New ears and eyes for ACRATH

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Lys Crowe, ACRATH’s Interim NEO, is keen to bring ‘new eyes and ears’ to the organisation as ACRATH continues working towards a vision of a world free of human trafficking.  Lys was no stranger to ACRATH when she took over as the Acting NEO late last year. For the past four years she has been a member of ACRATH in Victoria, juggling monthly meetings, presentations to parishes and schools, fundraising and a full-time job.

“Victorian members Claire Griffin csb, Mary Cameron and Bernard Dobson are the reason I first got involved with ACRATH, as I had heard from them about their involvement and listened to them speak of the impact of modern slavery globally and in Australia.  They encouraged, and inspired, me to become an ACRATH member,” Lys said.

Before commencing as the Acting NEO Lys was working for the St Vincent de Paul Society, Victoria as part of the Mission and Spirituality Team and, before that as a Project Officer for Young Christian Students (YCS), Melbourne.  She started off in primary schools in Sale and Melbourne Dioceses with all sorts of roles, before spending most of her working life as a Pastoral Associate (including a few years as the Co-ordinator, Ministry to Pastoral Associates for the Melbourne Archdiocese) in various parishes in Melbourne and in Mildura.

Lys said she’s inspired and motivated by the capacity of Victorian ACRATH members to continually find new ways to be involved, to advocate, to raise awareness, and to serve as companions to survivors of human trafficking.  

“And now, in my Interim NEO role I get to meet the members nationally, and to hear of their amazing commitments and involvements too around the country,” Lys said.

“There is lots to be done as we continue to work with the big organisations that are so familiar to us like the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Anti-Slavery Australia, Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, St Vincent’s Health Australia, the Federal and the State Members of Parliament, Flinders University, and the University of South Australia. At the same time, I don’t think we should underestimate the smaller ways we can also make an impact.”  

Lys said she’s encouraged to hear of so many things happening in the community in response to human trafficking, including:

  • the student who, after hearing a presentation at her school, now goes shopping with her mum each week “to makes sure she only buys products with the green frog (Rainforest Alliance) on it”.   
  • the woman, who after receiving an ACRATH calendar as a gift from a member, said “I had no idea this happened in Australia – thank you for letting me know”.  
  • the family member of one of our members who changed their brands of coffee and chocolate, and even the shop they bought them from, because they will now only buy Fair Trade/Rainforest Alliance. 
  • the parish that responded to a call out and collected so many warm and waterproof coats for the migrant workers as they pick the fruit and vegetables in our colder, wetter months.
  • the many conversations I’ve been part of about fast fashion, with many of my family and friends now thinking twice about their purchases.
  • one of our members has made earrings – one featuring the Fairtrade symbol and one with the Rainforest Alliance symbol.  She says they have led to many conversations and chances to raise awareness among her friends and colleagues.
  • our “Is your tearoom slavery free?” sticker is another way to spread our message.  

“And so, I’ve discovered that awareness raising, education, and action goes on in many ways and many are very simple,” Lys said.  “Sometimes it only takes a moment for a change to be made or at least to plant a seed of change.”

“It’s all these moments, big or small, intentional, and coincidental, that help us to ensure that all people can ‘have life and have it to the full’ – always remembering that ‘people are not for sale’.”

Lys is looking forward to learning lots, and contributing more, to the work of ACRATH during her time as Interim NEO.

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