Yahoo News Human Trafficking charity receives vital support from Power NI
Power NI has made a donation to a human trafficking charity in an effort to help it with its work tackling modern slavery.
Northern Ireland's largest energy supplier has made a £1,000 donation to charity Invisible Traffick in order to help its volunteers raise awareness and provide education regarding human trafficking and modern slavery.
It is believed there are around 136,000 people trapped in modern slavery within the UK, and in 2023, there were 462 referrals to the National Referral Mechanism, a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation, in Northern Ireland, including 110 children.
Read more: Young girls are being sexually exploited to cover drug debts by organised crime gangs
Most of these victims had been trafficked to Northern Ireland from other countries, with the majority coming from the East African nations of Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan.
The support from Power NI has been awarded through Brighter Communities – a programme that assists innovative and emerging community groups. Since the start of 2018, more than £85,000 in funding has been awarded to ensure the life-changing work of these organisations can continue.
Invisible Traffick CEO Gayle Bunting said: “We are delighted to have been awarded funding from Power NI Brighter Communities Fund. As a charity that strives to shine a light on human trafficking modern slavery, we will use this funding to continue our mission of making the invisible, visible.
“We want to thank Power NI for their support; it is through meaningful partnerships such as this that we can safeguard people and make everyone in Northern Ireland aware of the sign and indicators of human trafficking modern slavery.
Part of the Brighter Communities funding will be allocated to purchasing equipment and materials deemed vital for delivering impactful talks and workshops to community and youth groups. This will include a new projector for displaying presentations and playing awareness-raising videos, as well as new banners and marketing materials that will be handed out to people.
Ashleigh O’Neill, Senior Marketing and Communications Executive at Power NI, said: “We are proud to support Invisible Traffick's efforts in combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. This donation represents our commitment to empowering organisations like Invisible Traffick to make a real difference in our communities.”
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