Dear College of William & Mary Chapter,
Thank you for your hard work and commitment to making the SANE training possible in Guatemala! I am very pleased to update you on their exciting plans for this training.
Our Guatemala office will host a number of local forensic experts for five days this fall. A Forensic Nurse Consultant will travel to Guatemala and lead various lectures and practicums, teaching on the following topics and more: medical findings in sexual assault, male sexual assault, investigating a case, identifying injuries using photographs, documentation of sexual crimes, crime lab role and evidence collection.
As you can imagine, this training will be invaluable to the clients we serve and would not be possible without your financial support and prayers. On behalf of the Guatemala office, our Field Director, Pablo Villeda, would like to personally thank you. Click here to download video. Feel free to share this email and video with your Campus Chapter.
Lastly, to have a more specific idea of who this training will benefit, I would like to share Kiara*’s story with you. Click here to download her story. Through this story I hope you are able to see how we believe this training will help obtain justice for more children like Kiara*. The SANE trainings will benefit child victims of sexual assault in Guatemala by enabling Guatemala’s forensic doctors to provide a response to sexual violence that is both sensitive to the victim’s needs and will document the type of evidence necessary to pursue accountability under the law for their perpetrators.
Please feel free to contact me if you need anything at all. Thank you again for making this possible!
Warmest regards,
Alicia
* In order to protect the individuals IJM serves and safeguard ongoing IJM casework, a pseudonym has been used, though the account is real.
3.20.2008
Affordable Housing
in Williamsburg
w/ Mayor Zeidler and Vice-Mayor Haulman
Wednesday, March 26
7-8 p.m. Tyler 336
in Williamsburg
w/ Mayor Zeidler and Vice-Mayor Haulman
Wednesday, March 26
7-8 p.m. Tyler 336
Mayor Jeanne Zeidler and Vice-Mayor Clyde Haulman will join us to discuss the issue of affordable housing and let the student body know what the Williamsburg City Council is doing about it.h
The average selling price of a home in Williamsburg/James City County is over $350,000. For the average area worker, living here is nearly impossible. We believe that people should be able to live in the places they work. With affordable housing options becoming more and more scarce, the city is heading down a road not only to complete homogeneity but also to a severe labor shortage. Commuting itself has costs, and low-wage workers are most affected. The city's lack of affordable housing presents both economic and social problems that must be addressed. We recognize that there are ways to make change for the better and are glad that Mayor Zeidler and Vice-Mayor Haulman are coming to discuss those possibilities with us.
2.18.2008
Steve Gillard '07
Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) in Tuscon, AZ
on Extreme Poverty in the U.S.
Wednesday, February 20
7:30 p.m. Blair 2nd
This week, Steve Gillard will join us from Tuscon, Arizona, to share his experiences working with extreme poverty in the United States. Since graduating last May, Steve has been spending the year working in Tuscon through the Presbyterian Church's Young Adult Volunteer program, living in a community house and connecting with the people he serves. Come hear what he's done, the problems he's faced and his thoughts on domestic poverty.
We'll meet on WEDNESDAY at 7.30 p.m. in Blair 2nd. Look for other group members, and we'll find a room from there. Our first choice will be Blair 221, but it may be occupied. Just keep your eyes open.
2.16.2008
Northern Illinois University Shooting
Dear friends,
In a time when our campus is feeling torn apart, another campus has experienced a much greater pain than the resignation of a president. Five students were killed at Northern Illinois University by a single gunman, and many more were wounded. Please keep this school in your thoughts and prayers.
Here's a NY Times article about what happened: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/us/15shoot.html?hp.
Let this serve as a reminder that, while some of us might feel hurt by recent events here at the College, our problems are small in comparison with those of others--even those of other US universities. We can continue fighting for what we believe in here in Williamsburg, as we should, but we must never forget how numerous the pains in this world really are--and how we are all called to bind up the brokenhearted and serve as comforts for those who mourn. Let's answer that call.
