Prevention is a difficult thing to measure. You can’t measure something that hasn’t happened. Or can you?
In December 2025, I traveled to Uganda in central Africa with One Mission Society’s HOPE61 global director, Darren Sweeney. While there, we had the privilege of visiting numerous villages and seeing how the ministry of HOPE61 is spreading like wildfire.
In our trainings, we teach what human trafficking is, who is most vulnerable, and how someone can use their unique skills and abilities to prevent it from happening in their communities. As we traveled from village to village, we saw churches being planted, schools and orphanages being started, businesses being built, and individuals teaching others skills such as sewing, woodworking, soap-making, and hairdressing, to name a few.
Each of these groups or individuals is actively working to reduce vulnerabilities in their community while showing the love of Jesus Christ through their sacrifices and commitment to each other. All their efforts, most with limited resources, are a beautiful example of how God designed and intended his people to live out who he created them to be, and, as a result, to grow the church and create healthier communities where trafficking can’t exist.
If you are anything like me, overcomplicating things comes naturally. Human trafficking is, in fact, a complicated issue, but the villages in Uganda have a way of making the solution look simple. I have no better way to describe it than this:
“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these’” Mark 12:28–31.
It’s that simple. By loving God and loving others, we can confront any scheme, no matter how complicated, that the enemy uses to steal, kill, and destroy. We met many people who shared testimonies of fake job offers that they refused because someone helped them discover the truth. The takeaway is that the people of Uganda are making a notable impact against the threat of human trafficking because they know how to recognize it, and they share the responsibility of protecting the vulnerable.
My role with HOPE61 is as a trainer in the U.S. My hope for churches and communities that receive our training in the U.S. is that we’ll see the same kind of recognition, ownership, and action that sparks a wildfire here as well. The U.S. faces different challenges to preventing human trafficking, but the solution is the same. Love God and love your neighbor.
Let’s hear more stories of what didn’t happen!
