Local nurse embarks on mission to raise awareness, money

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September 2, 2012

Local nurse embarks on mission to raise awareness, money

By Ashley Graves The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Sun Sep 02, 2012, 01:12 PM CDT

With the start of college football Saturday, most everyone was gathered around the television for endless hours of football.

But not Deb Hoenig.

Instead, the Cullman nurse and her close friend, Amanda Larson, from Phoenix, were embarking on a 3,093 mile bike ride from San Diego, Calif., to St. Augustine, Fla., to raise money and awareness about child trafficking.

“We want to let people know about the millions of children in our country and abroad who are trafficked for cheap labor and sex every day,” Hoenig said.

Hoenig began training for the ride in February.

“I’ve been riding 25 to 30 miles three times a week to try and get prepared,” she said. “I’ve been doing some classes at the gym, too, so I think that’s helped out, too.”

Hoenig first discovered slavery was still an issue abroad, and even in the United States, after visiting a remote village off the banks of Lake Volta in West Africa during a medical mission trip in November of last year.

“We were all aware of the issue of child trafficking in the area and had hoped to visit and interview some of the slave children in a nearby village, but we didn’t know to what extent we’d be able to do that,” Hoenig said in an earlier interview with The Times.

Ghana formed anti-slavery laws in 1998 but only recently began spotty enforcement. Hoenig said there are an estimated 7,000 child slaves working in the Lake Volta region alone in Ghana.

“About 40 child-slave owners in the area had been arrested shortly before we arrived,” she said. “Due to mounting pressure, many of the masters were willing to release the children. Unfortunately, the children had nowhere to go. They agreed to let us interview the children because they understood we wanted to help.”

In the village, she said boys were made to work hard as fisherman, while the girls were made to work as household servants. In particular, she noted one eight-year-old girl was responsible for raising three of her master’s young children.

“All of these children had been sold into slavery by their families, sometimes for as little as $20. Some children were sold at such an early age that they didn’t even remember their homes or families,” Hoenig said.

Fortunately, the village elders and chief of another village — Tafi Atome — offered land to build a home for the children. Recently, Hoenig noted she and Larson also received another encouraging piece of news. A wealthy man in one particular village gave the two a five-bedroom house. To begin with, Hoenig said their goal was to house 16 kids with hope of expanding eventually.

“We just want to keep plugging along until we get kids a safe place to live in,” she said.

If everything goes as planned, the two should finish the ride Oct. 15.

For more information, or to donate, visit www.babesblockingtraffic.com or www.compassionatejourneys.com.

* Ashley Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 225, or by email at agraves@cullmantimes.com

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Local nurse embarks on mission to raise awareness, money

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