Why We Love IJM

"The trafficking of persons is the third largest criminal industry after drugs and weapons, and the fastest growing criminal activity in the world. According to UNICEF, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade worldwide and, according to the U.S. Department of State, 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls, as many as 50% are minors. “When it comes to fighting human trafficking a relatively small amount of money goes extremely far because authorities can leverage the impact of the law,” said Holly Burkhalter, Vice President for Government Relations at IJM. “This can change the entire calculation of crime in that community and trafficking numbers go down.”
Groups like IJM are seeing big improvements over short periods of time. In just under two years of collaboration with local authorities in Cebu, Philippines, IJM has seen the number of child prostitutes reduced by 70 percent."
-information copied from an IJM Press Release
Sara Groves sings this beautiful song called "I Saw what I Saw" as a reaction to her visit to post-genocide Rwanda. In that song she says, "your pain has changed me, your dreams inspire, your face a memory, your hope a fire. your courage asked me what I am afraid and what I know of love. and what I know of God." Sometimes it hurts to care but if we allow another person's story to touch our lives and if we live in the pain with someone, we too will be changed. This is why we give our resources to organizations such as International Justice Mission. This is why we pray for victims of human trafficking. This is why we love.