SAN FRANCISCO – Google.org – the philanthropy arm of the Silicon Valley search engine, announced today they will be contributing what is likely the largest-ever corporate grant devoted to the advocacy, intervention and rescue of the estimated 27 million people around the world forced to work or have sex against their will.
Google’s $11.5M donation will go to organizations”with proven records in combating slavery” like Washington-based International Justice Mission, who Google chose to lead the efforts.
Gary A. Haugen, president of the International Justice Mission, told the AP that their combined efforts would focus on three initiatives:
- A $3.5 million intervention project to fight forced labor in India
- a $4.5 million advocacy campaign in India to educate and protect the vulnerable
- $1.8 million plan to mobilize Americans on behalf of the millions currently at risk of slavery or waiting for rescue around the world
The remaining $1.7 million will go to several smaller organizations and projects like Polaris Project and Slavery Footprint, both working to combat slavery.
In today’s world, slavery is more prevelant and less expensive than ever before. There are more slaves today than in any other time in modern history–around 27 million. In the Southern US in 1850, the average slave cost what would be the the equivalent of $40,000 – today a slave costs an average of $90.
Its easy for Americans to see those numbers and write human-trafficking off as a third-world issue, but 100,000 of enslaved individuals are within the US borders and earlier this year The Washington Post reported an American”epidemic” of sex-trafficking.
Hoping to wake-up Americans to that reality and impassion everyday citizens to take a stand on a modern-day slavery, the US awareness initiative will focus on educating the public on the impact of their purchase decisions encouraging them to choose clothing and products that have not been manufactured by forced labor.
(Below video by FreeTheSlaves.Net)
Read more about modern day slavery on techli.com: https://techli.com/2011/11/mobile-apps-shop-ethically/