So how have things been going lately in the life of Jarrett Davis?
This is a question that I feel obligated to answer, in one form or another, every time that I post an entry on this blog. But to be entirely honest, it's a question that I dread answering. I dread it because I don't entirely know how to answer, "how things are going".
I am presently giving about 70% of my work hours to be the Director of Communications for Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary on a volunteer basis. This is not something that I am particularly passionate about, however this short 5-6 month placement is giving me great practical experience in communications and doesn't look too bad on a resume either.
My real passion, however, lies in the 30% of work that I'm doing on the sidelines. I am working with a team of people to further develop an anti-human trafficking initiative called, "StepUP" which works to provide employable computer skills, values education, and trafficking advocacy to out-of-school youth from at-risk communities. This has been an on-going initiative of APNTS in partnership with several other large organizations in the Philippines.
We are hoping to expand this program in South India in July. India has been of particular interest to us in that it is ripe for this kind of work. The country has become notorious for various forms of trafficking and bonded labor. This is exciting work and I greatly hope to do more--especially in the area of research and advocacy.
This is a little of "what" I have been doing. "How" I have been doing is another story.
With my apologies to Dickens, it's the best of times, and it's the worst of times. And, just as it was with "A Tale of Two Cities," a preface like that, usually requires a novel's worth of pages to sort out. However, I will try to give you a two-part, bloggable summary.
PART I
"It's the best of times: meaningful interactions and definitive steps toward my call."
The past few months have been great. I have been immersed into the world that I am passionate about: Communication and Human Development. I have recently met Dr. Glenn Miles of Love146, a non-profit Organization that specializes in research and advocacy about Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. We had the greatest conversation. It really "defined the field" into which I am moving and gave me a lasting motivation.
Dr. Miles' particular work is in the area of exploitation. He has spent a good deal of time, in the Red Light districts of urban centers in South-East Asia, trying to understand about how the economy and culture of human trafficking operates. This is vital work, in that it is not until we really understand "how's" and "why's" of these situations, that we can put a definitive end to the issue of trafficking and exploitation.
This is particularly true in the Philippines.
It is startling to know that, EACH YEAR, around the world, there are 1.2 Million children (below 18 years old) that are trafficked for sexual exploitation, labor, and other forms of abuse, more than 100,000 of these children are filipinos--remember, this is the number EACH YEAR--not in total. That means that 1 out of every 10 people trafficked are filipino.
Ending human trafficking and sexual exploitation is much more complicated than simply outlawing prostitution and jailing the pimps. It is a system, an economy of supply and demand that thrives on the abuse some of the most vulnerable members of society. This is where one's faith has a distinctive edge.
I am of the persuasion that community development is largely meaningless if it is not built upon the foundation of human development. That is, Community Development can clean up the brothels, build community centers, create new legislation, and even improve the poverty level, but if it the development has not been transformative to the human person, it will be short-lived.
My life has reached an equally exciting and pressing point of juncture. I am honored to have been a part of such experience and work in this part of the world. I am also thankful for the road that has lead me here. In the last few months, I have felt closer to my calling than ever before.
I also know that I can't be a volunteer forever. In fact, I can't be a volunteer past August of this year, when my second set of student loans go back into repayment. Although, I am excited for the work that is potentially before me, this road has some significant obstacles--many of which I am already facing.
Those, I leave for Part II of this blog entry.
