There are a lot of good things to say about Raising a Voice, an organization with roots at USC focused on ending human trafficking internationally.
Founded in January by a Columbia-based couple, Raising a Voice has, within three months, garnered over $20,000 through fundraisers and presentations at local churches.
It has, according to them, established contact with 41 different anti-trafficking organizations worldwide, an impressive feat for a humanitarian group that employs only two people — original founders Katie Shelgren, a fourth-year public relations student, and USC alum Will Boggs.
As it stands, the organization’s long-term goals are to send volunteers internationally, to coordinate aid and funding between different anti-trafficking groups and to write a book about the subject.
These are all fine objectives and well worth pursuing, but that doesn’t change some of the flaws that immediately present themselves when discussing the venture.
If the $20,000 raised is going to be used to travel to international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a short period of time, when exactly will Raising a Voice begin recruiting the student volunteer base it plans to send out to other NGOs?
If the plan is to garner interest from the USC student body, surely it would add a sense of legitimacy if more than two people were actively involved in the organization as it now stands (especially before spending the thousands of dollars for a trip around the world).
If the plan is to connect with these NGOs in person in order to set-up a program to send volunteers to them at a later date, wouldn't it be worthwhile to sign up the volunteers first? It seems that the horse-cart configuration of this particular section of the enterprise is badly confused.
Also, we have concerns with the name. “Raising a voice” or “raising your voice” is a cliché that almost every single activist or humanitarian organization uses. The immediate and unnecessary question follows: raise a voice for whom?
The uninspired name makes the unique aspects and goals of this organization hard to figure out at first glance.
Despite these issues, Raising a Voice might well be on the road towards a worthwhile goal. Even though college students can easily find a wealth of information about human trafficking, that doesn't mean it's an immediate concern to college students, which is where organizations like Raising a Voice step in.
It is important to keep the issue of human trafficking relevant in the minds of as many people as possible, and Raising a Voice has the promise to do just that.
Though the organization is underdeveloped right now, we encourage students to keep in mind their responsibility to mitigate human suffering whenever possible. And when Raising a Voice is taking volunteers, join them. The world could always use another humanitarian effort — however poorly named it may be.