What is Human Trafficking?

  In 2001, the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons (ITEMP) was founded by humanitarian rights activist Patrick Atkinson in an effort to help prevent, detect, and prosecute human trafficking.

A very serious crime and great infringement on personal rights, human trafficking, also known as trafficking in person, has affected almost every country in the world. Human trafficking is the transit, transfer, conscription, harboring, or receipt of people through threat, force, abduction, deceit, or the abuse of power. Criminals engage in human trafficking for purposes such as sexual exploitation, slavery, and forced labor.

Sex trafficking, debt bondage, and forced labor are three common types of human trafficking. Victims of human trafficking usually show signs of controlled movement and limited social interactions.

Occurring in over forty different countries, human trafficking is common in Tier 3 countries. Every year, the US department investigates countries for its annual trafficking in person report. According to Worldatlas Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Iran, and Eritrea have consistently appeared on the annual human trafficking report from 2011 to 2018. While Syria, Central African Republic, and Mauritania have featured seven times out of the eight years, Russia, Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, and Guinea Bissau have featured six times.

Please visit www.ITEMP.org for more information.

“A Message for My Child” – Straight from a Father’s Heart

  International human rights activist, educator, and author Patrick Atkinson serves as the executive director of three charitable organizations: Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing Persons (ITEMP), La Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados, and The GOD’S CHILD Project. Patrick Atkinson has authored multiple books, and donates all royalties from his book sales to the charity organizations he founded.

In 1978, Mr. Atkinson penned a poem for a college assignment he titled “A Poem for My Child,” which was inspired by Max Ehrmann’s “Desiderata.” In 2001, Mr. Atkinson revised his seven-stanza poem and retitled it “A Message for My Son.” He dedicated the revised version to his son, Ernesto, who was adopted from Guatemala as a small child. Later, the work was renamed “A Message for My Child.”

A Message for My Child is an international classic that contains straightforward and powerful advice to people of all ages (youth and young adults in particular) to be in control of their lives, be responsible for the decisions they make, and strive for victory and success.

A Message for My Child is published in 13 different languages. More than 3.5 million copies of the book or poster form have been distributed to date worldwide. A Message for My Child is often referenced from people around the world, and has been included as part of the English curriculum in India.

“The Powerful You” is a rework of the original classic, which was redesigned to be aimed at a wider audience of recipients. This is a book any mentor, adult, friend, or caregiver can give as a gift. The Powerful You is not dedicated to children specifically, and therefore has a wider pool of people to address with the beautiful and powerful message it delivers.

For more information, please visit www.GodsChild.org.

Hospital Dedicated to Malnourished Children Open in Guatemala

A champion in the fight against human trafficking, international human rights activist Patrick Atkinson founded the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing Persons (ITEMP), La Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados, and The GOD’S CHILD Project to pave the way for the anti-human trafficking movement. Patrick Atkinson’s charitable works also extend to providing medical help to malnourished, starving, or abandoned children through Casa Jackson Hospital for Malnourished Children, opened by The GOD’S CHILD Project in Guatemala.

Built by The GOD’S CHILD Project, the original Casa Jackson Hospital for Malnourished Children opened in 2006. After a devastating flood destroyed the building, The GOD’S CHILD Project relocated the hospital to a temporary facility while a new building could be constructed. The new facility for Casa Jackson Hospital for Malnourished Children was officially dedicated and opened for use in Antigua, Guatemala on March 31, 2017. Its mission is the same: to help children survive from and overcome the effects of starvation and malnutrition. The new hospital has the capacity to rehabilitate as many as 62 children at once.

UNICEF and the World Food Program have noted that Guatemala has the highest malnutrition-related childhood mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere. Guatemala’s chronic malnutrition rate is also the world’s fourth highest. Estimates count nearly half of all Guatemalan children as malnourished; this can result in weak immune systems, stunted growth, low IQ, and possible death.

Despite these disheartening facts, organizations such as The GOD’S CHILD Project are dedicated to fighting malnutrition. The Project’s hospital in Antigua aims to help stabilize malnourished children by engaging more volunteers to help rehabilitate victims and provide for their nutritional needs.

Anti-Human Trafficking Activist’s Powerful Message for Young People

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Human art

The GOD’S CHILD Project (established in 1991) and the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited and Missing Persons (established in 2001) were both created by Patrick Atkinson to improve the lives of some of the world’s forgotten and vulnerable people. The organization works primarily in Central America and the United States to help exploited and orphaned children, teens, and other victims of human trafficking. Patrick Atkinson has extensive experience in navigating conflict-laden regions, at times risking his life to further this work.

Mr. Atkinson is the author of the poem, A Message for My Child, which aims to inspire young people to accept personal responsibility for their lives and decisions. Now, Patrick Atkinson has republished this poem in a new English-Spanish book titled The Powerful You!

The Powerful You! delivers a powerful message of hope to help young people develop self-confidence, resilience, and a sense of self-worth by making wise choices. Its 32 pages make it an accessible read for elementary school students, and its simple but vital message remains of great importance in a child’s formative years and beyond.

The book has garnered widespread praise and a number of independent publishers’ award nominations. The author’s son, Ernesto Atkinson, works as a a trauma therapist and is the illustrator of the book.

For more information, please visit http://www.ITEMP.org or http://www.GodsChild.org.