Find out how Dan and friends survived their expedition from Egypt to Nazareth in the footsteps of the child Jesus, to raise money for victims of human trafficking
Every minute, 24 people flee their homes because of violence and persecution. The total number of displaced people now amounts to more than 65 million, making it the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation, (UNHCR). [i]
Some open their arms and say, ‘Refugees welcome,’ others wish to bolt the door and declare, ‘It’s not our problem.'
Like many people, overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis, I think, 'What can I do?'
I’m not a paratrooper or a peace-keeper, I’m not a physician or a politician, I don’t speak 5 languages, I don’t even speak my own that coherently sometimes. I’m just a geography teacher with a bewildered desire to do something, anything.
But I can walk.
As a follower of Jesus, people have asked me questions like, ‘Where is God in all of this?’
I don’t have a neat answer, I ask the same question myself. But it struck me recently, that the hero of my faith responded to this question, not with a pithy saying or a philosophical statement, but with the ability to say to the millions of refugees who have fled their homes in the dead of night,
'I know your journey, I’ve been there.'
For the most influential figure in human history, life began not as a prince in a palace, but as a refugee in Africa. The polished pictures of a baby in a manger mask the reality that Jesus’ first memories would have been as a 2-yr-old child, growing up, far from home in the land of Egypt, having narrowly escaped the sword of an evil, paranoid dictator.
When it was eventually safe to return home, he made the epic journey on his own tired feet, over dirt tracks and desert trails, to the small village of Nazareth, hundreds of miles north.
Perhaps the only way to understand his journey, is to make it.
That’s why out of solidarity for the millions and curiosity for the one, I spent 10 weeks at the start of this year, walking hundreds of miles in the footsteps of the child Jesus, from Egypt to Nazareth, on my own two feet, to raise money for people who have been thrown onto a similar journey today.
It's not too late to support this journey and join the fight against human trafficking.
100% of the funds raised will go to A21.
Who are A21..?
One of the tragic realities of the refugee crisis is that while many people want to help, others choose to take advantage. Millions of men and women fleeing their homeland in search of a better life are preyed on by predatory human traffickers, cheated by false promises and sold into an even darker world than the one they left behind.
That is why I'm making this journey to raise money for A21, an anti-trafficking organisation with highly skilled teams on the front-line in 12 countries, who are rescuing people from unimaginable trauma, prosecuting the traffickers and providing a safe haven for those who have been caught by the trade. [ii]
[i] For a full report, see www.unhcr.org/576408cd7
[ii] For more information visit www.a21.org
