Bukola Oriola

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With Gratitude and Humility

December 20, 2015 By Bukola Oriola

background image I have written this note in my head several times for the past four days. I don’t know where to start. The beginning. The middle. The end. I want to mention names but for the fact that I could be guilty of the error of omission. Therefore, I use this opportunity to say a very big thank you to everyone who is pivotal to my present status.

I did not get here by chance or accident. Many people who allowed themselves to be used of God helped me through the process of climbing a ladder – the one that brought me to the mountain top where it seemed that I could see the whole world. I am grateful for this platform.

This platform is neither an ordinary one nor a platform for observation. It is a platform for rescue. A platform for empowerment. A platform to lend my voice to the voiceless. When I decided to take the shame for others in 2009 by putting my face to my story, I never imagined that I will be privileged to serve on this platform that God has provided for me. Indeed, He takes the weak and empowers them for His glory to promote mankind.

I am speechless. I have cried. I have laughed. It just feels like I am in a dream. “When the Lord turn again the captivity of zion, we were like them that dream,” according to Psalm 126. I have had so many flashback from my experiences. Scenes played back in my head. I have even mentioned some of those clips playing in my head to friends and family. For example, one was remembering how I begged for gari (cassava grain), one of the staple in a Nigerian household when I was pregnant. My benefactor did not think she did something extraordinary, but for a victim of human trafficking and domestic violence who was trapped in hunger, it was like a three course meal served at a five star restaurant.

And for the first time in almost a decade that my story has become public knowledge, I shared with my only biological sister and I cried. She knew the story. She has read the book. I have explained a little just so that I don’t add to the agony she was feeling after reading my memoir. But this time, I couldn’t help it because I knew that God had crowned my victory in glory.

I may not be able to say more here but I will like to commend the United States government. President Barack Obama and his team have listening ears. They maintained the position of power with such grace. Having power is not by oppressing the weak but by giving grace and opportunity to the weak. They took a great step to elevate those that have been trampled upon, beaten, battered, and hopeless, by giving them a historic platform to be part of the positive change in the community.

I cannot end this short piece without giving accolades to all the advocates and organizations that supported the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act.

In addition, I will like to thank everyone for the prayers and congratulatory messages. I say thank you to all my colleagues in the media for giving me all the attention. I will like to let you know that such attention will help many who are still out there suffering. And, I want to use this opportunity to reach out to victims and survivors – help is available, please, call. The National Hotline in the U.S. is 1-888-373-7888. You can also reach The Enitan Story for help at www.enitan.org or info@enitan.org.

Once again, I submit with gratitude and humility for being chosen to be a part of the voice of reasoning to better serve victims and survivors of human trafficking in the United State as a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. I look forward to putting in my best as I work with my fellow council members to serve this great country.

I am pleased to introduce you to my fellow Council members:

Evelyn Chumbow, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Evelyn Chumbow is a student at University of Maryland University College.  She is also a Human Resources intern at Baker & McKenzie LLP, a position she has held since January 2015.  Since 2014, Ms. Chumbow has been an advocate with the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking.  Ms. Chumbow worked as a lab specimen collector from 2014 to 2015, a security guard from 2011 to 2013, and a rental car service agent from 2010 to 2011.

Harold d’Souza, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Harold d’Souza is a Senior Supply Chain Associate for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, a position he has held since 2008.  He is also a founding member of the National Survivor Network and is active with End Slavery Cincinnati.  Earlier in his career, Mr. d’Souza served as a Sales Manager in India.  Mr. d’Souza received an L.L.B. and M.Com. from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara, India.

Minh Dang, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Minh Dang is a Team Manager at Linde Group, Inc., a position she has held since 2014.  Ms. Dang has also served as an independent consultant, providing training and technical assistance to nonprofits serving victims of child abuse and human trafficking since 2010.  She worked at the University of California, Berkeley Public Service Center as a Program Coordinator and Program Manager from 2005 to 2011.  Ms. Dang received a B.A. and M.S.W. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Tina Frundt, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Tina Frundt is Executive Director of Courtney’s House, an organization she founded in 2008 to provide services for domestic sex-trafficked youth.  Ms. Frundt held various positions at the Polaris Project, including serving as Director of Outreach from 2006 to 2007, Street Outreach Coordinator from 2005 to 2006, and Street Outreach Specialist from 2004 to 2005.  Ms. Frundt trains law enforcement and other non-profit groups to rescue and provide resources to victims, and is a member of the Washington, D.C., State of Maryland and Prince Georges County Anti-Trafficking Task Forces.  She was also appointed by the Governor of Maryland to the Safe Harbor working group.

