"ACS Athens is a school that provides opportunities for students to realize their potential, not only academically but also through achieving responsible citizenship. I was very enthusiastic to be given the opportunity to participate in the workshop “Real Life Stories: Child Trafficking” that took place in the Raise Your Voice Festival, curated by The Smile of the Child. I was already connected to this non-profit child welfare organization, as I had volunteered during my undergraduate studies.

 

I thought that our school’s participation would serve as an ideal opportunity for ACS Athens students to learn a different side of our world.

 

My first concern was how I could present such a sensitive issue to 5th-grade students that may have never heard the term Child Trafficking. Given the sensitivity of this matter, my second concern was students’ reaction, because the topic concerned minors close to their age.

 

To my excitement, I received plenty of emails from parents who embraced this opportunity for their children. Students devoted time to research child labor and fast fashion and how these two terms are related to each other.

 

The participants were excited to learn and uploaded new ideas to our Padlet board. Impressively, students already knew so much about the subject and were eager to learn more! Most importantly, our students raised concerns on how to prevent child labor and potential exploitation.

 

Finally, the big day arrived, and I knew that my students were more than ready to participate in this critical conversation. This program aimed to teach students how to protect themselves in cases of abuse, bullying, and trafficking. The psychologist of The Smile of the Child, Ms. Chardaloupa, narrated a real incident of an eight-year-old girl who lived in Athens and begged to earn money. This story made students wonder why that girl had to beg, where her parents were, and whether she had acces to education. The specialist revealed to our students that the girl's parents were those who had forced her to beg and took all the money from her.

The message was clear; children should always reach out for help by calling the police and The Smile of the Child in cases of abuse and bullying.