Zonta Club of Kaua'i joins World Day Against Trafficking in Persons awareness campaign

On 30 July, designated as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons by the United Nations, Ho'ola Na Pua, a Hawai'i-based organization, led a statewide sign-waving campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking. On Kaua'i, the campaign was joined by Kaua'i’s First Lady Monica Kawakami, her daughter Hailey, the Kaua'i Committee on the Status of Women, including State Commissioner Regina Carvalho and Zonta Club of Kaua'i, USA, members, along with local residents and children.

The United Nations reports that globally, one in three trafficking victims is a child, with the majority being girls subjected to forced labor, illegal adoption, sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation. Reports also said the reasons for child trafficking are many with the most prominent being poverty, insufficient support for unaccompanied minors in the face of increasing migration and refugee flows, armed conflicts, dysfunctional families and lack of parental care. Supported by agencies like the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Kaua‘i Police Department, YWCA of Kaua'i, and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the campaign will see signs posted in county parks to further raise awareness.

Ho'ola Na Pua served over 15,000 youths and community members through direct service programming in 2023. Victims of human trafficking can call 1-888-373-7888 or 808-245-6362, or text HELP to 233733.