Throw Out Your Bras and Free the Girls

I never listen to Word FM – the local Christian talk station.  Like never.  I (Alayna) like music, not talk.  So, normally, I’d be listening to my Hillsong United CDs on my drive home from work, but not this particular day.  And I think it’s because God wanted to catch my attention.

One day, years ago, I happened to catch a radio program on that station I never listen to…  Word FM.  I think it was Focus on the Family, and a woman named Linda Smith was on.  She was talking about her book, “From Congress to the Brothel” and the problem of sex trafficking.  I don’t honestly remember everything she spoke about in the radio show, but it was awful and disturbing enough for me to call my husband and tell him about the horrible problem of sex trafficking. 

Unbeknownst to me, he had been listening to the same program.  As a result, he was fired up about the very same issue! 

I ordered her book, and read – no, sobbed – my way through it.  In this book, she very vividly and explicitly details the horrors of the global sex trafficking problem.  She details how God called her to an elected government position (that she didn’t campaign for and still won – that has to be God!), and how from there she ended up travelling to India to witness sex trafficking first hand, as part of a Congressional inquiry into modern day slavery and human trafficking.  Her story was amazing, and the problem she described was heart and gut wrenching.  

Linda talked about how one simple hug of a very young, dirty, used and abused prostitute was life changing for both of them.  The young girl was a hollow shell, who was only touched when some guy wanted sex from her, which could have been upward of 50 to 100 times a day.  She had been abused, beaten, starved, and raped, and she was dead on the inside – her dull and lifeless eyes said it all.  God told Linda to hug her.  In her filthy, dirty, and used state, Linda hugged her, and the girl broke down. 

And I did too. 

The stories of young girls who were forced into sex slavery around the world, sold by their families, sometimes to pay off debts, sometimes to pay the bills, broke my heart.  I wanted to save every last one of them.  Take them all home, and fix everything that was wrong.  I wanted to do something.

I never knew the horror that was happening around the world, and in my own back yard.  As I read more, found more groups with information about sex trafficking, human trafficking, and sexual slavery around the world, my eyes were opened to the pure evil that exists in the sex industry around the world.  I wish I could convey to you just how deep and dark the evil of the sex trade is, but then I might be responsible for nightmares and terrible stories that you can’t get out of your head.  The evil is real, and these women need our help.  They need our compassion. 

They need a hand.  They need a hug.  They need Jesus.

And they need our old bras.    

Wait.   What?!?    

Yep.  Your old bras can make a difference.  You can help a woman who has been rescued from sex trafficking, and it’s with your old bras.   

SO…  Send us your old bras, and we will send them to Free the Girls.  Free the Girls uses the bras to help women become small business owners by selling second hand clothing – your old bras!  Bras are hard to come by in many parts of the world, and the old bras from the back of your drawer will make an amazing living for a woman rescued from sex slavery, like up to five times the local minimum wage! 

I was watching a video during our mom’s group, and the woman in the video works for Free the Girls.  And I thought, what a great way to help women, combat the problem of sex trafficking, and clean out your bra drawer.  So for the whole month of February, Deliberate Women will be collecting your old bras to send to Free the Girls! 

If you have old bras to donate, you can mail them to:

Deliberate Women, 7016 Locust Road, Bethel Park, PA 15102

If you're inspired, you can have your own bra drive, right at your church, wherever you are!

If you don’t have old bras to give, that’s okay.  There are plenty of ways to make a difference.  Read about sex trafficking and slavery and spread the word.  I have included a few notable organizations and their websites.  Follow them on Facebook to see what they are doing, share so your friends can see!  Find out what they do to help, and join in.  Research organizations and ministries in your area, and ask if you can join them in the fight against sex trafficking.  Together, we can make a difference, one woman and one bra at a time.  

International Justice Mission   www.ijm.org  

A21 www.a21.org

Not for Sale www.notforsalecampaign.org

Free the Girls www.freethegirls.org