Marching for freedom, Marching for God
The idea is simple: a march through the streets of Langley to let the community know that modern day slavery can no longer rule the Earth. But the person behind it is anything but simple. The current Miss BC, Tara Teng, is now a third year at Trinity Western University and following God with a passion that is incredible to witness.
Teng calls herself a modern day abolitionist and has a passion for ending human trafficking on a global scale. Her inspiration is solely God and she was moved to begin the Freedom March during this past summer. After becoming the 7th winner of Miss BC, and the only Christian to hold the title, she has begun to see her potential for changing the world.
The issue close to her heart is the fact that slavery still exists today and very few people are trying to stop it. “Once you know about it, you have two choices: you go about your life pretending you never heard about it, or you do something about it.”
According to Teng, the global trafficking industry brings in roughly $31.6 billion every year but the amount of money that it would take to free, rescue, and rehabilitate every modern day slave in the world today is only $10 billion.
“That’s peanuts on the global scale” says Teng.
Her current project is the Freedom March that will take place on the streets of Langley, if City Hall approves the road closures needed for it, or on the sidewalks of the city if they don’t.
“Honestly, we don’t need the approval. We’re doing it either way,” says Teng.
Although still in the planning stage, she aims for a Freedom Week that will run from March 6-12, 2011. The week will feature events at both TWU and across the city of Langley, and end with the Freedom March across downtown.
Using media, churches, students, non-profit organizations, corporations, musicians, artists, athletes, professors, and even celebrities, Teng is utilizing every inch of her potential as a Canadian citizen to spread the word.
The point of the Freedom March, according to Teng, is to show that “we are going to stand up and say that this is wrong. This needs to change, and we will not be bystanders anymore, because we know that innocent men, women, and children are being exploited.”
She vows not to stop until the whole world hears and is spreading this message in any way she can. For more information on what Tara is doing visit her blog at www.tarateng.wordpress.com, or email her personally at missbc@missbc.com.
Author: Alejandra Yaya
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