distributed magazine. Our media and events have been featured in prominent concert venues, universities, museums, galleries, conferences, faith communities, homes, pubs, coffee shops, and businesses. We have earned the respect of practitioners and the public and look forward to all that is ahead.

In Development…

We have a lot of great projects in development. We are off to Russia and Mexico where we are supporting some incredible efforts and adding their stories to our mixed media exhibits and events. We are addressing the U.S. issue by producing a trucking industry awareness and training film. We have our new Scooter Hero advocacy events poised to raise mass awareness and funds for our field partners.

In April, we are joining Children’s Hope Chest, a movement of 100+ orphanages, on an eastern European expedition. 70% of Russian teen orphan girls enter the sex trade so Hope Chest is adding human trafficking elements to their Russian programs. Media from this trip will communicate aspects of the sex trafficking issue in Europe and will be added to our human trafficking exhibit that tours the US. We will also guide Hope Chest in the development of their own mixed-media exhibit. The president of Children’s Hope Chest is also a New York Times best selling novelist who is featuring the issue and iEmpathize. The iE exhibit will travel with the nationwide book tour raising awareness and funds for the Russian field project.

Mexico

In May, we will take a media expedition to Mexico. We will capture the story of a young sex trafficking survivor and communicate the issue in Mexico City, the borders, and resort towns. Media will be added to our human trafficking exhibit that tours the US. A media exhibit will be built and translated into Spanish for education and advocacy within Mexico.

US Truck Stops and Highways

In June, we will be working on our US field partnership, a Trucking Industry Awareness and Training Film to educate and enlist trucking companies, safety directors, and the truckers themselves who will join together to end this heinous crime.  On this domestic iEmpathize Expedition, iE will go undercover to gather story-telling artifacts, photography, and film footage that will be incorporated into trucking industry events and be integrated into our exhibit on human trafficking.

Summer and Fall

We begin our scooter Hero Ride and Rally events. The Scooter Hero Ride and Rally is a citywide publicity, awareness, and fundraising event inspired by one of our Cambodian field partnerships. iEmpathize has created the Scooter Hero Ride and Rally as a way for the mainstream public to engage in the issue as an advocate, make a real difference, and raise funds on the behalf of vulnerable children. There is incredible potential to raise $100,000+ for our field partners at some of these events.

Partner…

Thank you for helping us get where we are today. Please continue to partner with us to impact the lives of kids.

To contribute a monthly or one time gift click DONATE

Contact info@iempathize.org to host an iE event