Vancouver kids join
Canadian actress Erin Karpluk to
help break the bonds of child slavery
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2015 /CNW/ - Today a group of
Vancouver children had an
experience they won't soon forget.
Kids from Vancouver's Tenth
Street Church not only had the thrill of meeting Canadian actress
& World Vision Celebrity Ambassador Erin Karpluk, they had a chance to lace up and
run for a worthy cause as part of the BMO Vancouver Marathon Kids
Fun Run in Stanley Park.
The kids wore World Vision orange from their heads right down to
their brightly coloured shoe laces in an effort to raise awareness
of child slavery in Southeast Asia
--- part of the aid organization's No Child for Sale
Campaign. The "orange wave" drew a healthy crowd of cheering
Vancouverites, including a large group of proud parents.
CHILD LABOUR FACTS
- 168 million children toil as child labourers around the
world.
- 85 million children are forced to do dirty, dangerous and
degrading work, many of these kids are trafficked.
WORLD VISION'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORK
Today's kids' event is part of Team World Vision's
cross-Canada race series which is
rallying support for agency's End Trafficking in Persons (ETIP)
program.
- World Vision has helped hundreds of thousands of families
across southeast Asia in
Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, China
and Myanmar.
- World Vision helps to empower and educate the estimated 3 to 5
million annual migrants in the Greater Mekong Region to avoid the
trafficking trap.
QUOTES
"It's really inspiring to see Canadian kids
lace up and run to help kids across the world who may be running
for their very lives. Canadian families don't face the horrors of
having their children trafficked into slave-like conditions. No
child should be for sale --- and Vancouver's support for World Vision's
anti-trafficking program will save thousands of children from the
dirty, dangerous and degrading work that threatens their lives and
their futures," says Brett Tarver,
Manager of Advocacy Communications at World Vision Canada.
"I've been a big supporter of World Vision's child protection
work for years now. World Vision is helping thousands of families
escape child trafficking throughout Southeast Asia. Child sponsorship not only
gives families sustainable alternatives that let kids be kids but
it also protects kids from exploitation," says Canadian celebrity
Erin Karpluk.
RESOURCES
Photos of Vancouver kids running to end child
slavery
Information on World Vision's ETIP child protection program
ETIP Photos
World Vision Report on Human Trafficking
Team World Vision website
#WorldVisionCan
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy
organization dedicated to working with children, families and
communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves
all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Visit
our News Centre worldvision.ca
SOURCE World Vision Canada