Newspaper Page Text
Page 2A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, July 26,2023
Liberty House of Albany, Inc. Announces Rebrand
Special to the Ledger
Through the work and
advocacy founder Mary
Fogarty, Liberty House
of Albany, Inc. was
incorporated on August
5, 1981. For 43 years,
Liberty House has been
serving this community
through their mission
of providing services
and support to victims
of domestic violence
and their children. The
Board of Directors felt
that it was time that the
logo be one that reflect
ed the work of the staff,
as well as the growth
of those served.. .survi
vors.
A tree symbolizes life,
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wisdom, strength, pro
tection, and abundance.
When a victim makes
the decision to leave an
abusive relationship, it
is a small step in a long
and difficult journey.
Just as the leaves fall
from a tree, a victim
must shed the trauma
and pain they carry to
move to a life free from
abuse. With support, the
roots will deepen and
strengthen. Slowly, new
leaves form and the tree
will flourish. Each vic
tim that passes through
the doors at Liberty
House will receive the
support needed to be
come a survivor.
“We appreciate the
support from our com
munity that allows us to
do the work that we do.
We are excited about our
new logo and it’s mean
ing in the work that we
do to help victims of do
mestic violence become
Liberty
House
SERVING
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
VICTIMS
Visit www.liberty-
houseofalbany.com to
explore the new website,
brand, and learn more
about their work.
Children For Sale
W
Life Works Well Here
WE ARE HIRING
The Lee County Board of Commissioners offers:
Competitive pay with longevity raises every 3 years
Our full time employees are offered:
o Medical/Dental/Vision coverage
o $50,000 life insurance policy and Defined Benefit retirement
plan at no cost to the employee
° 11 paid holidays per year
o Sick leave with the ability to join the sick leave bank
COME AND JOIN OUR TEAM!
POSITION
DEPARTMENT
Administrative Assistant
Administration
Building Inspector
Chief County Marshal/Code Enforcement
Building Inspection
Director
Code Enforcement
Communications Officer
E-911
Full Time & Part Time EMT
Fire & EMS
Full Time & Part Time Firefighter
Fire & EMS
Full Time & Part Time Paramedic
Fire & EMS
Planning Director
Planning & Zoning
Equipment Operator 1
Public Works
Equipment Operator 2
Public Works
Equipment Operator 5
Public Works
Detention Officer
Sheriff's Office
Sheriff Deputy
Sheriff's Office
Visit www.lee.ea.us to apply today!
Special to the Ledger
“Whoever offends
one of these little ones,
it were better that a
milestone were hanged
around his neck” - Mat
thew 18:6-7
Years ago my parents
were houseparents at the
Rio Grande Children’s
Home in Mission, Texas
(on the Mexican border),
serving as “Mom” and
“Dad” to 10-16 boys in
our cottage. Our young
est boy was five years
old and the oldest was
20. (“M” kept flunking
school so he could keep
playing high school
football. And he had
nowhere to go).
One day a little dark
eyed boy with straight
hair named “Javier”
arrived at our door and
settled into his bunkbed.
He spoke only Spanish
and had been brought to
the U.S. from Guatema
la by missionaries. We
learned that his family
members were crushed
when their house col
lapsed during an earth
quake. Climbing out of
the rubble (he hid under
a table and survived),
he wandered the streets
begging until an Amer
ican man claiming to be
a missionary picked him
up. Back then the Texas
border was almost as
porous as it became in
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2021, and they traversed
Mexico and crossed into
the U.S.
Providentially, Javier
landed at our children’s
home where he grew up,
was educated, and joined
the US Army. Today
he still calls me “Sis”
and sends me pictures
of his beautiful family. I
couldn’t feel more hon
ored and
thankful
for him.
Later I
learned
the rest of
his story.
The “mis
sionary”
used Javi
er as his
boy-toy
to gratify
his own
deviant
desires. My “hermano”
was a statistic for inter
national child exploita
tion/ trafficking.
Child sex trafficking is
the recruitment, trans
portation and sale of
children as young as age
two - for sex and com
mercial gain. From IJM,
DOJ, Polaris Project,
UNICEF, Save the Chil
dren, Missing Children,
and Thorn, a composite
of statistics:
• 2 million children are
victims of sex traffick
ing today
• They are sold 5-10
times a day
• $100 billion dollar
business
• Children are some
times lured from pov
erty with promises of
money, food, shelter
and improved life. More
often they are groomed
through an online ro
mantic relationship.
• 70-90% of victims
have a history of child
sexual abuse. Of those
that run away from an
abusive home, 1 out of 3
teens on the streets will
be lured into prostitution
within 48 hours.
• After the initial
contact, these children
are subjected to beat
ings, involuntary drug
use, tattooed (branded)
by their pimp, and then
sold.
• Exploitation contin-
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Ad Good July 26 - August 1, 2023
ues for about 10 years,
followed by death from
disease, drugs or crime.
Theatre showings this
week include a surprise
hit: Sound of Freedom.
The movie shines a
spotlight on the insid
ious trade of child sex
slavery, based on the re
al-life story of Homeland
Security agent Tim Bal
lard. Assigned
to the Inter
net Crimes
Against Chil
dren (ICAC),
Ballard infil
trated several
trafficking
rings. He left
his job to pri
vately rescue
enslaved chil
dren. The film
depicts the
intimidation
and brutal rapes these
children experience and
some of his rescue oper
ations. Ballard is played
by veteran actor Jim
Caviezel, best known for
his lead portrayal in The
Passion of the Christ.
Sound of Freedom
currently ranks #2 at
the box office—behind
Mission Impossible. Its
production history is fas
cinating. Freedom was
filmed five years ago in
Cartegena, Columbia, by
Mexican director Ale
jandro Monteverde, and
produced by Mexican
businessman Eduardo
Verastegui, who sold
distribution rights to
20th Century Fox. When
Disney bought Fox, they
shelved the film. The
filmmakers bought the
distribution rights back
from Disney, then ap
proached Angel Studios,
who used equity crowd-
funding to finance the
distribution and market
ing of the film.
Despite the vital mes
sage of rescuing children
from sex slavery, the
film has been inflicted
with unexpected hits.
Critics have alleged vast
right-wing conspiracies
and denigrated the mov
ie audience as “foment
ing extremism.” They
complain that the film is
too religious. (There is
no preaching in the film
and one reverent refer
ence to the word “God.”)
Film critic Vox criticized
the movie’s “patriotism,”
“rugged individualism”
and “masculine hero
ism.”
Wow. And no similar
complaints about Top
Gun? Marvel superhe
roes? Why is that?
One wonders why the
hatred for a movie that
highlights the horrors
suffered by 2 million
children, and one man’s
journey to rescue “the
least of these.” All chil
dren are created by God
and are precious. Like
my beloved “Javier,”
they should be rescued,
loved, and know a true
home and family.
Gail Drake practices
probate, adoption, medi
ation and children’s law
in Albany, GA.