beauty comes in many, many forms; a fact that is often forgotten. Beauty is usually perceived as a visual characteristic; too often associated with the fashion or makeup world, or the world of glamour and glitz and paparazzi and red carpets. However, one of the most amazing, important forms of beauty lies in giving back to the community that gives so much to us, and showing off the beauty of our soul and self, by helping those less fortunate than us.
A cause that is especially close to my heart for personal reasons is the Somaly Mam Foundation, an organization committed to ending modern-day slavery around the world, including in North America. Somaly Mam herself is a survivor of sexual slavery, and has used her experiences to co-found the Somaly Mam Foundation in an effort to educate others about the predicament of girls sold into slavery everywhere, and to try and help these girls escape. Human trafficking is born out of a need for economy and survival, and the poorest of countries, such as Cambodia, Somaly's birthplace, have found that there are always richer countries willing to pay relatively well for their most plentiful resource; humans - young girls in particular. As many as Two Million women and children are sold into slavery each year. While it is understandable, yet sad, is that poor countries would seek their survival in any way possible; what is sadder is that there are actually countries like the United States willing to buy and abuse young girls for their own pleasure, and perpetuate human trafficking and sexual slavery in the process. The aim of the Foundation is not only to end the human trafficking and sexual slavery that is still prominent on a global level, but also to provide sexual slavery survivors with the tools they need to succeed after horrible experiences, and also with the platform to speak out against their experiences and captors.
Only by speaking up and being heard can we put an end to these horrific acts. It does these young, innocent girls no good to sit back and let someone else take charge, or to pass responsibility to someone more "qualified". The truth is, there is no one qualified to face and tackle the brutal truth of sexual slavery and human trafficking, and we all have to do our part in order to truly eradicate human trafficking and slavery as it exists today. Every individual has the power to change the world if they want to, so please do your part and give your heart to this cause; please help out as best as you can. You can help simply by telling more people about the suffering of these young girls being brutally raped and tortured every single day after being sold as slaves and having their lives and choices taken away from them. Please talk to people that you know, tell people on Facebook, Tweet it, blog about it, get involved or start something at your school or college campus, and share the cause with the community around you in general. To find out more about how you can help and get involved with the cause, click HERE.
To learn more about the organization, Somaly Mam Foundation (SMF), click HERE.
To learn more about Somaly Mam herself, the incredible woman who started it all, click HERE.
Lastly, to see a quick little video of Shay Mitchell of Pretty Little Liars talking about how much this cause means to her, click HERE.
Please take the time to check out more information about this cause, and to help out in any way you can. Remember: "True beauty is about giving and starts on the inside."
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