135 walk for freedom

GEORGE NEWS - The A21 Walk for Freedom saw 135 participants taking to the streets of George in silence on Saturday morning, 19 October.

Every year, residents and visitors have the opportunity to participate in this initiative against human trafficking by joining tens of thousands of people across the globe in this walk.

Walk For Freedom is a day dedicated to raising awareness that, though human trafficking still exists, together, we can change that.

The silent march started from Hope Church in Knysna Road at 08:00, from where the group made their way down Knysna Road, through Le Vallia and back to Hope Church carrying various banners and flags in single file.

Now in its 10th year, the initiative involved people across the globe taking to the streets in more than 500 cities in about 80 countries, holding posters and handing out flyers to reach their communities with information about human trafficking and how to end it.

Over the years, more than 1,3-million flyers have been distributed and about 1,2-billion people have been reached through media coverage.

Organised by the A21 organisation, the initiative was started because statistics indicate that more than 40-million people are currently enslaved due to human trafficking operations around the world.

This takes many forms, including trafficking people for forced labour and exploiting their bodies.

According to Clare Cooper of Hope Church, communities are being awakened to the truth of modern-day slavery and equipped to prevent and report it.

"Hope Church supports the A21 Walk year after year. We feel that as a church, we need to be part of spreading this awareness and we can never underestimate the power of our actions. Your action is the catalyst for raising awareness and equipping ordinary people, like you and me, to be part of the solution. It's action in motion where thousands of advocates unite for one cause - freedom for every human being," she said.

Modern-day slavery and human trafficking are as real as the sky is blue. These horrendous acts also take place in George.