Surviving human trafficking & community-based tourism

World Footprints will present two powerful stories of survival from unlikely human trafficking victims and how they’re using their ordeals to support other victims and raise awareness about this elusive crime.  We will also share the story of a former Peace Corp volunteer whose experience inspired the development of a new community-based adventure travel resource.

Holly Smith is not what many think a human trafficking survivor would look like.  She’s a blond American and was raised in a middle-class two parent home.  But when Holly was only 14 years old she was taken from her home planted immediately into the sex trade.  Hear how she survived her ordeal and uses her experience to raise awareness today.

Stacy Jewel Lewis was a 19 year old student and aspiring actress when she was abducted by an elderly man who was working on behalf of traffickers.  Only after Stacy’s trafficker was arrested two years later was she able to leave the sex trade and begin rebuilding her life.  Today Stacy has returned to acting and playwriting where she uses theatrical performances to share her story and raise awareness about human trafficking.

Jack Fischl is a former Peace Corp volunteer who helped create a tourism initiative for a small village in Panama.  Upon returning from his assignment, Jack was inspired to continue the work he started so he built a powerful online resource, Keteka.com, that connects the dots between socially conscious travelers and Peace Corp communities.