UCEC walk to stop human trafficking

THE Umgeni Community Empowerment Centre (UCEC) hosted the sixth annual Stop Human Trafficking 5km Awareness Walk at Green Hub, Blue Lagoon on Saturday, 5 October.

The event served to raise awareness about human trafficking and to raise funds for the running and upkeep of the UCEC crisis centre, Shiloh House. This centre is used to accommodate and rehabilitate victims of abuse, domestic violence, and human trafficking survivors.

One of the organisers for the event, Gloria de Gee said the Women of Worth street ministry at her church, New Season Global Ministries in central Durban had inspired her to take a stand against human trafficking.

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“I saw how the women on the street were being abused and it touched my heart and inspired me to help. I am very passionate about helping women. The street ministry started in 2013 and we saw how girls were being trafficked. A lot of cases aren’t even reported today, it is getting worse, but we have the anti-trafficking task team in KwaZulu-Natal, and our mandate is to prevent future cases and there is a whole response team that is working together to combat trafficking and abuse,” she said.

Motivational speaker, Storm Hurlbatt who was a victim of abuse encouraged others to speak up about abuse.

“I help young girls speak out about their abuse situations. I got involved with the human trafficking initiative so that I can share my story and help others to feel comfortable enough to share their stories. I want people to know that abuse isn’t just sexual, physical or verbal, it can be intimidation or any other type of abuse. People need to start speaking up, standing up for themselves and believing in themselves,” she said.

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Ashley Pearson who attended the walk said awareness is key.

“The walk is a good initiative, it helps to raise awareness about human trafficking. It’s something that people think is foreign, but it happens a lot. It’s good to know about it rather than live in fear,” he said.

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