SPEAK UP

A Place to Call Home

As I roamed around Khulna on my daily walk this morning, my mind raced with a few simple, haunting questions – in a city with so many residential schools, so many majestic, old houses and businesses, why isn’t there a beautiful place for girls who have been removed from the brothels to call home? 

Why do the 17 girls who were removed from the brothels and live in the Alingon Home have to live in a home which, while a thousand times better than their shacks in Banishanta, barely functions to serve their needs?   Why isn’t the most important thing in Khulna

Creative Fundraising Opportunity

Here's a great opportunity for you all to help me with fundraising for Speak Up.  And if you could let your networks on Facebook know as well that would be great!

I just entered Speak Up into America's Giving Challenge, a contest on Facebook that awards $50,000 to the Facebook cause that gets the most individual donations from now through November 6th.  Other than needing to be in $10 minimums, it's not the total amount raised that matters - it's the number of individual donations.  So, each person can give every day ($10 minimum) and it will count as one donation.

You can go here to give on Facebook:   DONATE ON FACEBOOK

The cause with the most individual donations will win $50,000.  Right now the leaders after 6-7 days have about 300 donations, so I'm estimating that about 1500-2000 donations will win.  So, besides that in itself being a minimum of $20,000, it would be $50K on top of it if we won.  It might seem like the odds are against us, but we are among 100 causes with a chance to win this, so we should give it a shot.

So, if you could give some amount daily and encourage some people to do the same through Facebook that would be great.  200 people giving 10 times would likely win.  Or 500 people giving 4-5 times each.  I think it's reachable. 

Here's what Speak Up will do with $50,000:

(1) Fund the shelter in Uzbekistan for women repatriated from sex trafficking in Thailand;
(2) Hire a lawyer for the Chao Lay land rights case;
(3) Pay for the legal work for the trafficking victims here;
(4) And one day have a real office to really do the work.

Please help me make this happen.  Thanks - TROY