Students Vow to be Voice for Trafficking Victims

Some woke up at 6:30 to pray every morning the week leading up to the event. Slowly, God lifted burdens, filling the group with assurance that people would attend the planned Break the Chains event and that He would be glorified.

On April 10, 2010, a group of Indiana Wesleyan University students hosted Break the Chains in Marion, Indiana, an event designed to raise awareness of human trafficking. Brought together by their passion to fight human trafficking, the students began brainstorming ideas on how to fight the atrocious injustice.

“We simply wanted to begin a movement that brought people together from all sorts of organizations to work for a common cause,” says Lexi Griffin, a junior from Battle Creek, Michigan.

The group became “Viva Voce,” which means “the living voice”–a voice to speak for the silent and afflicted.

Break the Chains consisted of both a family-friendly block party and informative coffeehouse forum in downtown Marion. As student leaders (Lexi Griffin, Amy Yoder, Shara McClanahan, Katelyn Barnhart) began to pray and plan, many others jumped on board, including other IWU students, community members, and Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold. Special guests included Laura Lederer, president of Global Centurion and former senior advisor on trafficking in persons to President George W. Bush’s administration; Katherine McCulley, World Hope International; and Sherita Lucky and Vicky King, founders of White LILAC Ministries in Marion.

More than 400 people attended the Break the Chains block party, while 350 attended the coffeehouse forum.

Amy Yoder, a sophomore from Nappanee, Indiana, gives personal reflection about her involvement in the fight against human trafficking.

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Paul talks to the Corinthians about how God does not call the elite or noble, but he calls the willing so that they may boast in Christ. God instilled a passion in my heart for the oppressed and the exploited long ago, yet I was aimless with no direction. As I soon learned, when one says “yes” to God and His will, direction and purpose follow.

My first semester, I became connected with two other young women who had very similar passions. We started an anti-trafficking student group on campus and went from meeting every Wednesday night with about ten other people educating ourselves on the facts of trafficking to holding an area-wide event. Through this event, we connected better with the community of Marion and were able to raise awareness and funds to combat human trafficking. The money we raised went to a new assessment center being built by World Hope International and safe houses for oppressed women in Marion.

I am a 1 Corinthians 1 woman. I am not of noble blood; I am not one of the elite. Yet, I am still amazed to say that God used me and my dear friends to make a difference. I am daily thankful and humbled to say God used me to fight human trafficking. Through our event, I am hopeful many others have been made aware of modern-day slavery and with the Lord’s power, we can join together to combat human trafficking and make it a thing of the past.

Now, weeks after Break the Chains, individuals still ask organizers how they can host their own awareness events to inform their cities about human trafficking. Viva Voce continues to pray, asking God to move in the hearts of people so trafficking victims can be spiritually and emotionally healed. One prayer at a time. 

For more information, visit the Break the Chains site. E-mails can be sent to info@breakthechainsmarion.org.