266 – Rescuing Boys Labor Trafficked in the Fishing Industry, with Chris Field

This episode is brought to you by Vanguard University and the Global Center for Women and Justice, who offer an incredible anti-human trafficking certificate. Whether you're a frontline responder, a social worker, in the ministry, a healthcare provider, or simply a community member who wants to help, this program is built for you. Head over to gcwj.org/ahtc to take the next step and apply today. ---Dr. Sandie Morgan is joined by Chris Field from Mercy Project in Ghana, an organization that works with the community through education and empowerment to combat labor trafficking and build stronger communities. Chris Field Chris Field is the Founder and Executive Director of Mercy Project. He traveled to Ghana for the first time in August 2009 and has since been on a mission to bring new life to children in slavery as well as empower those around him to make the world a better place. Chris and his wife Stacey have five children He is the author of Disrupting for Good and A Billion Hours of Good. Key Points Redefining the word “rescue” to become about empowerment and new opportunities. Holistic, community-centered approach to rescuing children from labor trafficking and reuniting them with family. On the ground staff are Ghanaians that understand and have relationships with their communities. Empowering and developing sustainable solutions for the community and families to build stronger safety networks for the children. Resources Mercy Project Ep. 247 – Perspectives on Transformation in Labor Trafficking with Ben Skinner Ensure Justice Conference Love the show? Consider supporting us on Patreon! Become a Patron Transcript Dave [00:00:00] You’re listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. This is episode number 266, Rescuing Boys Labor Trafficked in the Fishing Industry with Chris Field. Production Credits [00:00:11] Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential. Dave [00:00:31] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Dave Stachowiak. Sandie [00:00:37] And my name is Sandie Morgan. Dave [00:00:39] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Sandie, I’m so looking forward to this conversation today, like I am for for so many of our conversations because I learn something new and one thing I realized in preparation for today’s conversation about the fishing industry is I know very little about this industry. And of course, as we’ve talked about so often on the show, there’s so many different aspects of trafficking and it touches, unfortunately, every industry in some way. Today, we’re going to study the issues even more so we can ultimately be a voice and make a difference in all the work that we’re doing. And I’m so glad to welcome Chris Field to the show today. He is the founder and executive director of Mercy Project. He traveled to Ghana for the first time in August 2009 and has since been on a mission to bring new life to children in slavery, as well as empower those around him to make the world a better place. Chris and his wife, Stacey, have five children, and he is the author of Disrupting for Good and a Billion Hours of Good. Chris, we’re so glad to have you on the show today. Chris [00:01:51] Dave, Sandie, thank you guys so much for having me. It’s truly an honor to be with you. Sandie [00:01:56] Well, Dave, I already had one conversation with Chris and we couldn’t fit it all into a half an hour, so we’re going to dive right in and do our best today. Let’s start by reframing the word rescue. Chris, typically I imagine people running out of a burning house and the fireman running in to rescue any other occupants. But your definition is a little different. Can you expand on that? Chris [00:02:31] Yeah, of course. I mean, first, let me say we’ve had as a community and as an organization, we’ve had dozens of hours of conversation around this word because we don’t want it to connote this savior complex of some sort and we’ve really struggled over the word. Is there a better word to explain what it is that happens in a community when children who have been bought for 20, 30, 40 dollars and fish 12, 13, 14 hours a day when they’re able to go back to their families and their source communities, their original community and begin going to school? How do we explain that in a different way? And because it’s not that dramatic fire burning and it’s not us, you know, showing up with our hands on our hips like, behold, give us your children. I mean, it’s like we’ve struggle with that word. And where we’ve eventually landed on this topic is when you think about where the children are today or where they have been, the ones that we’ve already helped in Ghana, they really do have the opportunity to be rescued from a certain life. And I think what’s beautiful about this is we’re not the ones doing the rescue. We are there and we are part of the process. But because of our community empowerment, it’s really the community that they’re working in that actually at the minimum gets to join arms with us and be part of rescuing those children out of this child labor and this child trafficking into the life that they deserve. And so that’s really how we look at that word; where are they and now, where do they get to g...