The Junior Ladies of Charity from St. John’s Preparatory School sponsored a Human Trafficking Awareness Project for their school community.  The Junior Ladies chose to coincide with the United Nations 60th Commission on the Status of Women the United Nations Missions, Entities, and NGOs are meeting to discuss the status of women throughout the world. This year’s themes are women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development, and the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.  The Junior Ladies program culminated in a presentation of the documentary Lives for Sale and which was followed by small group discussions.

On Monday, March 21 the Junior Ladies traveled to St. John’s University to attend a special session on “The Nexus of Microfinance, Poverty and Human Trafficking.”   This event was sponsored by the University’s Center for Church and Society, Ladies of Charity and the Tobin College of Business’s Center for Global Business Stewardship.  Students joined students and faculty from the University and learn how microfinance is an anti-poverty tool that empowers women and explore the systemic issues of poverty and its correlation to violence against women.  The Prep students were thrilled to be given this opportunity and grateful for the invitation.

St. John’s Preparatory School, located in Astoria, New York is co-ed college preparatory school founded by the Vincentian Fathers in 1870. The Ladies of Charity is an international society with 250,000 members.  It traces its roots to St. Vincent de Paul and 1617 Lyon, France.  St. Vincent formed the Ladies of Charity when he organized a group of women to address the grinding poverty of 17^th century France.  Four centuries later, this vision continues to live and celebrated by the Ladies of Charity, St. John’s Prep, St. John’s University and the international Vincentian Family.

Contributed by: Kitty Prager  (Lady of Charity and SJP Junior Ladies co-moderator)

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