Ima Matul Maisaroh, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Ima Matul Maisaroh is Survivor Coordinator at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), a position she has held since October 2015.  Prior to that, she was Survivor Organizer at CAST from 2012 to 2015.  Prior to joining CAST in 2012, Ms. Matul Maisaroh worked as a file clerk and office administrator at Vanlochem and Associates from 2008 to 2012.

Ronny Marty, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Ronny Marty is Executive Housekeeper at the Hilton Marco Island Hotel, a position he has held since 2010.  From 1996 to 2007, he worked in the Dominican Republic as a Front Desk Manager at Hotel Hacienda Resorts and Hotel Sun Village Resorts and Spa.  Mr. Marty received a B.A. from the Santiago University of Technology in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

Florencia Molina, Appointee for Member, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

Florencia Molina is a founding member of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) Survivor Leadership Program and a member of the National Survivor Network.  She has advocated for policies to combat human trafficking since 2002 and has worked as a security guard since 2005.

You can read or download the press release on the White House’s website.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you.  You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.

Bye for now, until next time.

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Filed Under: Blog, Human Trafficking & Domestic Abuse Tagged With: Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, combat human trafficking, Evelyn Chumbow, Florencia Molina, Harold d’Souza, Ima Matul Maisaroh, Minh Dang, National Survivor Network, Ronny Marty, Survivor Leadership Program, Tina Frundt, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, With Gratitude and Humility

Providing Culturally Sensitive Programs – Mimi Foods Example

October 18, 2015 By Bukola Oriola

In this broadcast I talked about the importance of providing culturally sensitive program while serving victims and survivors of human trafficking. I found out about Mimi Worldwide Foods through its cornmeal (pap) and used it as an example of food that will help service providers who have clients from Africa for example.

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Human Trafficking & Domestic Abuse, Videos Tagged With: Mimi Foods International, Mimi Worldwide Foods, Providing Culturally Sensitive Programs - Mimi Foods Example

Special Periscope Broadcast…. October 30 at 2:00PM

October 17, 2015 By Bukola Oriola

Join me for a special Periscope broadcast on October 30, 2015 at 2:00 PM CST. Rita Apaloo, strategic communications professional specializing in multicultural communication on how she uses the book, “Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim” to educate.

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Filed Under: Blog, Human Trafficking & Domestic Abuse, Videos Tagged With: Special Periscope Broadcast.... October 30 at 2:00PM

It’s world day against trafficking in persons: A personal reflection

July 30, 2015 By Bukola Oriola

World day against trafficking This was an essay entitled, It Feels Like Yesterday,  that I wrote two years ago. It was in my nonfiction writing class with Professor Kate Kysar at Anoka Ramsey Community College. I decided to share it as a personal reflection since it’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.


It feels like yesterday. It’s been six years already. How time flies! Where has the time gone to? On October 16, 2013, it will be exactly six years since I began a journey into freedom with my son as a survivor. We are indeed, both survivors. I am a survivor of domestic abuse; I am a survivor of human trafficking. You have no idea what it feels like to be imprisoned until you lose your power to freedom for a moment. You have no clue what it means to crave for food as a pregnant woman but not able to eat, not because there is no food, but because you are being tortured for a crime being committed against you. You cannot phantom working while someone else is collecting the money. I have lived it. I have survived it. I am a survivor.
According to various sources, one in four women experience domestic abuse in their life time. Eighty-five percent of abuse occurs by an intimate partner. The rate of domestic abuse is high where “Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend to three million women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year,” (Domestic Violence Resource Center). Human trafficking, on the other hand, is higher where it is described as the third largest crime in the world, next to trafficking of firearms and drugs. Human trafficking can happen as a result of fraud, force, or coercion. More so, human trafficking can occur, not only among strangers, but also among family members. It is the modern day slavery. It is interesting to find out that sometimes, human trafficking can be hiding under domestic abuse. It takes further investigation to reach this conclusion.
Since 2009 when I decided to go public by putting my face to my story, it has been both rewarding and fulfilling for me – some victims are now able to identify themselves, others who come in contact with victims are helping victims to reach out for help. The first person who reached out for help was one of my hair braiding customers – Hope (name withheld). It was about six o’clock in the morning. I was in the kitchen getting ready to prepare breakfast for my son and before heading out to church for the Sunday morning service, I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge thinking “what am I going to prepare this morning?” As usual, I bent down a little bit with my right hand holding the door to the fridge; and my eyes scanning through the three layers in the fridge holding pots of soup, plastic containers of cooked food, vegetables, eggs, left over foods, and just about some of the little item a fridge can hold to get an idea of what to prepare that morning.
I was yet to decide when my cell phone rang. “It’s early! Who could be calling at this time of the morning?” I thought. I closed the fridge and went for the phone to unplug it from the socket where I left it to charge overnight. When I reached the phone and saw the caller ID, I was happy that my prayer had been answered. I had just barely finished praying and went into the kitchen to get ready for church; and, a customer is calling already? Every day, I pray for my customers; more so, I pray that they call to make hair braiding appointments. Well, not so fast. It was a prayer answered but not for hair braiding.

