There are several global issues that most of us are unaware of. I wasn’t quite aware of Human Trafficking until I got the opportunity to meet Harold D’Souza in Mumbai, a survivor of Human Trafficking and the co-founder of Eyes Open International. After meeting him, my “Eyes” literally “opened” on the reality and a lot of myths and misconceptions I had on Human Trafficking, Bondage, and Slavery were resolved. After listening to his story I also saw Harold as an Ally for the LGBT community and gladly accepted his invitation to collaborate with his organization, Eyes Open International with my non-profit organization, Lakshya Trust which works for the empowerment of the LGBT community. Since Harold belonged to Vadodara in Gujarat State of Western India, the city where Lakshya Trust is situated as well, I took this opportunity to invite him and his team to visit our organization and meet my staff and community members.
According to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Washington DC, LGBT victims of human trafficking, Law enforcement officials, and service providers should partner with LGBT organizations to enhance victim identification efforts and adapt assistance services to meet the unique needs of LGBT victims. Therefore I believe that this collaboration is greatly going to help both organizations nationally and internationally to address issues of LGBT and Human Trafficking.