Laura and Matt Parker began The Exodus Road after moving to Southeast Asia in April 2010. Initially, they planned to direct a children’s home for hill-tribe girls in rural Northern Thailand. However, during their time there, Laura and Matt came into contact with many marginalized people groups who are targets for human trafficking. After meeting and working with these groups, Matt began networking with non-governmental organizations and local police to learn more about human trafficking in the area and what’s being done to combat it. Eventually, he was deputized by the police and began working as an undercover investigator to find those trapped in slavery.
The Exodus Road’s mission is to eliminate human trafficking across all parts of the world. They envision a world where people are never bought or sold, and they’re accomplishing this by following these 3 steps:
Training and Education
Exodus Road has spent countless hours creating a training program that they can facilitate for local police. Recently, they’ve been working on further developing these training sessions to host them for government agencies, such as the Florida Guard.
Intervention
The Exodus Road supports local law enforcement using human or open-source intelligence. This organization has trained staff members who can go into high-risk areas to rescue women and children who have been trafficked or are at risk for trafficking.
Aftercare
After being rescued, Exodus Road supports the victims through rehabilitation facilities and provides aftercare necessities. Currently, they have a Freedom Home in Thailand and are working on raising funding so that they can build and maintain homes worldwide.
Recently, CEO Laura Parker put together “Influenced,” a training program that walks parents and teens through the warning signs of human trafficking, demonstrates how to counteract the crime, and explains what to do if they find themselves or someone they know involved in a trafficking situation. Exodus Road is working on soft-launching this program to local churches, but they hope to have an official launch later this year!
Additionally, Exodus Road has been working on launching the “Free World Alliance.” This program will allow businesses to donate more easily and help end human trafficking.
Simply Earth is excited to feature and support The Exodus Road for May and June 2024! If you want to learn more about The Exodus Road or how you can get involved, check out their website here: