As the Sesquicentennial license plates on my car testify, it was 13 years ago that we celebrated the 150th anniversary of Wisconsin Statehood. Now, it’s the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War that’s underway. The first shots of that war were fired 150 years ago today.
Although historians still debate the reasons behind the war, the end result was the end of the institution of slavery in the United States. At least that’s what we learned in school. The statistics say otherwise. Statistics say that there are 27 million people enslaved in the world today, far more than in the 19th century.
There are more and more opportunities to educate ourselves and get involved in efforts to end modern slavery and human trafficking. One opportunity is a concert at City Church on April 27, 2011, sponsored by a local ministry called We International.
The concert features Downhere and Rush of Fools. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at City Church, High Point Church, Cool Beans Cafe and itickets.com. City Church is located at 4909 E. Buckeye Road, Madison, WI. The concert begins at 7pm.
David Lippiatt, the founder of We International, is a member of the Wisconsin State Committee on Human Trafficking. We International is listed amongst Wisconsin Human Trafficking Resources. He has lobbied at the United Nations on behalf of displaced peoples and in Washington to oppose cutting the foreign affairs budget. “Occasionally the U.S. gets some bad press but our work overseas doing development and relief work speaks highly to who we are and our culture,” he said.
Lippiatt came to Madison 20 years ago to attend the University of Wisconsin, majoring in International Studies and Philosophy. He met his wife Tina at the UW. At different times they’ve been on staff at two local churches, Lake City Church and Mad City Church, which have now merged to become City Church.
A Call to Ministry
In 1999 he and Tina felt a call to get more involved in ministry. They joined a Discipleship Training program run by Youth With A Mission for mid-career people, traveling to England and Zimbabwe. “During the course of that time we felt God telling us that was what he was calling us to,” he said.
They returned to Madison and began putting together We International. When Lippiatt thinks about what has been accomplished in its four years of existence so far, he thinks about someone like Ausha, who lives in Uganda.
“Ausha’s husband died and she couldn’t send her three children to school. She got training through We International, and a loan. She sells mandazis (a fried bread somewhat like a donut) in the villages. Now she’s saved some money and all of her kids can go to school. She’s not very literate but she’s a great business woman.”
He thinks the microfinance program in Uganda is going well. “We have 100-percent repayment rate on our micro-finance loans, and we’ve taught a lot of people to save,” he said. So far they have administered about 60 micro-finance loans, which he admits is not a lot but he says that to do development well takes time.
Ministry in the Philippines
We International also has an office in the Philippines, working with about 3500 people who live at Smoky Mountain, a trash dump near Manila. We International offers educationial sponsorships to children through a drop-in center, which features Bible studies, a computer lab, and other services.
“It’s a callenge keeping them in school. It’s not because they don’t want to be there but their families are not supportive. There’s a lot of pressure for them to be in the dump picking garbage with their families, and not in school,” Lippiatt said.
How does he run an international ministry from an office in Madison and make sure donations do what they’re supposed to do? Lippiatt says relationships are the key, along with a system of accountability structures and sophisticated computer software.
Addressing Poverty and Injustice
The main thrust of We International is addressing poverty and injustice. We International addresses human trafficking through prevention by economic development to raise the standard of living in poor areas of Uganda, Cambodia, and Thailand. It also works with art and music therapists who minister to women in care centers after they are rescued from slavery.
For more information, check out We International online, or check out the concert on April 27th.