A victim of human trafficking needed help. When I answered the phone, “hello, good morning Hope,” the response I received was, “Bukola, those people that helped you, can they help me?” with a dejected voice. For a minute, I forgot that I was looking for food in the fridge; I concentrated on the telephone conversation. Meanwhile, all kinds of thoughts flashed through my mind simultaneously – so, some of my customers are victims of domestic abuse; some are victims of human trafficking; some are not safe at home. It was a good idea that they read my book for free or bought it at the shop. I controlled my thoughts to come back to the present conversation and said, “Yes, they can help you. The help is not only for Bukola, but for everyone who needs help.” I told her, “hang on, let me look for the number.”
While she was waiting on the other side of the phone, I reached into my contact list to look for the number of the host of the support group for Immigrant Women and Refugee where I had been helped as a foreign-born victim. I knew she would be the best first contact for Hope. She worked at the Home Free shelter for battered women in Plymouth, the same city where Hope resided. “Hello” I said. Hope said, “hello.” “Okay, take down this number and call now,” I said. After dictating the number to her, I assured her that she would be fine. When the call ended, I felt like I had just won a battle. The reason I published my book has come to fruition. Apparently, Hope was one of my customers who had bought and read my book when it was published in 2009. She never said anything to me other than, once, she recommended that I should have my book in book clubs and book shops around the Twin Cities.
Hope called the number I had given to her and she moved to the shelter with her twins. Her husband who was the culprit had run back to their home country in the southern part of Africa. I did not ask for the details of her story other than sending her to the right place; however, I continued to follow-up with her by calling and checking to see how she and her kids were doing. I support her in little ways that I could like braiding her hair for less and one time, I braided her daughter’s hair for free. I offered words of encouragement as she went through the process of restoration. For a foreign-born victim of human trafficking, it is a very long process because some of the needs are getting a status to remain and work in the United States legally. It is therefore very challenging for someone with two kids when there is barely any means of income for survival. Thank God for the shelter where basic needs are provided, but there is a distinct difference between earning an income to keep yourself and children and surviving with the help of a shelter.

However, human trafficking is becoming a prevalent crime around the world. The United Nation estimates that over two million people are being trafficked around the world. In fact, President Barack Obama declared the month of January human trafficking awareness month two years ago to create awareness and prevent the crime in the United States. In the past few years, many non-profits organizations have sprang up to advocate, rescue, or restore victims of human trafficking. The media are also paying attention to the issues of human trafficking with reports flooding the various media from print to online, sensitizing the community of the heinous crime. Hope is just one of many who have reached out to me for help since 2009. I have recorded victims reaching out for help from outside of Minnesota. I have seen victims reaching out for help among students at Anoka Ramsey. A victim reached out at Scholastic University in St. Paul after sharing my story.

It’s only been six years and I am happy at how far I have gone with my advocacy efforts. I am happy to see others reach out for help. Currently, a victim of domestic abuse all the way in Georgia is getting help because he was referred to me. Right now, I feel like no matter how dark the night might be, the sky will show it’s brightness in the morning with or without the sun.

Works Cited:
Domestic Violence Resource Center. Domestic Violence Resource Center. n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you.  You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.

Bye for now, until next time.

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PS: Have you checked out my blogger page yet? If you have not, you can check it out here. There I share everything that I am connected with in one place; hence, the name of the page, All Things Bukola Oriola.

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Get a copy of the international best selling book by Bukola Oriola, A Living Label: An Inspirational Memoir and Guide.   Book Description: A Living Label is a memoir that documents some of the struggles and triumphs of the author as a survivor of labor trafficking and domestic violence in the U.S. Bukola Oriola’s goal is to inspire hope in other survivors that they can turn their lives around positively, regardless of what difficulty they might have passed through. She also provides practical solutions to the government, service providers, NGOs, and the general public on how to effectively engage with survivors, to value them as the subject matter experts they are. As someone who has dedicated her life to empowering other survivors, she has decided to contribute the proceeds from the book sales to survivors’ education or their businesses, starting with 100 survivors in the United States, Nigeria and Kenya. She believes that survivors want to be independent and contribute to their communities, and she wants to help survivors achieve this dream. Learn more from the inspiring author, Book Bukola now!
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