"It's a real opportunity
for people to make
a difference."

Honorary Committee: Escape to Shangri La

Co-chairs:

Mark Udall, Congressman from Colorado
Alice Borodkin, Colorado State Representative House District 9 and Chair, Colorado Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking

Committee:

Kim Christiansen, Channel 9 News Anchor and Reporter
Jensine Larson, Founder and Editor, World Pulse Magazine
Dorothy Rupert, Former Colorado State Senator and Candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005
Mark Ruzzin, Mayor of Boulder, Colorado

Since 1998 Free A Child has been working to stop child sex trafficking in Nepal where an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 children are trafficked into sex slavery every year.  But child trafficking doesn’t just happen in the developing world. It exists here, in the United States. The State Department estimates that 50,000 children are trafficked into the United States every year from other countries; and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that 10% of the 800,000 missing American children are trafficked. 

“Even one child is too many,” said Kenlyn Kolleen, president of the board of directors for Boulder-based Free A Child.

As a result, Free A Child is expanding its efforts to include domestic trafficking issues. In 2004, Free A Child partnered with Urban Peak, Denver’s only homeless shelter for youth, to launch an eight-city survey. The survey investigated Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Austin, and Chicago. On average, 30 percent of all kids on the street reported having been solicited for sex by an adult in exchange for food, drugs, clothing, or shelter. In Denver that means 270 kids—one third of the 900 youth who are on the streets every year—are selling sex for survival. FULL STORY

Help Us Help Them...

Please help us empower children with a donation to Free A Child. No amount is too small. For example, as little as $15 allows Free A Child to buy a goat for one girl in Nepal. The gift of a goat gives one girl:

• A chance to become economically independent.
• A sense of accomplishment and self-confidence.
• The power to turn away potential traffickers.

Donate today and you will help us empower children and reduce the incidence of sex trafficking.

Sita's Story

Everyone has a story. Award-winning filmmaker Kathleen Man tells Sita’s on January 13, at the Dairy Center for the Arts as part of a fundraiser to benefit Free A Child. Shot in and around Hetauda, Nepal, in January through March 2004, Sita, a Girl from Jambu is a powerful and honest narrative documentary feature film about a young Nepalese village girl who is trafficked into sexual slavery in Mumbai. After contracting HIV/AIDS in the brothel, Sita must make the long journey home to her estranged family. 

“Sita, a Girl from Jambu seeks to educate audiences about the root causes of child exploitation in the global sex trade, and educates the local population about the nature of HIV/AIDS, how it is caught and transmitted,” said Man. “There have been several recent documentaries on this issue, but none to my knowledge offer an intimate view of life in Nepal and the cultural and economic factors that lead to the exploitation and prostitution of women and children.”  The roles of Sita as well as the other female cast members are played by the women in Free A Child’s anti-trafficking program in Nepal, and the film portrays actual footage of the street drama performed by the women and girls in Free A Child’s anti-trafficking program. FULL STORY

Every choice we make is a reflection of our values. What if you could make a difference in the world with the next bar of soap you bought? The next cup of coffee you drank? The next birthday gift you bought? Or just the handbag you carry every day? Free A Child has joined forces with Global Girlfriend to bringing you unique, quality merchandise that supports women and low-income communities worldwide.

Global Girlfriend is a unique fair-trade boutique selling specialty hand-made gifts and goods made by women's non-profit programs, women's cooperatives worldwide and products that benefit women's human rights. Their hand-selected products really make a difference. On November 18, a generous host held the third Free A Child benefit Global Girlfriend party, from which 15 percent of the proceeds were donated to Free A Child. Global Girlfriend also offered gift bags and wrapping paper made by women who are a part of Free A Child's Nepal micro loan program. All of the proceeds from gift bag and wrapping paper purchases were donated to Free A Child. FULL STORY

We want to express our deepest gratitude to these dedicated individuals for their time and efforts in putting this fabulous event together.

Escape to Shangri-La Sponsors:

Board of Directors:
Kenlyn Kolleen, President
Sarabeth Donovan, Secretary
Rebecca Callahan, co-Treasurer
Kathleen Man, co-Treasurer

Founders:
Hilarie Kavanagh
Carolee Corey

Staff:
Lori Miller, Executive Director
Janelle Manzanares, Office Manager

Newsletter Staff:
Jenn Weede, staff writer
Teri Robnett, designer

Global Girlfriend design
by Lily Shafroth, lilylous@msn.com.
Shangri-La event artwork
by Jeanne Wicks
Free A Child Newsletter
by Teri Robnett
Whole Brain Technologies, LLC

(720) 890-1457
info@freeachild.org

P.O. Box 4203
Boulder, CO 80306-4203

825 S. Broadway, Suite 35
Boulder, CO 80305-5963