The Human, Earth Project, as you all know, is an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Having achieved more with the Project in 2014 than anyone dared hope for, and finding myself with a little more time to breathe, I am now seeking to raise the profile of my work around the world.
If you’ve been following my stories via the blog on The Human, Earth Project website, you’ll know that, between 1st January and 31st December 2014:
– I completed an epic 40,552-kilometre (25,198-mile) overland journey using buses, trains and local forms of transport, to reprise my first journey through Asia five years earlier…
– In addition to the 46 people I located in 2013, I succeeded in finding a further 34 people I’d photographed on my first journey, to give them their photographs, to learn about their lives and to share their stories with you…
– Against all odds, I succeeded in contacting, locating and meeting with P and M, two of my friends who had been abducted from their homes in Vietnam and sold as brides in different regions of China, neither of whom had been seen for three years…
– Together with a team drawn from across the globe, I succeeded in raising the necessary funds to produce Sisters For Sale, a feature-length documentary on my search for P and M, to help raise awareness of human trafficking…
– I helped encourage P’s return to Vietnam, helped organise her rescue, witnessed her return to her home and family, and supported her through the difficult process of rebuilding her life…
– I supported M as she struggled to choose between her Chinese-born child and her freedom, and struggled with a few dilemmas of my own…
– …And I was ultimately inspired by my experiences, and by the support I received from around the world, to dedicate more of my life to social good.
All of these experiences have made my stories unique in the world of blogging.
This January, nominations are open for the 15th annual Weblog awards, which recognise the world’s best blogs.
If you’ve found the ride to be a fascinating and enjoyable one, please take a moment to nominate my work (Ben Randall, at http://www.humanearth.net/blog/history/) on the Weblog award site.
A single blog can be nominated for any number of the 30 divisions. The divisions most appropriate to my own writing are the Best topical weblog, and the Best-kept secret weblog.
(It would also be eligible for the Asian, travel and photography awards.)
Your entry must include nominations for three separate blogs – if you don’t follow many blogs, here are some worthy bloggers you might also like to check out and include: Mark Manson, Dustin Main and Niall Doherty.
Nominations close soon and, with your support, I can spread awareness of the realities of human trafficking, and understanding of those most vulnerable to its effects.
We’ve come a long way together – let’s go a little further.
Thank you!
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