January 27, 2009
This Saturday night at the Bridge Hotel in Rozelle, Australia is a charity gig for the Somaly Mam Foundation. Three bands, INFINITO, mrben, and Penny Coco, will be playing and donating all proceeds to the foundation. If you’re in the neighbourhood this weekend, here’s the info:
Where: Bridge Hotel, 135 Victoria Rd, Rozelle, NSW
When: 8 PM
Who: INFINITO, mrben, and Penny Coco
Cost: $10 donation, or more.
January 23, 2009
Do you have a personal website, blog, or myspace profile? If you do, you can help spread the word about the fight against human trafficking by displaying a Somaly Mam Foundation banner on your page. By spreading the word about the foundation, we hope to increase awareness about human trafficking, as well as raise money to continue the battle against it. Putting a banner on your page is easy as pie, just select the banner you want on your page, and copy and paste the code below onto your web page:
Displaying a banner is a great way to show your support for the foundation, so put one on your web page today!
January 12, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2009
CONTACT: Nicholas Lumpp
e-mail: info@somaly.org
DENVER – The Somaly Mam Foundation welcomes Bill Livermore as the interim Executive Director effective January 9, 2009.
“Bill is the perfect individual to oversee the organization as we search for a permanent replacement. His passion for the foundation’s cause will ensure that the Somaly Mam Foundation continues to advance and make a difference in the interim,” says co-founder Nic Lumpp.
Livermore is the Director of Thought Leadership Programs at LexisNexis, where he built capacity for the rule of law and manages government, legal, and non-governmental organization relationships. He was a member of the Clinton White House staff and Director of Special Events at Cornell, Corning, Unisys and LexisNexis and is a graduate of Cornell University. He has been involved with the Somaly Mam Foundation since its beginnings, spent time in Cambodia and dramatically contributing to the organization’s fundraising and public relations success.
“I am thrilled and honored to serve the foundation in this role,” Livermore says. “The organization’s rapid success and achievement of global attention is a testament to the importance of its work. I look forward to a greater level of involvement.”
The foundation recently approved the addition of Livermore and six other new members to its Board of Directors, as well:
Kevin Bales is the president of Free the Slaves. He is a visiting professor at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Roehampton University in London. In addition to working as an international consultant with a number of high profile agencies,
Nina You helped establish the Cambodian Silk Forum. She and her family fled Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge violence and settled in the U.S. She has worked in the U.S. and Cambodia.
Sophea Chhun is a Cambodian businesswoman and human trafficking activist who has served as an advisor and leader inside AFESIP Cambodia since its inception.
Norman Jean Roy is a world renowned photographer whose award-winning work is featured monthly in Vogue, Vanity Fair and Allure. In 2006, he worked on an editorial project with Glamour magazine featuring Somaly Mam and has been involved with the foundation ever since.
Edward Adams recently retired as chairman and chief executive officer of Navigant International, Inc. and previously served as chairman and CEO of Professional Travel Corporation. He has been an active advisor for the Somaly Mam Foundation and also serves as a board member for Regis University and St. Joseph Hospital.
About the Somaly Mam Foundation
The Somaly Mam Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity committed to ending slavery. With the vision and leadership of world renowned Cambodian activist, Somaly Mam, the foundation focuses on eradicating the root of human trafficking, exemplifying a global vision and dedication that will allow its work in the United States and South East Asia to expand to other countries around the world. Visit our website at www.somaly.org.
# # #
New York Times columnist Nick Kristoff was just featured on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrooke to discuss 21st century slavery. From the show summary:
“New York Times columnist Nick Kristof is calling for a new abolition movement: the abolition of 21st-century slavery — by which he means sex slavery.
The global sex trafficking of young girls, in numbers greater than the 19th-century Atlantic slave trade ever knew. Girls kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured, maimed and degraded, every hour of every day.
George W. Bush has made a good start on attacking the problem, Kristof says. Barack Obama, he says, should finish it.
This hour, On Point: Sex trafficking, a new century’s slaves, and a new push for abolition.”
You can listen to the full show here: 21st Century Slavery
January 1, 2009
Nicholas Kristoff just wrote an op-ed in the New York times about Sina Vann’s heart-wrenching story. Sina was sold into slavery in Cambodia, but escaped (thanks to a raid organized by Somaly Mam), and now works with Somaly to fight human trafficking. From the article:
“After being freed, Sina began studying and eventually became one of Somaly’s trusted lieutenants. They now work together, in defiance of death threats from brothel owners, to free other girls. To get at Somaly, the brothel owners kidnapped and brutalized her 14-year-old daughter. And six months ago, the daughter of another anti-trafficking activist (my interpreter when I interviewed Sina) went missing.”
Check out the full article on the New York Times. Also, you can help the story reach others by voting it up on Reddit, a social news site, here. It’s already made the front page with over 670 votes, as of the time of this writing!
