probably the most fundamental aspect of the a venture expeditions is the deep sense of community that comes from being part of the team. even though the majority of us know each other prior to arriving for a tour by the end of the 2nd day many deep things have happend. Day 2, Friday was all about the obvious…bike safety 101 – bike maintenance 101 – learning to change a flat tire. It was a fun sight to see all the bikes in the room and the rear tires off and our team intentionally letting out the air, removing the tire and then reinstalling it. a healthy dose of “i can do this” was applied to everyone’s effort for the seminars. Prior to the bike clinic we spent a few hours talking with Karen Barnes from IJM. She walked us through their core mission and gave us a solid foundation on just exactly the scope of what the issue of human trafficking is all about. here’s some stats:
- 27 million children, women and men are held in slavery world-wide
- Today, nearly 2 million children are exploited in the global sex industry
- 1 in 5 women will be victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime.
- 4 billion people are not adequately protected by their own public justice systems.
This quote of from Gary Haugen at IJM sort of nails it: If you’re not safe, nothing else matters.
we wrapped up our day with a fun time at LoRosa’s for pizza.