CathNews New Zealand

New Zealand’s Catholic Women’s League (CWLANZ) has found a novel way of raising funds and awareness of the very real danger many Vietnamese people face – being kidnapped and used by human traffickers.

Susan Dickson who is the CWLANZ National President says the 1445km Vietnam Chinese border is a known area for human trafficking. Women and children are often trafficked into China to be sold as brides or enter other situations of exploitation, she explains.

“The CWLANZ challenge was to form a group to collectively walk 1445km during October with the aim of raising money for Hagar Vietnam and their transforming work with women who have been trafficked to China or survived other forms of severe abuse.

“We all had different fitness levels and schedules, but the goal was to travel this significant distance together, raise awareness about those who do travel it, and match our steps with sponsorship dollars.

Twenty-five Catholic Women’s League members from across the country and four friends collectively walked 2843.37 kilometres and raised $7740 between them.

The donations came from family and friends.

“We were overwhelmed by the amazing support,” Dickson says.

“The cause and our dedication resonated. With their help, we can enable Hagar Vietnam to make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable women.”

To find out more about the fight against the trafficking of humans look up Talitha Kum online. To find out more about the work of Hagar visit: https://hagar.org.nz/

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News category: New Zealand, News Shorts.