8th February every year is observed as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.
It coincides with the feast day of Saint Josephine Bakhita. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking of different sorts, praying for its victims, and promoting concrete actions to combat this phenomenon.
The day was established by Pope Francis in 2015, and it’s coordinated by Talitha Kum, an international anti-trafficking network of over 6,000 nuns, friends, and partners. The event is aims to unite people worldwide in prayer and action against human trafficking, with a focus on promoting dignity and hope for victims and survivors.
In Nigerian the event is organized by the Nigerian Conference of Women Religious (NCWR), an organization that brings together women religious leaders from various Catholic congregations in Nigeria.
The conference aims are to promote unity, solidarity, and collaboration among women religious in Nigeria, as well as to address social, spiritual, and pastoral concerns.
The NCWR is affiliated with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and works closely with other Catholic organizations in the country. The conference provides a platform for women religious to share their experiences, expertise, and resources in order to enhance their ministry and service to the Church and society.
According to Reverend Sister Jacinta Chekwube Okpor, provincial team leader of National Conference of Women Religious Again Human Trafficking Onitsha Province, she said “8th February annually we the National Conference of Women Religious Again Human Trafficking Onitsha Province and other Christians remembers Josephine Bahkita, a nun and a saint in the Catholic Church.
Josephine Bahkita was kidnapped when she was tender. She was sold as a slave to a slave master, who sold her; and she was resold severely as slave. As God may have it, the last person that bought her as slave, she had the opportunity to go to school, as she was commissioned sending her slave master’s children to the school where Reverend Sisters were teaching. From there she heard about God for the first time and she letter became a Canossian Sister of Charity in Italy, a nun and Catholic Saint”.
Reverend Sister Jacinta Chekwube Okpor further admonished members of the society to refrain from human trafficking of any sort in Nigeria and embrace virtues of Saint Josephine Bahkita.
“Saint Josephine Bahkita is the Anti Human Traffickers And Survivors, and a symbol of hope and freedom for victims of human trafficking and slavery.
Her feast day is celebrated on February 8th.
The National Conference of Women Religious Against Human Trafficking is appealing to the Nigerian society to inculcate the stings of Saint Josephine Bahkita and observe the international day of prayer and awareness to help reduce, if not eliminate the incessant increase in human trafficking largely against Nigeria children.
“And also to participate in this day of prayer and awareness, let’s join forces to combat human trafficking and promote a culture of dignity and respect for all individuals”. SR Jacinta Chekwube Okpor concluded.
