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Filipino-American Naomi Estaris recognized in Virginia for efforts vs. human trafficking

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Monica Galozo | TFC News Virginia

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/paO_0Lia93E?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>A Filipino-American was recently recognized in Virginia for her work to combat human trafficking.Naomi Estaris said she found her calling and pursued her advocacy from her travels all over the world.In 2018, she founded the Virginia Beach-based non-profit group &quot;ENJEWEL&quot; which stands for Equality and Justice for Every Woman Every Land.Estaris said Enjewel initially conducted search and rescue operations, built homes, and provided transportation to victims. But due to the risks involved, they shifted to education and prevention.&quot;I saw human trafficking happening in so many countries,&quot; she said. &quot;But what was concerning for me was that it was normalized, and what I mean that it was normalized, it was accepted.&quot;Estaris noted that in some of the countries she visited, there are parts where human trafficking is happening and it is not penalized.She also observed that people tend to be reactive instead of proactive when facing certain issues in their communities.For her staunch advocacy to fight human trafficking, she was awarded one of the Community Heroes 2023 by the Coastal Virginia Chamber of Commerce or CVCC.CVCC is coastal Virginia’s lead go-to connector that helps businesses and organizations grow. Part of its mission is to highlight the work of unsung community heroes.Estaris hopes that the award will help raise awareness of her organization’s work.&quot;It is great to have that recognition,&quot; she said. &quot;It alerted people who didn&#x27;t know that Enjewel existed in the community.&quot;One of the programs Enjewel is undertaking is in partnership with the Girl Scouts. Estaris said that the 9 to 11-year-old demographics are the average age of those who are being trafficked, thus making it very important to educate them.Enjewel also partners with local industry groups and raised $250,000 to help support similar organizations fighting human trafficking.Moving forward, Estaris said she is eyeing to put up a center for human trafficking victims, where people can learn about human trafficking and listen to the stories of survivors.&quot;Each of us has a calling and to receive His (God&#x27;s) calling, heed His word, and respond to the calling is so important for a purposeful life,&quot; she added.

Naomi Estaris said she found her calling and pursued her advocacy from her travels all over the world.