After a long self imposed time out to think.

Here I am.  I have been taking months of this blog, not because I have not been thinking about the 27 million people held as slaves, not because I do not care any longer, but because I had to really think about how to be most useful.
When I started this project I said I wanted to be an "info booth" that connects people with the same interest to effectively help the victims.
After months of research, watching, learning, snooping around and such I am convinced that I am in the right track.  I am convinced that what I want my grain of sand in this ocean of hope is to be a communicator.  I want to tell you about great organizations and people fighting human trafficking, I want to inform you and I want you to HELP ME tell as many people as possible what modern day slavery is, where it is happen (everywhere) and how, by even just sharing, we are making a difference.
I don't want to be a hero, I don't care about who is doing what, ALL I care about is that something is being done and how to help the process.
That simple.
I have learned that I cannot bite more than I can chew and come out on top. 
This is what I am doing.  Help me.  Tell everyone, do your own research, of your country, your city, inform yourself.  Contact your representative.  Tell your friends.
I still stand by the words I said when I started this project.   Do something really simple, print out the logo I provide on this blog (top of the page) post it in your office, your room, your car, wherever, someone will ask you, someone will know.
Take pictures with the logo, send them over along with your story, I'll gladly post it.
You+me+your friends = we can make a difference.
Thank you,
Pablo

We are doing this, TOGETHER.

I have mentioned before that there are a lot of amazing individuals and organizations fighting against human trafficking.  It is a fact, there are a lot of NGO's, books, films, etc.
I am clear on what my role is in all this: I am a self proclaimed Information Booth.  You come here, browse around, and see who you can support, what you can do and go on your way.  I don't aspire to be another organization, I am just your friendly neighborhood info booth.
I think its high time all of us band together, learn what our role is, fulfill it and above all SUPPORT each other to see the end of this in OUR lifetime.
I want you to be hopeful with me, to be moved and move others, to think in terms of what each of us can personally do to raise awareness, to contact our legislators, to be smarter in our choice of products and goods.
Above all, do NOT loose hope, 27 million people are counting on us.  Know that it will take a bit of time, let's be realistic about that.  But also let's know, that EACH DAY we can make a difference.
I am brainstorming a couple things that WE can do together,  Let's bond, let's count on each other and LET'S DO THIS.
p.

VALENTINE

Thanks Allyson Randle Reeder.

WHAT & WHY?

A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve.~Oliver Wendell Holmes

WHAT am I doing and WHY? This questions have been in my head or asked to me recently.  I have started this site/blog and joined the Pepsi Refresh Project to get some funding to make this site what I envision it can be.  So, I have thought about the questions asked by my own little brain and by others (much bigger than mine) who try to understand what I aim to do with this.
I am doing what I feel is what I must do when knowing that there are 27 million people living in conditions of slavery.  After researching much, I have learned that there are many organizations and brave individuals that ARE standing up and FIGHTING for those that can't (you can find a listing of some of those on this very page). Many.  I am not trying to be yet another non profit.  I think with the ones already working we can make a difference if we all support them.  Hence the creation of this website.  It is NOT here to raise money, it is NOT here to directly fight, it is NOT here for self promotion.  This site is to HELP you know WHERE you can HELP, WHO you can SUPPORT and WHAT people are doing.  It is to be a virtual forum where we can meet, share our ideas, pictures, news, etc and be in touch with others that are like minded.
WHAT do I intend to accomplish with this? I hope to reach to as many people that do or do not know about this issue and once they are informed, to provide them with the tools to actually DO something about it.  It is such a huge issue that once one is faced with it, we can feel: "well, there's nothing I can do about it."  However there are a LOT of things we CAN do.  I aim to share those with everyone here.  From contacting our government officials to simply posting the logo provided here to open the conversation.
Entering the Pepsi Refresh Project was what made this real for me, because by doing so I realized that even though a professional done site would be ideal, I can't let that stop me.  I have the privilege of having a voice that CAN be heard and I fully intend to YELL till I am heard.
I invite you to join me, to demand legal changes, to help those that need it, to be strong for those that are weak and to not back down.
Pablo
P.S. If you believe in this project you can vote for it clicking right here.

From all places they come!

Check a contribution by former Salt Lake City, UT Mayor and creator of High Road for Human Rights.  Also check the website and help!!Righ here

With your help!

