Today is Friday, January 4, 2019, only four days before Orange County’s newest 501c3, Global Hope 365, holds its Inaugural Fundraiser next week in Newport Beach. Rima Nashashibi, Global Hope 365’s founder, is moving about the OC, sharing her story, talking up contacts, and building alliances.
“This can’t keep happening.” Rima is meeting with Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva in Fullerton, CA. Rima is passionate and animated. “California should be a sanctuary for children. How can it be that a bill to protect children from child marriage in California got so watered-down last year?” Rima is referring to Senate Bill 273 which passed the California Assembly in 2018. By the summer of 2018, reputable child advocates withdrew their support because “The bill simply does not go far enough to change a status quo that puts children in California at acute risk.” Rima has set her sights on building public awareness around a new tougher bill. “No child marriage, no exceptions” is the only way forward declares Rima. Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva is listening intently and declares her support. Meanwhile, the issue of child marriage is getting quite a bit of coverage by the press after episodes 1 and 2 aired of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary aired on Thursday, January 3rd and episode 3 is slated to air tonight, Friday, January 4th. The hashtag #ChildrencanNOTconsent is trending on Twitter, which is precisely the problem with Senate Bill 273.
Are Rima and Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva ready for a coffee yet? No, the women have more issues to discuss. Global Hope 365 is launching three projects next week. The second project focuses on a Human Trafficking Offender Registry, similar to the sex offender registry. A human Trafficking Offender Registry will force offenders both those who sell and those who buy women and children for sex to register. Why do we need this? “We need more deterrents and tougher penalties” to child trafficking states Rima. The problem is that men buy “prostitutes” for sex every day in America and they may not be aware these “prostitutes” are actually victims of human trafficking. A Human Trafficking Sex Offender Registry” will deter men and women from participating in human trafficking. Meanwhile, a campaign for clemency for Cyntoia Brown gains traction in Tennessee. Cyntoia, a victim of human trafficking, killed the man that bought her for sex.
Global Hope 365 hasn’t even launched yet officially. The Inaugural Fundraiser takes place January 8, 2019 in Newport Beach.