Peru (MNN) – This Sunday, about 40 women will begin a weeklong climb through Peru’s mountains to reach the lost city of Machu Picchu.
The Machu Picchu Climb
Led by the Freedom Challenge, a movement founded by Operation Mobilization, the climb isn’t just about reaching the city. It’s also about helping fight human trafficking along the way.
(Photo Courtesy OMI via Facebook)
“So Freedom Challenge was started about five years ago with a handful of women who were passionate about being a part, hands-on, in solving the issue of human trafficking,” OM’s Tracy Daugherty shares.
“And so, yearly since then we’ve had domestic and international climbs that have helped give women more to do than just writing a check.”
This year, the women going on the Machu Picchu climb will be trekking along the Inca trail. Their trip includes six days of hiking, sleeping in tents, and pushing themselves far past what they’re used to doing. Daugherty says that the physical exertion is a symbolic gesture to the vulnerable women and children around the world.
Climbs, Goals, Purpose
So why do a climb instead of a regular fundraiser? Well, it gets peoples’ attention. It also helps bring in funds to not only fight human trafficking but to help rescued victims.
“[People] are very curious about a tribe full of women. We’ve [done] Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest Base Camp, Seven Summits Colorado, so you know, it gets that ‘gotcha’ factor where conversations can happen,” Daugherty explains.
Furthermore, she says there’s just something different about being a part of something that impacts you. For example, any climb with the Freedom Challenge starts months in advance. Women train daily to be able to make it through the climb.
“Perhaps they’re training with a friend or someone else, and as they’re doing that they’re praying, they’re talking about what they’re doing, they’re reflecting upon the issues of human trafficking and vulnerable women and children all over the world,” Daugherty shares.
(Photo courtesy of OM)
The women are also encouraged to have a place where they pray for human trafficking while training for the climb.
“Sometimes we can just quickly scratch a check, and that is great, but when your heart and your energy and your physical investment is involved, it really does up the value,” Daugherty says.
Get Involved
But if joining Freedom Challenge on a climb isn’t a possibility, there are other ways to get involved. Freedom Challenge offers opportunities to donate, join a prayer challenge, and to even join a missions trip.
For more opportunities, click here!
Freedom Challenge leads missions trips twice a year. These trips usually take place in the areas where Freedom Challenge/Operation Mobilization projects are happening to counter human trafficking. The trips also became a real life representation of what even a little bit of help can do.
In 2018, Freedom Challenge missions trips will be headed to the Philippines and back to Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe.
Pray for those who are vulnerable and fall victim to human trafficking, for their safety, and for their rescues. Pray also for the financials needed to help free human trafficking victims, the funds to assist in their recovery, and the Gospel’s work in their lives.
And finally, pray for the women who climb mountains so that others will one day be freed from their captors.
For more ways to pray, click here!
To donate, click here!
Freedom Challenge will be releasing information about its 2018 climbs in the coming weeks. Click here to learn more!