2019 FFC Impact Report
Dear Friends,
We have a lot to be thankful for, and 2019 marks the 6th year of the Fly Fishing Collaborative. Since our founding, we have worked in 10 countries, developed 12 aquaponics farms, served dozens of local foster kids, and sponsored 5 women as they came out of sexual exploitation in Portland, Oregon. With your help, we have impacted communities and supported a better way of life for hundreds of people. Thank you to all.
We believe this is just the beginning. Demand for more farms has exponentially grown, and more connections are continually being made to serve domestic trafficking survivors in the greater Portland area and beyond. This is all a great testament to the amazing work you have helped accomplish. We are forever grateful for your collaboration and support. Together we build.
Here’s what you have helped accomplish in 2019.
Global Initiatives
1. Iquitos Peru: 1000 sq. ft. Aquaponics Farm
This wonderful project was done in partnership with Help One Now, and was made possible by all of you who financially support FFC.
In response to the extreme poverty and trafficking that plagues Iquitos, Help One Now has recently empowered some amazing local leaders to establish a safe home to provide love, hope, restoration, refuge, safety, and healing for survivors of human trafficking. This past August, FFC launched a team to build a large-scale farm for this new home. The installation of the farm in Iquitos is now providing a source of healthy, fresh produce for this community of survivors. It also has the potential to provide a source of income as well as a pathway to teach many others in the community valuable life skills.
2. Mexico City: Water Purification
This wonderful project was done in partnership with El Pozo De Vida, and was made possible by all of you who financially support FFC.
El Pozo De Vida is a safe home that has cared for 170 young trafficking survivors since they opened their doors in 2010. Through collaboration with social workers, therapists, and rehabilitation programs, El Pozo has developed its own rehabilitation program for survivors of sex slavery and trafficking. At El Pozo, they believe in the importance of holistic care in which mind, body, and soul are all considered in the effort to restore health, dignity, and purpose to survivors of the sex slave trade. In 2018 we built an aquaponics farm for this safe home to provide a sustainable food source, as well as a therapeutic activity for the girls of the home (aged 12-18.) While building the farm at the home we discovered that their drinking water is… well… undrinkable. We’re currently in the process of installing a reverse osmosis water purification system with a storage tank and booster pump to provide the home with a constant source of good, healthy drinking water. This project will be completed on January 18th.
3. Honduras: 1500 sq. ft. Aquaponics Farm
This wonderful project was done in partnership with New Life Children’s Home and was made possible by all of you who financially support FFC.
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the world with 68 percent of Hondurans living on an income of less than $3.80 per day. The crushing weight of poverty has radically affected the stability of homes, and increasingly more children are given up as orphans, making them extremely vulnerable to commoditization and sexual exploitation. New Life is an orphanage in Jalaca, Honduras that provides a loving and stable home for children abandoned and abused, and works closely with families in the surrounding community to help create a better life for their children.
When we were made aware of New Life’s efforts to use agriculture as way to create more sustainability for the orphanage, and to use farming as a tool to train others in healthy self-sufficiency, we were eager to provide an aquaponics farm for them. This farm is currently in progress. The project commenced in early November with ground prep and greenhouse construction and will be finalized with an FFC volunteer team in late January. What a perfect way to close out 2019 and to kick off the new year.
Local Initiatives
1. Kids Fishing Day
This wonderful project was done in partnership with Watertime Outfitters, Clackamas County DHS, and Chick-fil-A, and was made possible by all of you who financially support FFC.
More than 90 percent of domestic trafficking victims have experienced foster care at some point in their lives. Part of our local initiative is dedicated to serving kids who are currently in the foster care system. Prevention is one of the best methods to rescue kids from trafficking.
For our Foster Care Initiative, FFC partnered with Portland-based fly fishing guide, Rob Crandall (of Watertime Outfitters) to host a free Kids’ Fishing Day at John Storm Park in Oregon City. This event was open to all kids from ages 8-12, but we made special invitations for all youth in the Clackamas County foster care system. Thirty foster kids showed up with their mentors and caregivers and EVERY KID caught at least one fish. We are very excited to keep hosting this event in the years to come. We plan to grow our foster care initiative into a training camp for kids to learn from therapists about healthy and unhealthy relationships in a fun, outdoor setting.
2. Domestic Survivor Care
This wonderful project was done in partnership with Rebecca Bender Initiative and was made possible by all of you who financially support FFC.
Sex-trafficking victims have lives that are torn apart by abuse, defined by rape, and without free will. This form of modern slavery isn’t just happening in impoverished communities across our great oceans; it’s happening right at home in America. It thrives in the US because its victims are often dismissed as society’s castaways—prostitutes, addicts, and the homeless—but in reality its victims come from all classes of society. Such is the case with a young middle-class woman who heard about FFC on a recent podcast. She had been living in shame with a deep dark secret that she hadn’t told to anyone–not even to her closet friends. This affected every facet of her life, her relationships, her schooling, work, everything. She had been trafficked.
This young woman is a fly fisher and often found her only solace on the water. She heard about FFC on a podcast last fall and knew it wasn’t just coincidence. Where else could she find a group of people who love fly fishing and fight human trafficking? She knew it was time to take the bold step to reach out. So she did. We listened to her story, commended her for her great bravery, went fishing with her, and then found her the help that she needed. She has a long road ahead, but it’s a good road to healing, leading to great places. She is now back at university, guiding in the summers, and is actively involved in an empowerment program designed for young women that have fallen victim to the sex slave industry. We are so very proud of her, and we were able to get her the help she needed because of your generous support.
So many amazing people have given of themselves to accomplish all that’s listed above. From financial giving, to lodge and guided trip donations, to fly tying, to volunteer farm labor, everyone has collaborated in their own way to support this important cause. We’re so grateful for each and every one of you. Together we build.
Also, your year-end giving is being doubled (though December 31st)
We had an extraordinary offer extended to us in November. A supporter and friend of FFC offered to doubled all year-end giving from giving Tuesday through December 31st, up to $45,000. We’re happy to report that we’re more than 2/3 of the way there. We need $11,825 to reach our matching goal. We can do it!
We’re asking everyone to help – whether it’s $5 or $5,000.
This is a big deal because in 2020, we plan to double the impact we’re making in creating sustainable solutions to poverty & human trafficking by doubling the amount of farms we’ll be building (from 2 to 4) and doubling our local initiatives (connecting with more trafficking survivors and creating more room in our Foster Kids Fishing Day Event.)