End It, also known as the “#EndItMovement”, is a coalition of organizations thats are fighting for freedom. They are fighting to end slavery. Currently there are an estimated 27 million slaves globally…. Thats right, 27 MILLION living, breathing, and thinking, men, women and CHILDREN! On the End It website about-page, they share their mission stating, “Our amazing Coalition Partners are doing the work, on the ground, everyday, to bring AWARENESS, PREVENTION, RESCUE, and RESTORATION. We’re here to SHINE A LIGHT ON SLAVERY together!” The duty End It has accepted is spreading awareness about the continued existence of slavery, and helping fund these organizations. The partnering organizations are doing the physical work that couldn’t be if they do not get funding. But how well does End It help end slavery? Are they accomplishing their task of spreading awareness and generating funds, and are their partners following through?
End It has been using a combination of social media, and social interaction to help spread awareness. They have adopted February 27th as “Shine a Light on Slavery Day”; on this day they encourage those of who support the end of slavery to wear a red “X” on their hand and make a post of their hand online sharing the idea of the movement. I personally think this is a great use of social media, it allows people to get creative while still telling their peers about the mass of slaves that exist today. I also find the idea of the red “X” really smart. To be honest, in a weird way I think the red “X” on a bunch of hands looks super hip and BAD ASS. It is genius too. Although they do have various buttons, bumper-stickers, and apparel, a supporter can for get those and not everyone will ask about it. Further more, not everyone will ask about or see your bumper sticker, but your classmates will for sure ask what the “X”’s are about. I find that they are doing their best at utilizing real life and online interactions to spread the awareness of the issue of slavery.
On their website they have plenty of information on the movement, ways to help, and many statistics concerning slavery and human trafficking. Along with this information, they encourage the users to take action further than just having a red “X” on their hand and instagram, but by building a team of “FREEDOM FIGHTERS”. The concept is that you get 27 of your friends, family, and coworkers to join your team, donate 7 bucks and start their own team if lead to. The site tracks who is in your team and how much funding your team has generated, along with how many people your team members have reached. Although this causes people to have to step out of their comfort zones and ask people to donate and sign up, I still believe that there aren’t many better ways to honestly generate funding without being overbearing.
The coalition partners are all hard working organizations that together target all forms of slavery. Groups such as “As Our Own”, and “ECPAT” focus solely on the slavery and exploitation of children. As Our Own rescues and provides family environments for children who are involved in exploitation and slavery. Contrastingly, ECPAT helps fight child slavery by as the End It coalition page describes “Ending child slavery at its source by training the private sector, health care workers and others.” As Our Own does more hands on work with the children, whereas ECPAT focus on educating others so that this cruelty can be prevented.
The End It has taken the noble task of spreading awareness and generating funds to end slavery globally. Without awareness it will never end, and without funding the affected individuals won't get help. It has got to take a ballsy group of individuals to aim to end slave in their lifetime for good. Although there are always better or more effective was to spread awareness and raise funds, I do believe End It does it extremely well by using online and real life interactions. The organizations involved are constantly active in fighting the good fight for freedom!
If you are interested in End It and want to know more, visit their site here:
This social issue is very important because sadly not many people know that slavery is prominent still in the world, especially child-slavery. One campaign that I was exposed with was "Invisible Children" that raised awareness of the child soldiers in Uganda. Great blog.
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