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Small Business Lifestyle

Newly-Released Elephant Chases Pineapple to Freedom [Video]

Not long ago, the guys from Planting Peace heard of an elephant that was abandoned in the woods in Laos. Joy was 31 years old, and had spent her life working as a logging elephant. But now she was too old and had health concerns, so they chained her to a tree. One of the organization’s missions is to rescue elephants, so they wanted to help Joy. They sent Aaron to get her, and he led Joy out of the logging area to her new home at MandaLao Elephant Conservation, a retirement home for elephants in Laos. Th…

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Home Based Business

Human trafficking seminar kicks off Friday [Video]

APP. AN ANNUAL SEMINAR IN THE UPSTATE TODAY BRINGS PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE NATION TOGETHER IN SUPPORT OF A COMMON GOAL. ITS THE SIXTH ANNUAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING SEMINAR, WHICH AIMS TO TEACH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO RAISE AWARENESS AND TO TAKE ACTION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING. OUR ISABEL MARK IS JOINING US LIVE FROM GRACE CHURCH WITH A PREVIEW THIS MORNING. ISABEL. AARON. DESTINY. GOOD MORNING. YES, WERE OUT HERE LIVE AT GRACE CHURCH RIGHT OFF OF PELHAM ROAD. SO THATS A LOCATION WHERE THE SEMINAR WILL TAKE PLACE TODAY. AND WE HAVE JOE ZOE HERE. HES THE VP OF MISSION. SO TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS SEMINAR, ESPECIALLY HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. YEAH. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, SOUTH CAROLINA, WE ARE IN FACT, A HOTSPOT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, BEING PARTICULARLY HERE IN THE UPSTATE, LOCATED BETWEEN CHARLOTTE AND ATLANTA, TWO MAJOR CITIES. THERES A LOT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKERS THAT COME THROUGH AS WELL AS VICTIMS THAT ARE TRAFFICKED WITHIN OUR AREA. ANOTHER REASON FOR BON SECOUR SAINT FRANCIS, WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT IS WE KNOW AS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, STATISTICS SHOW THAT NEARLY 88% OF VICTIMS ACTIVELY SEE, SEEK HEALTH CARE AND RECEIVE TREATMENT WHILE THEYRE BEING TRAFFICKED. SO, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, OUR SYSTEM HAS MADE A COMMITMENT WITH A DESIRE TO CARE FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON THE MARGINS TO REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE HELP OUR STAFF IDENTIFY AND KNOW WHEN THERE MAY BE VICTIMS OR POSSIBLE VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING? I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, TO THE TYPICAL VIEWER, YOU DONT TYPICALLY THINK THAT IT COULD HAPPEN IN YOUR COMMUNITY, BUT YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS YOU KNOW, WERE BETWEEN TWO BIG CITIES. SO I LOVE THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT. AND THEN IF SOMEBODY YOU KNOW DOESNT ISNT ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE SEMINAR TODAY, HOW ELSE CAN THEY GET INVOLVED AND HELP OUT? ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS AND AGENCIES IN OUR AREA SWITCH JASMINE ROAD THAT SUPPORT AND LIFT UP VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS WELL AS JUST ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS. LAST SEMINAR WE TALKED ABOUT MENTORSHIP. A LOT OF TIMES, HUMAN TRAFFICKERS PREY ON THOSE WHO ARE ALIENATED, THAT ARE LONELY, AND THE MOST, I THINK, IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS BE AWARE OF WHATS HAPPENING AROUND US, BUT ALSO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND SEEK OPPORTUNITIES TO MENTOR YOUNG FOLKS WHO MAY BE IN BROKEN HOMES, THAT MAY BE IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES SO THAT TRAFFICKERS CANT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT ISOLATION. AND THEN ARE THERE ANY SIGNS THAT PEOPLE CAN LOOK OUT FOR SO THAT THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, START TO BE TO START TO RECOGNIZE THESE TYPES OF SIGNS? YEAH, YEAH. ONE OF THE THINGS OFTEN PEOPLE THINK OF TRAFFICKER TRAFFICKING VICTIMS IS PEOPLE THAT COME FROM INTERNATIONAL PLACES OR FROM OUTSIDE OUR AREA. STUDIES SHOW THAT NEARLY THAT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THOSE THAT ARE BEING TRAFFICKED ACTUALLY COME FROM WITHIN SORT OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN OUR AREA. OFTEN THEY MAY BE TRAFFICKED BY FAMILY MEMBERS OR SOMEONE CLOSE TO THEM. ITS SOMETHING THAT THEYRE NOT AWARE OF. SO SO JUST SOME THINGS TO LOOK FOR. PERHAPS SOMEONE THATS EXTREMELY POSSESSIVE OVER SOMEONE ELSE, A PERSON WHO MAY NOT BE LOOKING YOU DIRECTLY IN THE EYES. IT JUST SORT OF STARING ELSEWHERE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE IN PARTICULAR WHO MIGHT FEEL LIKE A LACK OF SELF-WORTH. OKAY. THANK YOU JOE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THAT. SO THE EVENT WILL THE DOORS WILL OPEN HERE AT SEVEN, AND THEN IT WILL RUN FROM EIGHT UNTIL 1230. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE. YOU CAN FIND THE LINK THERE AS WELL AS TO THE LIVE SEMINAR. BUT FOR NOW, LIV