If you need anything during what could be a difficult time for many, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Peace,
Nik Belanger
njbela@wm.edu
In a time when our campus is feeling torn apart, another campus has experienced a much greater pain than the resignation of a president. Five students were killed at Northern Illinois University by a single gunman, and many more were wounded. Please keep this school in your thoughts and prayers.
Here's a NY Times article about what happened: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/us/15shoot.html?hp.
Let this serve as a reminder that, while some of us might feel hurt by recent events here at the College, our problems are small in comparison with those of others--even those of other US universities. We can continue fighting for what we believe in here in Williamsburg, as we should, but we must never forget how numerous the pains in this world really are--and how we are all called to bind up the brokenhearted and serve as comforts for those who mourn. Let's answer that call.
If you need anything during what could be a difficult time for many, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Peace,
Nik Belanger
njbela@wm.edu
2.06.2008
The Only Payday Loan Shop in the City of Williamsburg
Doesn't Play Fair When It
Comes to Lending
Doesn't Play Fair When It
Comes to Lending
Join us for a Demonstration on
Monday, February 11th
Noon to 1 p.m.
March, Speak to the Press, then Peacefully Disperse
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Meet at the UC bus stop for the 11:54 bus to the Bloom shopping center (one mile from campus), and plan to return in time for your 1 o’clock classes!
Meet at the UC bus stop for the 11:54 bus to the Bloom shopping center (one mile from campus), and plan to return in time for your 1 o’clock classes!
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Raise Your Voice for
Fair Credit Options,
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Not Debt Traps!
Not Debt Traps!
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*Organized through the Virginia Organizing Project. For more information, visit http://virginia-organizing.org/. W&M IJM is joining this effort to promote the interests of the abused and impoverished residents of the Williamsburg community and the state of Virginia on the whole.
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For more information, please contact Nik Belanger at njbela@wm.edu (students) or Ben Thacker-Gwaltney at 757-570-3005 (community members).
For more information, please contact Nik Belanger at njbela@wm.edu (students) or Ben Thacker-Gwaltney at 757-570-3005 (community members).
1.29.2008
Focus the Nation
This week, W&M IJM is focusing on global climate change, its implications and the right response. Through this Tuesday's (January 29) IJM meeting, we hope to gain insight into the problem and discuss as a group what we can do to help--both as individuals and as members of a larger organization. Then on Wednesday, the Student Environmental Action Coalition is hosting a broadcast of "The 2% Solution," which will address similar issues and provide enough deeper information.
As Christians, we are called to be stewards of the environment. This week, we will delve into what that means and how we can follow that call in an effective, proactive way.
12.05.2007
Have you ever wondered what an IJM investigator does in a day? Read on.
It’s early on a Saturday morning in March 2003, and IJM investigator Jasper Ayelazuno is already out of bed after a brief night’s sleep. Though the day is just beginning, Jasper is busy. Along with the rest of his team, he reviews countless details of the day’s mission: entering the brothels of Svay Pak to rescue children held in sexual slavery. For years, IJM has meticulously
documented evidence against human traffickers in this Cambodian village notorious for the open sale of sex with children. The practice is illegal in Cambodia, but nobody has stepped in to defend the innocent victims. Today is the day the oppressed will have a voice, as local authorities and IJM plan for the rescue of young girls and the arrest of their perpetrators. The team has painstakingly documented the locations of the children who need rescue; they review the facts, preparing for the mission. The mission is as complex as it is urgent: The number of children held in forced prostitution in Svay Pak is astounding.
Jasper and the IJM team walk through the logistics of the day. Each member of the team is commissioned to his or her respective position: Jasper remains at headquarters to direct the staff and assist police, while five investigators go to the brothels to gather perpetrators and victims, whom they will bring to a secure location where arrests and rescue will occur.
A complication in the operation arises. The five investigators discover that they will not be able to bring the perpetrators and victims to the offsite location as previously planned. The plan must be amended; the team makes immediate decisions. Jasper answers the other investigators’ urgent call and helps to lead the police to the brothels where the girls remain trapped. The investigators and the police travel door-to-door, bravely arresting human traffickers and removing their victims from danger.
