Lee University recently hosted “To Plead Our Own Cause: Voices of Survivors of Human Trafficking” to recognize survivors of human trafficking and bring awareness to the issue. The event was held in Pangle Hall on Lee’s campus and hosted by students in Lee’s course on human trafficking.  
 

The event included musical tributes as well as spoken word and prayer. Students hosted this event in partnership with Willowbend Farms and Blazing Hope Ranch, both faith-based, nonprofit organizations focused on the restoration of survivors of human trafficking. 
 
According to Dr. Arlie Tagayuna, associate professor of sociology at Lee, the audience left the event not only informed but awakened and confronted with the vastness of human trafficking in its many forms. Attendees were “invited into a distinctly Christian response, one that transcends empathy and lament, calling instead for advocacy, solidarity, and active participation in the sacred work of restoring human dignity.” 
 
This event aimed to educate the public creatively about this issue in the classroom, on campus, and in the community. 
 
“This class project was in part created to make our students, faculty, staff, and our larger community aware of the nature and extent of human trafficking,” said Tagayuna. “True compassion is not content with tears; it moves toward rescue, relief, and restoration. In the light of Christ, our empathy becomes advocacy, our lament becomes labor, and our faith becomes the hands that help set the captives free.” 

Nolan Mann, a student enrolled in the course, opened the event with a poem by Tagayuna, titled “Are You Awake?,” before the audience heard the stories of trafficking survivors told by his classmates in a variety of mediums.  
 
“The arts are a pivotal way to express awareness of any social problem, whether it be through poetry, writing, or dance,” said Mann. “This is why the arts are so important and should never be mocked or overlooked. As simple as it sounds, poetry, dance, and theatre can even bring awareness to things as heavy as human trafficking.” 
 

For more information on Willowbend Farms, visit willowbendfarms.org/. 
 
For more information on Blazing Hope Ranch, visit blazinghoperanch.org/.