Rising Number of Kiwi Youth Advocating Against Child Sex Trafficking

Arm in arm with comrades that include Destiny Rescue's former Media Director and Burn Agent Jerram Watts who was featured on TVNZ’s current affairs programme Sunday last night, a growing number of Kiwi youth are challenging the notion of being an apathetic generation concerned only with the latest smartphone and selfie.

At the recent Find Her Smile Mellon’s Bay summer party that aimed to raise awareness and funds in the fight against child sex trafficking, youth advocates successfully raised $1800 in donations and sales from raffle tickets, t-shirts and jewellery handmade by girls rescued from the sex trade. About 150 Kiwis aged between 18 and 30 attended the event, with Find Her Smile successfully signing more than 40 new members at its close.

A fresh face on the advocacy scene, Find Her Smile aims to inspire and employ the youth of New Zealand in their quest for social change. The FHS mission statement - educate, resource, and empower sums up the backbone of their movement.

“If we change the hearts and minds of today’s youth, we create an army of adults who will stand up to social injustice tomorrow,” says Dean Lovell Shippey, Founder and Director of Find Her Smile, who is passionate about this noble cause and aims to eventually join in the footsteps of Watts, who worked undercover with Destiny Rescue and the Thailand police to rescue a 15 year old girl from the notorious sex trade.

Proceeds from the fundraiser party have been channelled towards running the Find Her Smile campaign and to Destiny Rescue to aid in the recovery and housing of victims. Destiny Rescue was founded by Kiwi-born Tony Kirwan, a humble electrician who quit his job and moved his family to Thailand to found today’s internationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and restoring children from sex trafficking and exploitation. In addition to rehabilitation, it aims to protect and empower at-risk children through programmes that teach them the skills to be self-sustaining.

The youngest girl saved by Destiny Rescue was just seven years old. She had been trafficked to Phuket for slavery. She sold flowers and was tortured if she did not sell enough.

She is one of 1.8 million children a year enslaved or used in the child sex trade.
Find out more:

• www.destinyrescue.org and www.findhersmile.org.nz

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