As a result of the team’s actions, 37 girls are rescued and 13 traffickers are arrested.
Jasper and other members of the team escort the girls and the brothel owners to the police station. Jasper monitors the situation, ensuring that both victims and perpetrators are treated fairly. Though they will soon be transferred to a safe and secure aftercare facility, the victims’ immediate testimony in the aftermath of their traffickers’ arrest is extremely valuable to police as they document evidence. Jasper helps the team ensure that the traumatized victims are treated with sensitivity and compassion. Through the entire process, Jasper works to build on IJM’s existing rapport with Cambodian police, equipping law enforcement officials to best meet the needs of these victims.
Though several years have passed, Jasper retains the shock he felt on that day in 2003 when he saw just how young the girls in Svay Pak were and the disgusting conditions in which they lived. Jasper has a daughter himself – thinking of her makes it particularly hard to comprehend the violence committed against the girls of Svay Pak. Though his work in Cambodia was difficult, there was, as Jasper puts it, “a job to be done.” He still thinks often of the rescued girls and thanks God for the opportunity to have been part of the mission.
It is the daily work of investigators like Jasper Ayelazuno that brings IJM one day closer to securing justice for the victims of oppression and slavery. Because of the work accomplished on Jasper’s mission and other IJM initiatives in cooperation with Cambodian police, there has been a huge reduction in child sexual exploitation in Svay Pak.
documented evidence against human traffickers in this Cambodian village notorious for the open sale of sex with children. The practice is illegal in Cambodia, but nobody has stepped in to defend the innocent victims. Today is the day the oppressed will have a voice, as local authorities and IJM plan for the rescue of young girls and the arrest of their perpetrators. The team has painstakingly documented the locations of the children who need rescue; they review the facts, preparing for the mission. The mission is as complex as it is urgent: The number of children held in forced prostitution in Svay Pak is astounding.
Jasper and the IJM team walk through the logistics of the day. Each member of the team is commissioned to his or her respective position: Jasper remains at headquarters to direct the staff and assist police, while five investigators go to the brothels to gather perpetrators and victims, whom they will bring to a secure location where arrests and rescue will occur.
A complication in the operation arises. The five investigators discover that they will not be able to bring the perpetrators and victims to the offsite location as previously planned. The plan must be amended; the team makes immediate decisions. Jasper answers the other investigators’ urgent call and helps to lead the police to the brothels where the girls remain trapped. The investigators and the police travel door-to-door, bravely arresting human traffickers and removing their victims from danger.
As a result of the team’s actions, 37 girls are rescued and 13 traffickers are arrested.
Jasper and other members of the team escort the girls and the brothel owners to the police station. Jasper monitors the situation, ensuring that both victims and perpetrators are treated fairly. Though they will soon be transferred to a safe and secure aftercare facility, the victims’ immediate testimony in the aftermath of their traffickers’ arrest is extremely valuable to police as they document evidence. Jasper helps the team ensure that the traumatized victims are treated with sensitivity and compassion. Through the entire process, Jasper works to build on IJM’s existing rapport with Cambodian police, equipping law enforcement officials to best meet the needs of these victims.
Though several years have passed, Jasper retains the shock he felt on that day in 2003 when he saw just how young the girls in Svay Pak were and the disgusting conditions in which they lived. Jasper has a daughter himself – thinking of her makes it particularly hard to comprehend the violence committed against the girls of Svay Pak. Though his work in Cambodia was difficult, there was, as Jasper puts it, “a job to be done.” He still thinks often of the rescued girls and thanks God for the opportunity to have been part of the mission.
It is the daily work of investigators like Jasper Ayelazuno that brings IJM one day closer to securing justice for the victims of oppression and slavery. Because of the work accomplished on Jasper’s mission and other IJM initiatives in cooperation with Cambodian police, there has been a huge reduction in child sexual exploitation in Svay Pak.
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