I woke up today to an email from the Pepsi Refresh Project telling me that my project has been approved and is in competition to get 5k from their grants.  What is this money for? It is to pay a web designer, someone that actually knows how to set up a site as opposed as me.  I envision this site with a lot more resources, more user friendly and at least in two language versions (English & Spanish)
With the help of a web designer I hope to achieve that, have our site in its own domain and being able to reach out to a lot more people, not having language be a barrier.
I now need your votes to make this happen.  Please, take a minute go here VOTE and pass the word around.  Let's refresh the world, one click at the time.
Thank you,
Pablo

The Classics join the TWENTYSEVENMILLION PROJECT

Simply AMAZING, submitted by @pecaringb:
Michelangelo's David~

and he is joined by non other than the Venus de Milo~

And here is the master himself Pablo Carvalho = @pecaringb GRACIAS!

If you build it, they will come.

If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other. ~Carl Schurz

I am very grateful you are all helping me with this project. As I see it it's not something I am doing, but something WE are doing.    It's been exactly a week since this site when up.  Over 350 people have visited it.  You might think it's a little, or you might think it's a lot.  I smile and think, there are over 350 people out there talking about this that might have not known about modern day slavery before!

I will speak little and post some pictures/stories from some of you to all of us.  I just have to say is how surprised I am for the level of commitment and creativity some of you have.  I have received emails from a couple professional photographers saying they need a bit over a week to set up for their pics, must be some pic.  I appreciate that but remember, we can all do it and the main goal is to get the dialogue started.  Thank you and keep sending those pictures and stories.  I leave you with a few.

From @Thomas_Scott_

You will see that a lot of things posted here are by people who's name has the "@" symbol at the beginning.  It's because they were submitted from Twitter and you can use their name as shown to follow them if so inclined.
From @Javafreak68:

There's a lot more pics from @Javafreak68 and you can see them on her Twitpic page, right here! Once you see the main pic, keep clicking on the other ones on the bottom right hand of the page.  She is doing so much! but I will let her tell you some of here experiences:

"The interesting thing that happened was while in Stop and Shop in
West Haven, CT 2 ppl were sitting where you post signs. The older
gentleman had asked what the project was and what modern day slavery
was. He asked if it was here at all. I explained what it was, and
which cases had be in the US and how even the ones in other countries
effect us because we import the goods, take them into our homes, use
them. He said it was a great project idea. I went to pick up groceries
and he was in the line in front of ours. He told the cashier and
bagger about the project and pointed to me and said how I had just
explained it too him. It was great to get the word out and see him
sharing it as well ;0)

We tagged many places, the stores or brands known for slave labor were
tagged ie Hanes was tagged in a few stores. In addition to putting
flyers on the community boards in the towns we went to- New Haven,
West Haven, Milford, Orange. I figured even if only 1 person see the
flyers before they were taken down maybe they will not buy the item.
We posted signs outside of IKEA, LL Bean, Walmart in and outside as
all 3 made the top 10 for worst companies for slave labor.

It is mentioned in her email about stores and brands that are known for slave labor, yes, unfortunately it DOES happen.  You can read more about that here , here & here

Recognizing slavery.

First let me start saying: THANK YOU!! Your response has been overwhelming and positive.  Now I have no doubt we can do this together.  As I said when I posted the first blog 3 days ago, I am far from a technical savvy person, in fact borderline embarrassing.  I also said on that first blog that i was not going to use that as an excuse to not do this.  And the site went live, full of mistakes and things that could and can be improved.  In less than 24 hours I got some kind people helping me to make the site make sense and look better.  Out of their kindness they made time on their busy schedule to help: thank you Avi Lewin and H. Smith, you both are incredible.
So we are up and running, pictures are coming in and I will start posting a few on each post and then a lot when I don't write something.
Some of the questions I got were about slavery itself, what is it? How to know? etc.
I am going to share with you about some of the shapes that slavery takes:
Chattel Slavery: the slaves and any children they might have are considered "property" of their "owner."
Debt Bondage: the most common type of slavery today, accounting for approximately 20 million of the slaves today.  After a person takes a loan (usually for basic necessities) the person must work to pay off the loan.  Moneylenders use deceptive techniques to prevent the debt from ever being paid, usually carrying on to future generations.  Entire families can be enslaved for generations for what amounts to $20
Contract Slavery: A worker enters to a false employment contract to earn wages; the slaveholder then refuses to pay the person but uses the false contract to use and hide their activities.
Sexual Slavery: Persons, usually women and girls, are sold into the sex industry and often transported across borders.  Slaveholders lure vulnerable individuals by promising them or their parents that they will be given jobs as waitresses, cleaning or watching children.
This are just a few examples and of course there are many variations of these practices and as many stories as slaves are.
You can see some specific cases here , here & here
Now, download that logo, put it in your office and inform others.
Thank you,
P.
p.s. next post will have mostly pictures, hope yours is in there!

