Did You Know?
Over 70% of the people trafficked in Uganda come from Karamoja.
We are the only local organization working to rehabilitate and resettle Karamojong survivors to their homeland.
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The Problem
In the region of Karamoja, bordering the Hope Center, human trafficking is especially prevalent. The Karamojong people are a nomadic tribe, settling in eastern Uganda, related to the Kenyan Maasai warriors. Because of their past warlike tendencies and physical and cultural differences, a massive racial rift exists between the Karamojong and native Ugandan peoples. As a result, they are by far the least developed, least educated, least engaged people group in all of Uganda. In fact, until recently, there hasn’t even been a road or access to public utilities in the majority of the Karamoja region.
This makes the Karamojong enticing targets for human traffickers and slave traders.
Traffickers will travel up into remote regions of Karamoja and promise the villagers their sons and daughters will receive a good paying job and education in the capital city. Through these lies, the parents consent to allow their underage children to be taken. Most will never see them again.
Once the traffickers reach their destination, they will confiscate all forms of identification and force the children into slave labor or even prostitution. Because of the seclusion of the Karamojong and the intense racial tension that exists, very little is being done to stem this epidemic.
Our partners have rescued and begun the rehabilitation process for many Karamojong survivors. However, reintegrating them back into society has proved to be a challenge. Until now, there has not been an organization working in that region to provide further aftercare and follow-up services for these survivors.
Our Solution
Our Hope Center sits on 10 acres of land bordering Karamoja. We have the capacity to house more than 20 survivors and are currently working on expansion plans to increase capacity. As of today, Hope’s Cry is the only organization for aftercare and reintegration of human trafficking survivors that is able to effectively service the Karamoja region.
By working with our partners, to offer a critical second phase of restoration and acclimation for freed slaves and survivors of trafficking, we are perfectly positioned to be a crucial link in the ultimate end of slavery and trafficking in Karamoja and Uganda as a whole. We also work with communities to educate, resource and equip them for vital aftercare and prevention efforts to build a wall of protection around our most vulnerable. By God’s grace, we will continue to work together with partners and community leaders until we build a cultural environment where slavery is no longer allowed to exist.
How Hope Ends Slavery
Fear is the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of a trafficker. Those who would take human beings, made in the image of God, and reduce them to property and merchandise, do so by preying on the fears of people. In the vastly under-developed region of Karamoja, parents are often desperate to give their children a chance at a better future. Traffickers take advantage of this desperation by promising things they have no intention of delivering.
In other circumstances, parents sell their children to traffickers, often for 3x less than the price of a goat. Why? Because they have no other hope. Hopelessness drives people to do the unthinkable.
Hope is more powerful than fear. Hope gives life. Hope restores and reconciles. Hope is the answer to the problem of slavery.
By working with local communities to resource and equip them with sustainable ways of serving and providing for one another, we have drastically reduced the impact of trafficking in those areas. We believe hope is the best counter-measure against slavery.
In offering hope to survivors of trafficking, we empower them not only to reintegrate as productive members of society, but also to become leaders in their community. By holistically engaging both communities and survivors with the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we introduce them to physical, spiritual and emotional freedom.
Hope ends slavery wherever it is found.
Our Founders
Todd and Michelle Allen founded Hope’s Cry in 2012 to work with communities in Uganda toward creating sustainable, long-term solutions for poverty alleviation and empowerment. For the past decade, they have supported local leaders to rescue at-risk children, build wells, provide specialized medical care and promote education initiatives.
Now, Hope’s Cry has partnered with other local organizations to offer the only aftercare facility for survivors of trafficking in Eastern Uganda.
Financial Accountability
Hope’s Cry International is a division of Todd Allen Family Ministries, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. All donations are tax-deductible.
Donation receipts are issued on an annual basis. For all donation inquiries, please email michelle@hopescry.com.
Checks can be mailed to 45177 River Rd., Hammond, LA, 70401.
Join The Fight Against Human Trafficking Today!
Hope's Cry International
45177 River Rd.
Hammond, LA 70401
info@hopescry.com
