Over 27 million people are in slavery today—more than at any time in history according to the Amazing Change campaign, a global effort inspired by the film Amazing Grace to abolish modern-day slavery. It is the world’s fastest growing illegal crime, according to Stop The Traffick.

Most people believe “human trafficking” occurs in far away countries with impoverished governments, but 17 million boys, girls, men and women are in forced labor or sexual services in the United States today, says Shared Hope International (SHI). They have found that many American citizens — children at the average age of 12 — are trafficked locally between American cities and across state lines daily. Founder of SHI, Congresswoman (l994-1999) Linda Smith, has launched assessments in ten U.S. cities to examine America’s trafficked youth and is launching a nationwide awareness campaign. Groups like hers inspired our U.S. Senate on June 22, 2007, to pass a resolution to forever mark Jan. 11 as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims of Human Trafficking.

We need some more William Wilberforces, MLKs, Harriet Stowes and underground railroads to arise. Are you available? Go to any of the following Web sites and get involved and e-mail me at elvamartinministries@charter.net about an upstate “railroad” forming. www.Shared Hope.org; www.TheAmazingChange.com; www.ijm.org; www.freetheslaves.net; www.stopthetraffick.org.

Rev. Elva Martin, Coordinator,

Anderson Prayer Task Force