Pepsi, 27Million & YOU

Here we are. All of us, a lot more than 27 million people.  However there are an estimated 27 million people living in conditions of slavery TODAY.  I know, crazy.  How do we not know? How come seems like nobody is doing anything? How is this happening?  I thought the same, years ago when I found out.
From then on I've decided I cannot just know and do nothing.  I have been looking for ways to help, raise awareness, DO something.  Along the way I've learned a few things.  Let me share:
-It is NOT something that happens in "another place," chances are, it happens in your city/state/country.
-Why isn't anybody doing anything? Well, the better question is why aren't YOU doing anything about it? (but we'll get to that soon).  In reality there are government agencies, non-profit organizations and courageous individuals DOING something.  Which leads me to the next point:
-Why doesn't everyone know? I am not the holder of all the answers, and there are many for this question.  I personally think that this is not an easy topic, it's a harsh reality and a lot of people upon finding out feel that: a) this MUST be happening somewhere else, so it's not my problem, or b) well I know now, but there's NOTHING I can probably do about it.  However, as I said it is happening in your community and you CAN do something about it.
-What can I possibly do?  When I found out about slavery, I read and read and researched and felt powerless.  I felt: "well, I know this horrible things are happening, but nobody tells me how I can help."
That single question sent me on a quest to research more, to find out what is being done.  There are a lot of things being done by many organizations and individuals.  I personally feel that what we are not doing enough is EDUCATING ourselves on the issue, and making educated decisions/contributions to the cause.
So here is what I am going to do:  I am going to have this blog, which hopefully soon will be a full on website where I pledge to INFORM all of you, and be INFORMED by all of you about modern day slavery.  I will make it a place where you can send your local/personal stories, pictures, resources info, etc.  A virtual place where we can all gather and help each other become an educated, full of love army that will help our 27Million enslaved siblings.
Now if you go back to the title of this particular blog, you might ask: what does PEPSI has to do with it?  A lot and nothing at the same time.  January 13th 2010 Pepsi is taking a gamble, taking millions of dollars out of advertisement and putting them towards community projects presented by us.  This projects are voted on by us and we choose where the money goes here  When I heard of this I thought: "yes!! I will apply for the 27MillionProject!!"  I envisioned getting the grant, being able to pay someone to make a spiffy website and such.  Along the lines it dawned on me that I cannot let money, my technological ignorance or any other excuse get on the way of doing this simple thing: helping each other be educated about slavery and educating others.  Look at me, I am doing it in a free blog and granted, its not a great website designed by someone with the Pepsi money but it's a start.  I will still submit the project, but regardless the outcome, we have a home and a voice (thanks to this site.)
So what can YOU do?  If you ask me (I know, I know, you didn't) the single most powerful yet easy and free thing we can ALL do is: educate ourselves and educate others.  If we could let 10 people know about slavery today and they would let 10 others know...you get the idea.  And what happens when you have a society that is well aware and informed about something like this?  Well, said society will want changes and will be aware and more importantly, will be doing something.
So you tell me, now I have learned about the issue, I read, researched and such, but how do I go and tell 10 others about it?  Weird huh?  Let me help you out a bit, See this picture? It was created by a friend of mine for another project we are working on about human trafficking.  I love its simplicity.  Two hands making a 27, we can all do that.  So here's the deal, take this picture, enlarge it, minimize it and print it.  Tape it to your office wall, your car, go and take pictures with it, print it on a shirt, etc, then people will ask you:"what's that all about?" and bam!! you can now tell them, and within days they'll be posting their print outs too.  Then you send me an email and we post your stories and pictures. I will make a 2 minute video with some of them, you ready??
RECAP:
Print logo (download the PDF)
Post visibly.  Be ready to answer questions about it.
Take pictures with it (by landmarks, office, home, with friends, on a shirt, get creative!!)
Send them to me (along with stories and anything else relevant): freedomnow@twentysevenmillion.org
Let's cover the world with this sign and bring freedom to everyone.
You have been hereby, recruited.