Wednesday, December 7, 2011

L*PIDA member: Diamond Williams

I am currently pursuing my master's degree in journalism at Regent University. I attended Penn State University and received my bachelor's degree in communications. During my undergrad years, I had no interest in attending graduate school. However, God had other plans.

In September of 2011, I was given the opportunity and blessing to be associate editor of the student run publication, The Daily Runner. We are now in the process of creating a broadcast version of The Daily Runner, which will be available for viewing in the near future. In November, I was given another amazing opportunity to become actively involved in an organization called L*Pida. I felt the Lord calling me to be apart of the mission to stop human sex trafficking in it's tracks.

To learn more about me, visit my website: http://diamwil.com/

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Connection of Two Worlds

Her passion for the helpless and hopeless has led her to lend a helping hand to those who have been trapped in the human sex trafficking trade. Jenn Wakefield, who is president of Regent University's chapter of the International Justice Mission (IJM), an organization whose mission is to stop sex trafficking in its tracks, connected with another amazing young lady with a heart to save these women.

Jenn's friendship with Katie Behnke, founder of "Elegantees," brought their two related worlds together. Her clothing line, which consists of attire that is simple, yet elegant, helps sex trafficking victims in a significant way. Women who are brought out of this trade are being trained to sew Katie's clothes! Jenn wore Elegantees clothing in a fashion show in New York City. Katie's line was also featured at Jenn's fashion event, November 13, 2011. The fashion event also featured, Premier Designs Inc. Jewelry, another incorporation whose profits help the victims of human sex trafficking....


These women are making strides to keep one more woman from being caught in the web of this dehumanizing act. Let's continue to give hope to the hopeless!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hope and Action

‎"Without costly action, hope can soften into sentimentality. With costly action, hope may harden into reality."
~Cornelius Plantinga
L*PIDA is here to combine hope with action so that the hopes and dreams of the women in Nepal will harden into reality!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Evening of Hope

Last week, L*PIDA hosted its first “Evening of Hope” to raise awareness and funds for the women of Nepal who have been rescued from modern day slavery. The purpose and mission of the Nepali Rescue Project was discussed as well as the success that the project has had so far. For example, in Nepal the project has already been able to fund four sewing shops which each employ two rescued women.
The high point of the evening was the question and answer session with our contact from Nepal. He discussed how his organization goes about rescuing, rehabilitating and reintegrating women who are about to be trafficked over the Nepali-India border. Many of these women were going to be sold to brothels in India.
Attendees also got to experience a small taste of Nepali culture. Several team members and volunteers wore traditional Nepali clothing called Punjabis. These colorful and intricate works of art were created by those women who were rescued from slavery.
We look forward to many more “Evenings of Hope” and the opening of many more sewing shops in the Mountain Kingdom of Nepal!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

What Now?

Rescuing women who have been victimized by the 32 billion dollar a year human trafficking industry is definitely central to the mission of ending modern day slavery. But how did these women become victims of trafficking in the first place? Some women are drugged and abducted while some of the younger girls are actually sold by their parents. However, there are a great deal of young women who become victims of human trafficking because they are tricked into thinking that they will be able to improve their lives and the lives of their families by making money in another city or country. In countries like Nepal, many people can barely afford food and lodging, let alone an education. This situation makes it easier to trick young girls into a life of slavery. This is why organizations like our Nepali partner, that rescue women from a life of exploitation, are so very important. But what happens after these women are rescued? What happens after they are rehabilitated? What happens after they are given job training? These are the questions that L*PIDA is here to answer.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Awesome Team, Amazing Purpose

We are just a rag-tag group of students, visionaries, and activists that are offering up our "little bit" with a massive amount of determination, believing that we will be catalysts to make a difference in the lives of those without HOPE.

To do this, we founded L*PIDA.

L*PIDA is a wordplay on the greek word for HOPE - "elpida". The goal of our endeavor is to bring hope to others through empowerment. Our first project is the Nepali Rescue Project.

The Nepali Rescue Project
Partnering with a Nepali NGO, we are raising funds to provide micro-loans to establish small sewing businesses for women who have been rescued from human trafficking. Come hear more about this project on Monday, April 4th at "An Evening of Hope".