CWM Caribbean/CANACOM Youth Forum on Human Trafficking
29th July – 1st August 2015,
Georgetown, Guyana
Forum One: A Shock to My Consciousness
“Even though I have done my own research on human trafficking this forum has been a shock to my consciousness.” This is how Jovaughn McConnell, one of the resource persons in the Council for World Mission(CWM) Caribbean/Caribbean and North America Council for Mission Youth Forum on Human Trafficking, described his feelings after a day of presentations and bible study on human trafficking. The event took place on July 31 in Georgetown, Guyana. 61 youngsters and leaders from the two CWM Caribbean member churches in Jamaica, Cayman and Guyana joined by youth from CANACOM member countries in the Caribbean heard how young people are recruited, abused and exploited by persons who earn money from trafficking persons.
Krystina Selvin, a Jamaican participant said, “As we learn about human trafficking we become more aware of things that are happening around us”. Kenalsha Hazel of Guyana described feeling goose bumps as she heard the stories about children who had been brutally robbed of their childhood. As she watched a presentation by Guyana Women Miners’ Organization (GWMO), an organisation dedicated to the rescue of young women who have been trafficked, Kenalsha was appalled at a subject’s non-chalant description of the experience of a victim of human trafficking as if there was nothing unusual about it. Some other participants noted that they were not aware this was taking place in Guyana.
Following the presentations by Keynote presenter, Rev. Kraig DeLeon Diedrick of CWM Caribbean member church United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI) and Urica Primus of the GWMO, the young people went into selected creative arts groups to develop items of dance, drama, choral speaking, music and visual arts which they will use to begin conversations with their friends, relatives and members of their congregations. Workshop facilitators helped the participants to develop their ideas which were then presented to the Youth Forum participants.
Forum Two: Youth Forum Goes Public
CWM Caribbean is comprised of two member churches – Guyana Congregational Union (GCU) and The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI).
Picture 61 persons clad in colourful polo shirts with the message ‘Not for Sale…Christ has Paid the Price. Stop Human Trafficking” converging on the grounds of the National Park in Georgetown, Guyana.
These youngsters were part of the Council for World Mission(CWM) Caribbean/Caribbean and North American Council for Mission (CANACOM) Youth Forum on Human Trafficking which was held in Guyana July 29 – August 2, 2015. The participants from Cayman, Jamaica, Guyana and other CANACOM member countries in the Caribbean were there to share information which they had learnt at the Forum and to distribute fliers with information on how to report abuse. As the young people interacted with the crowd, one participant was told “I never knew there was a confidential line to call.” He said information which he reported previously was used against him.
In addition to the t-shirt message which started many conversations among the crowd, the drama workshop group presented a 10 minute skit on stage which was viewed by those in attendance. Later that day, the community of Ann’s Grove witnessed four of the items prepared in the creative arts workshops of the youth forum, at Ebenezer Ann’s Grove Congregational Church’s Emancipation Day concert.
CWM Caribbean is comprised of two member churches – Guyana Congregational Union (GCU) and The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI).
Forum Three: Youth Given Tools Against Human Trafficking
It is often the case that after attending a workshop or hearing presentations, participants leave with little more than a vague memory of what was shared. The young people who attended the Council for World Mission Caribbean/Caribbean and North American Council for Mission Youth Forum on Human Trafficking in Guyana July 29- August 2, 2015 were given tools to take action against human trafficking
In addition to receiving flash drives on which presentations from the youth forum were to be placed, the young participants from Guyana, Cayman and Jamaica were coached in developing artforms which can be used as means of sharing information with their friends, family and members of their community. They participated in workshops in dance, drama, choral speaking, music and visual arts. At the end of the workshop they presented items which they had developed under the able facilitation of coaches – Kevin ‘Nana Moses’ Calvert in drama, Ambalika Elliot-Belle and Waygon Sobers in visual arts; Joel John in music and Delon Grandison in public speaking. These can now be used to increase awareness of human trafficking in various settings.
Two types of conversation starters were given to each of the 61 participants – a t-shirt with the message “Not for Sale…Christ has Paid the Price” and wristbands bearing the message “Slavery Still Exists…It’s Called Human Trafficking”. They were then encouraged to use these items to stir interest in the topic and to begin to speak with persons who notice them.
CWM Caribbean is comprised of two member churches – Guyana Congregational Union (GCU) and The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI).
Karen Francis, CWM Caribbean Region