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In this episode, we talk with Rachel Thomas and Harold D’Souza who are both survivors of trafficking.
Episode Guests:
- Rachel Thomas (Ending the Game)
A graduate of UCLA with a Masters in Education and a personal survivor of human trafficking, Rachel has extensive experience teaching, training, curriculum writing, public speaking and mentoring. As Director of Sowers Education Group, she has educated and inspired a wide range of audiences including teens, social service providers, churches,
teachers, college students, and law enforcement. Sowers’ intervention curriculum Ending The Game is being used by over 170 facilitators in 8 states and helps survivors break the bonds of attachment to traffickers and the trafficking lifestyle.
Since 2012, Rachel has reached over 36,000 live audience members and millions more through numerous media outlets including The T.D. Jakes Show, The New York Times Upfront Magazine and ABC’s Newsmakers. Rachel was also honored by Congressman Ed Royce of California’s 39th district and Los Angeles Supervisor Don Knabe for her leadership and trafficking prevention efforts. To learn more about Sowers or Rachel Thomas, please visit www.SowersEducationGroup.com.
Harold D’Souza is a survivor of labor trafficking and debt bondage in the United States of America. Originally from India, Harold D’Souza is a well educated and has experience is sales management. He has a Masters of Commerce, Post Graduation Diploma-Human Resource Development and a Bachelors in Law from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Harold pursued the American Dream and came to the U.S. on the advice and support of the man who would become his trafficker, encouraging him and reassuring him the American Dream was well within reach. For 133 months Harold and his family were exploited at the hands of a trafficker, struggling to be free and to keep his family safe. Today, Harold is a Survivor, Advocate and Public Speaker. Since 2008 Harold has worked at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as a Senior Supply Chain Associated. He is a founding member (2008) of the National Survivor Network (human trafficking) CAST and is active in local antitrafficking organizations. He has spoken at numerous anti-human trafficking events, campaigns, conferences and other public awareness activities throughout the U.S and India.
Notably, Harold has been appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Historic United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. Harold has found a new purpose in life, to be the voice, courage, hope and freedom for victims. His mantra for staying focused and continuing the path is “What your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve” (Napoleon Hill). D’Souza is working on a book called “Human Trafficking: A Frog in a Well.” His philosophy is, fix the problem and not the blame, and his favorite inspirational quotes are “I am a poor starter, but a strong finisher” and “Don’t worry, be happy”.
