Yesterday as I was driving around the city the word “La Trata” jumped out at me. This is the Spanish word that refers to human trafficking…the buying and selling of people. Within an hour I saw two billboards and one bus explaining that “La Trata” is a crime and urging women and girls not to be deceived.

This is huge.

The truth is that despite the hotness of the topic of human trafficking in the States, many in El Salvador are unaware of the problem. Girls disappear, and women are sold into horrific situations of forced prostitution and domestic servitude.

Hopefully that will begin to change. The new campaign, led by the First Lady of El Salvador, includes television commercials aimed at preventing child trafficking, and signs around El Salvador.  If you speak Spanish, you can read all about it here and watch the television commercials.

This issue is near and dear to my heart, and I hope that as churches, community leaders, and all Salvadorans become aware of this crime then it will become near and dear to their hearts too.