About Us
History:
Minga was founded in August 2006 when 14-year-old Katie Simon heard a speech about the child sex trade. She called up her friends and invited them to come learn more about the child sex trade. A group of teenagers organizing a community yard sale, soon became a movement. After the first yard sale raised an unprecedented $6,500, Minga continued to organize fundraising events in order to support partner programs in Guatemala and the Philippines. Minga expanded to include school clubs across North America and refocused its mission around educating the and empowering youth in the United States. Minga has engaged with partner organizations in Thailand, the Philippines, Guatemala, Canada, and the United States.
Past Community Events:
In October 2006, Minga organized a community yard sale with thousands of items for sale, hundreds of people in attendance, and over $6,500 raised. As the first event we successfully organized, it was a major accomplishment.
It was after such a huge success that we got inspired to spread the word through informational flyers, a website, posters, and an up-and-coming newsletter. Everything followed from there. It was a great start
Craft Fairs was the second major idea we had. Since 2006,we've been selling Guatemalan handicrafts in holiday craft fairs around Boston. Some of the handicrafts included wrap-around skirts made with indigenous fabrics, beaded bracelets, and silver bangles.
On Saturday, March 3rd, 2007, Minga hosted its first annual winter gala with international food, live music, raffles and special guest speakers. These included Cheryl Perera, founder of OneChild; Mayor of Newton, David Cohen; and Katie Simon, founder of Minga. Over 150 people gathered to learn about how they could help and to involve our community in the fight against the global sex trade of children all over the world. The people who attended directly helped make a difference in dozens of children's lives in the Philippines. We raised over $5,500!
On Saturday, February 2nd, 2008, Minga hosted its Second Annual Winter Gala. We are proud to announce that we reached our full capacity, 144 guests. Newton Resident Alex Simon's company, WA Catering, catered the food, and did a fabulous job! All of our Guest Speakers were exceptionally moving. The evening started out with Lisa Goldblatt Grace, founder of The home for Little Wonderers, and Audrey, a survivor of Boston’s local sex trade. Both gave a meaningful, moving speech that captured the audience entirely. Kay Khan, also spoke about the government, explaining what the government is already doing to date. Katie Simon, founder of Minga, finished of the night passionately, with what Minga has been focusing on and examples of how our guests could help. Katie then announced our new Campaign: helping Lisa's organization, locally here in Boston. Our new campaign will focus on spreading the awareness about this issue locally and through our community. We will be funding adds to post around Boston, warning at-risk teens about the realities of prostitution. We will also be helping to furnish a group home in Boston for girls who are trying to escape prostitution. Hopefully, we will be able to partner with Gereldine Brooks on this project!
Ever since we committed Minga to holding an Art Celebration, we have passionately searched for art. We have involved our friends, schools, religious groups, but most importantly artists we have never met. In contrast with our previous events, we’ve had many unrelated people get involved with us, which is most exciting and at the same time most crucial.
We had art of all kind. Some we made. Some we found. Some we got donated. On the day of the event Newton City Hall Green was filled with tents, art packed under each.
Out of all the uncontrollable scenarios that could have gone wrong, most did; but we were prepared! With rain dates and extra tents, mosquitoes and wind howling, we came together. The bands still played. The people still listened. Our event went on. While the wind was blowing merchandise around and tents were crushing under its impact, the actions of the people around us, our customers, were inspiring. Some were scavenging for art items, some were holding up tents. We couldn’t have done it without them.
As the sun went down, our scheme changed. We took a short break, and then vigorously continued to move tents, clean tables, and set up for our evening event. We sold many of the finest paintings. As the day finished, our totals reached $18,000.
As Pamela and I washed our laundry in the river, we chatted about all things American pop culture; the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, the Harry Potter movies, the Red Sox, and the Super Bowl. At 15 years old, Pamela knew every word of seemingly every Jonas Brothers song and certainly knew more about football than me. We could have been two teenagers anywhere- but, as it turned out, Pamela had not experienced a typical childhood. After running away from an unstable family in Manila, the Philippines, when she was thirteen, Pamela got a job at a bar in order to survive. Upon arriving, she had applied for a job as a waitress, but she ended up being prostituted out to dozens of customers every week, including foreigners and Americans. After months of exploitation, Pamela was rescued thanks to a tip-off by a concerned bar patron and the quick work of a few social workers. She now lives in a group home several hours outside of Manila, and is going to school to become a police criminologist so one day she can help other girls like her.
This past August I spent two weeks traveling in the Philippines and Thailand. While in the Philippines I visited PREDA (www.preda.org), Minga's partner for the past two years in building a permanent home for young girls that have been trafficked for sex or prostituted. Minga has raised over $36,500 toward the construction and start-up costs of this center.
One of the most incredible projects I witnessed in Thailand was the Mekong Youth Union, a group of one hundred young people ages fourteen to thirty years old that have had extensive training in how to combat human trafficking, and how to be leaders of social change for the next generation. They are from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China and Myanmar/Burma, and are all incredibly passionate about making a difference in their communities. Coming from some of the most impoverished communities on earth, these young people believe that in order to fight as vast a network of human traffickers as we face, we have to create an even bigger movement of young people, adults, government officials and community workers.
This trip taught me, and Minga, how to be better leaders in the field of child sex trafficking. We reaffirmed that as youth, we have the potential to change the world for all youth, everywhere. We realized that in order to put an end to this terrible exploitation, we need to educate as many people as we can about child prostitution and sex trafficking, and we need to empower them to take action. But most of all, we learned that at the basis of this problem is the need for more compassion. I believe that if everybody had the chance to sit down and talk to one of these kids- about sports, about pop stars, about their lives in brothels and sex bars, and about their futures- we wouldn't have this problem to deal with. Children deserve the right to a childhood, and we all have the power to give them one.
Written by Katie Simon