End of Term Update

First of all apologies for not updating you all sooner this term has been mega busy with essays, society work and just generally enjoying university life!

At the beginning of second term, the committee started attending meetings planning future events and how to gain more volunteers on board for the taxi campaign.
We also held elections and now have a newly elected committee. Gail is President, Ian is Vice President, Michelle is Treasurer, Alex is Social Secretary and I’m media officer. Our team along with volunteers are determined than ever to combat human trafficking in Kent.
Refreshers Fayre held on 7th February 2012 allowed students to sign up to new societies and we even managed to receive a snippet of university television station Kent TV promoting the Refreshers Fayre!

A few members of the society also went to the university of East Anglia conference about Human Trafficking, where they learnt more about how to combat human trafficking and worked with other people at the conference to think of future ideas

The society decided to have another film night to see Taken starring Liam Neilson the synopsis of the film was a father trying to save his daughter from being a victim of human trafficking. We also served Fairtrade chocolate at the event to persuade people to buy Fairtrade chocolate instead of chocolate that may have been made from child traffickers.
Stop the Traffik has enquired to Mondeléz formally known as Kraft, who buy more cocoa than any other chocolate company to lead the way in making the chocolate industry free from child trafficking. Stop the Traffik campaigned last year to make Toblerone traffic free, Mondelez responded by saying the company would spend $400 million making their cocoa sustainable.

The next major event for UKC against Human Trafficking held was the society’s first female football match held in March, where we raised awareness in co-ordination with Love146 campaign- Run for Love 1000. Run for Love 1000, aims to raise £150,000 to go towards “the first national programme dedicated to the care and recovery of children who have been trafficked into the UK”. The event was a success with the girls split into two teams competing and raising awareness about Human Trafficking. We also had donation buckets of which the money raised would be going towards UKC against Human Trafficking and the Love146 campaign. Alex and I also went on the Kent University radio show ‘Colours of Canterbury’ to raise awareness about Human Trafficking and the event which was nerve racking but good fun!

 
In the future the society hope to start the taxi campaign to raise awareness in Kent about Human Trafficking especially as taxi drivers are essentially the eyes and ears of the community. If they can recognise the signs of Human Trafficking and do something about it then, that would be great and a huge step in combating Human Trafficking. The society also hopes to work with a safe house in Kent that helps those who have dealt with human trafficking.

Women’s football match hailed a “huge success”

Football fans at the University of Kent battled it out on Thursday for the much-coveted chance to win a combination meal at Nando’s. The charity event, hosted by UKC Against Human Trafficking, offered football players a peri-peri-coated reward for raising money and awareness for Love 146, an anti-human trafficking charity which aims to build Britain’s first safe house for trafficked children.

Gail Commandeur, president of the society, told volunteers about the lack of support for trafficked children and reminded spectators why fundraising events like these are so important. In a moving half-time speech, she said: “The problem is, these children may not speak English and will trust their traffickers more than they trust the care system. Because of this, 60% of trafficked children who have been taken into care go missing.”

The match was hailed a success by the footballers, spectators, and committee members of the student-led volunteer group. Michelle Siyanbola, organiser of the event, was amazed by the response she received. She said: “I didn’t envision this kind of result! So many girls were willing to join the cause by playing and, despite the harsh weather, so many people actually turned up to watch, support and give to the charity.”
“I just want to thank everyone that made this event a huge success in one way or another.”

Many travelled from elsewhere to join in, including Cara Lockwood, 21, who took the free Medway shuttle bus to take part. Talking about the event, she said: “I really enjoyed the game and it is all for a great cause.”

After the match, Woody’s Bar kindly offered beer and burger deals to all involved in the event and spectators definitely made the most of this generosity!

The money raised through the match is currently being counted by Raise and Give, Kent Union’s charity branch, before being sent to Love146.

UKC Against Human Trafficking would like to give a big thank you to Nando’s for providing four free meals for the winning team and to Woody’s bar for the beer and burger discounts.

 

Written by: Maya Esslemont