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In cooperation with End It Movement, we're spending Wednesdays this month shining a light on slavery and human trafficking. Slavery is not OK, and our Racers around the world have had raw, firsthand experiences fighting it.

This week's story comes from Derek and Christina Simke of the July 2012 F Squad. After seeing the heartbreaking poverty in Cambodia, Christina started asking questions and looking for answers.

Clouds of dust arise in front of me. My feet propel me forward. It's 5:50 am, and we're out for our morning run in Cambodia. Motor scooters drive by. People on bicycles drive by. And then the vans – lots and lots of vans with lots and lots of people. People crammed on the inside, and sitting on top of the vans. 

"Where are these people headed to?" I wondered on the first day we ran. My husband Derek guessed correctly. 
 
To the factories. 
 
To make my clothes. And my shoes. And your clothes. And your shoes.
 
Let me tell you about a beautiful young woman named Linda. She lives in the village we served in this month. She is 16, her smile is wide, and her hair is long and shiny. Linda is very intelligent and helps translate for some of the English classes the teams teach every afternoon. Linda attends school and is doing very well. However, this was not always her story.
 
About a year ago, a YWAM team came to her village and started a Bible study. Linda arrived late consistently and was usually exhausted. She was not attending the English classes offered in the afternoon, nor school in the morning. The YWAM group leader noticed and gently questioned Linda. What she discovered was shocking. Linda was working in the factory to support her family. She worked 60 hours a week and made 70 US dollars a month. 
 
Let's do some math. 
 
60 hours x 4 weeks = 240 hours a month
70 US dollars / 240 hours = 29 cents an hour
 
Because she was working so many hours, she was unable to continue her education. The generosity of some people from the YWAM team and other donors helped change Linda's circumstances.

They met with her family and asked them, "If we were to provide $70 a month for your family, would Linda be able to quit her job at the factory and go back to school?" Her parents agreed. In exchange, Linda has been helping translate after her schooling in the morning is complete.

Linda is the exception – the happy ending. But most of the factory workers can't get out. They can't break the poverty cycle, and they spend their lives barely getting by.

 
Many workers speak of the factory job as being unfair and unfulfilling. There are cases of verbal and physical abuse. The owners of the factory are very strategic in what they teach the employees. Workers will only learn one step in the assembly line, so they can be easily replaced. For example, they will learn only how to sew a zipper on a pair of pants. If they were to quit their job, their skills are so limited that it prevents them from starting their own business. This causes them to be dependent on the factory job.
 
Some people question, "Well if the factories weren't there, then the people would have no source of income, right? Should I stop buying things made in other countries? If I do, won't the people's pay decrease? I am only one person. How can my not shopping make a difference?" 
 
I don't know how to fix this issue. 
 
But I do know if Jesus says I am supposed to love my neighbor as myself, I need to think about these people on the other side of the world who are making my possessions.

I need to care more about the quality of their lives than my desire to buy what I want at the price I want. 

Take Action

Modern day slavery isn't just about sex trafficking. Millions of people around the world spend their lives working in sub-human conditions to produce the goods we are accustomed to owning. Mothers have to leave their children. Children forfeit an education and a future. Fathers suffer to provide barely enough food to feed their families.

We may not be elected officials or powerful lawyers, but we have a loud voice – it's called our consumer choices. What we buy determines the kind of lives many people live. So how do we shop responsibly?

There are a lot of ways to do this, and we're going to suggest two action steps. 

1. Educate yourself. 

Made In a Free World offers an online quiz to find out how many slaves work for you around the world. It's called Slavery Footprint. They ask you about what's in your closet, what you eat, what you drive, how you spend your leisure time. And at the end you get a number – the number of people it takes to make the things in your life, the number of people you're enslaving.

Take the quiz.

2. Now that you know how many slaves you're employing, learn to shop responsibly.

Not for Sale has an app for smart phones and computers that can help you buy things made by companies that value the human rights of their workers. It's called Free 2 Work. They've done the research – supply chains, transit methods, workers' living conditions – and given each company a grade A-F so you can scan an item and know the impact it has on the people who made it. The only way companies will stop oppressing their workers is if we stop buying the products they make.

Click HERE for iPhone and HERE for Android.
Download Free 2 Work on your phone and start freeing your slaves one purchase at a time.