BCD staff join worldwide A21 Walk For Freedom

The A21 Walk For Freedom took place across the world on Saturday, Oct. 14. The annual event raises awareness and funds to end human trafficking. This year, BCD Travel staffers across the regions were among the tens of thousands of participants. The walk took place in over 425 communities in more than 56 countries and reached nearly 800 million people through media. Here’s what some of our people had to say about their experience.

Atresa Carr, Senior Manager Sales Administration, Georgia (U.S.)

Did you know that: Atlanta is one of the top five cities known in the U.S. for human trafficking? 71% of trafficking victims are women and 40% are black women and girls.

I joined thousands of Freedom Fighters around the globe walking in solidarity in bringing awareness to human trafficking. Thank you to The A21 Campaign for organizing this event.

Atresa Carr

Gina Muñoz Islas, Account Executive & Sustainability Coordinator – Latin America, New Jersey (U.S.)

Gina Muñoz Islas

As a mom, kids being exploited is something that hits me hard. I come from a country where you see kids from all ages on the streets begging for money for hours, no matter the weather conditions. There are so many dangers of being on busy streets and most of these children are being used by their parents or traffickers to get money – it is just heartbreaking. It’s important for me to show support, so on the day I shared information about the topic and A21 and BCD’s partnership with family and friends.

Julie Stuckey, Advito Managing Consultant, Georgia (U.S.)

Since we were traveling on the day of the walk, the Advito Traveler Engagement team decided to dedicate all our steps to A21 throughout our four-day visit to Athens. Collectively the group achieved 500,000 steps! We also held an informative session on knowing the signs of human trafficking and gave an update on what the Human Trafficking Awareness Committee had been working on this past year.

Advito Traveler Engagement team group photo, courtesy of Julie Stuckey

Paulo de la Torre, Regional Program Manager, Mexico

Paulo de la Torre

I had the opportunity to take part in the walk against modern slavery organized by A21 in Queretaro, Mexico. I was accompanied by my wife and youngest son, age seven. Different from the Pride march, this was a more solemn and quiet march. Everybody walked in silence since most of them had a person or family member lost or missing. I will make sure I do my part and talk to others about the importance of paying attention to signs of abuse and slavery.

The 2024 A21 Walk for Freedom is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2024. It will mark the 10-year anniversary of the walk. Learn more at A21.org.

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