This past week marked the annual Justice Week on campus, organized by Milligan’s International Justice Mission chapter.
According to senior Praise Gichuru, chair of the chapter, the purpose of this year’s Justice Week was to raise awareness and educate students on human trafficking and sex exploitation–issues that are a serious reality even within Milligan’s own region of East Tennessee.
“We believe that awareness equals action,” Gichuru said. “I think if people are truly aware of what it looks like for somebody to be enslaved and not have a voice, then they have to do something. I have to believe that about human beings.”
Monday through Thursday of this week, members of the chapter sat outside the cafeteria with red sharpies for students to draw a red “X” on the backs of their hands, an awareness-raising technique used by End It Movement, a coalition of organizations that often works alongside IJM to fight modern day slavery. Thursday marked the official Shine a Light on Slavery Day, when people all around the world drew a red “X” on their hands and shared a photo on social media in a stand of solidarity against the growing issue.
“It’s beautiful, because people ask what (these red Xs) are, and then you can tell them that we are choosing this week to spread awareness on this particular issue,” Gichuru said, adding that this is a simple way for anyone to use their own voice to speak up for those who are silenced in slavery.
Additional events included a letter-writing station on Wednesday, in which the chapter teamed up with the Apostolos club to write to Milligan alumni Brandon Ellis, who is now serving as an intern with IJM in Uganda.
Gichuru said that this year’s Justice Week has been received “beautifully.”
“We’ve seen a lot more students get involved,” she said. “We’ve also seen a lot of students that didn’t know human trafficking was a thing come to an awareness of it.”
In an effort to continue the conversation past Justice Week, Milligan’s IJM chapter will host a campus-wide viewing of the movie “Heart of Man” on March 13, which, according to Gichuru, deals with the demand-side of human trafficking and the ways that it is fueled and perpetuated in our world. On March 14, the chapter will host a campus conversation as a “next step” for students to discuss the issues that this movie raises.
Milligan’s IJM chapter has events planned for every week of the month of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness month. These events will include a Rally for Freedom, which is a day set apart across the nation to call legislators in an effort to influence Congress to join the fight against modern day slavery. More details to come on these events.
Anyone who is interested in joining the Milligan IJM chapter may either send a direct message with their email to the group’s Instagram page @milligan.ijm, or simply email Praise Gichuru.