so, this is the beginning. there's a long way to go from here, but i just wanted to get this up and running for people who wanted to find out more and follow me on this journey! so here are some basics about me:

I graduated from Calvin College in Michigan with my undergraduate degree in Social Work and continued on to Michigan State University to get my Masters in Social Work through a one year program. My studies focused on clinical social work, and working with unaccompanied refugee minors and trafficking victims. International experiences come as a second nature to me having spent some of my childhood years in Peru, Belgium and Germany. In college I continued my travels to South Africa, England, and Guatemala where I studied subjects such as trafficking, post apartheid challenges, did mission work, and was finally able to use my Spanish. Outside of traveling and studying I enjoy horseback riding, dancing, soccer and an occasional surfing adventure whenever the ocean is near by.

so, that's kind of the basic about who i am. the important part is what i will be doing for the next ten months. i will be going to south asia with International Justice Mission (ijm.org). here is my support letter that i am sending out:

Dear Blog Reader,

As you may already know, I have been accepted to a ten month work (fellowship) program through an organization called. Throughout these ten months I will be responsible for doing social work with people who are victims of bonded slavery in South Asia. While it might seem like slavery is a practice of the past, National Geographic Magazine estimated that approximately 27 million people are held in bonded labor around the world today.

Let me explain a little bit more about to give you a clearer picture of what I will be doing; is a non-profit organization comprised of attorneys, law enforcement officials and social workers which works in countries all over the world to stop human rights abuses such as sex trafficking, modern day slavery, un-prosecuted rape, and illegal land seizure. seeks to bring justice to the victims of these abhorrent practices in an effective and systematic manner. partners with host country’s government and law enforcement to investigate trafficking and slavery rings. then breaks down rings and prosecutes perpetrators in order to ensure the end of an exploitative cycle. Once this is done, the social work staff seeks to connect and provide victims with the proper resources to help rehabilitate them socially, psychologically and financially, and to prepare them for re-entry into their society.

There are many ways you can fight injustice in the world today. However, I ask you to partner with me as I join with to personally take a stand against it. is a non-profit organization that serves people for free, thus I am raising support to fund my trip and expenses. The total estimated cost of my trip will be about $9,000. I am able to contribute somewhat to this experience from my own funds and savings, but am also paying off graduate school at this point and am unable to completely fund it myself. Please seriously consider if you can join with me in this venture. Any gift, no matter what the amount, is helpful and will help rescue former slaves from a life of oppression that you and I cannot even begin to imagine.

If you are able to support me in this, there are two ways in which you can make a donation:

You can send checks directly to me, and I will ensure that they are used solely to cover the expenses of my trip. Or, you can make a tax deductible donation and write the check out to International Justice Mission. In accordance with IRS standards however, you may not write my name anywhere on the check, even the memo line. All checks should be sent to me, and I will either route them toward my trip, or send them on to a financial coordinator at IJM.

Thank you for your consideration of supporting me in this endeavor. I believe in it so strongly not only because it will be life changing for me, but because I know that it will be life changing for all of the people that I encounter. Please feel free to check out ’s website (.org) to learn more about the organization. Please contact me with any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

Marianne

if any of you out there are considering supporting me, please send it to: