Our Work
In October 2018, visions of starting an organization to help fight child slavery started to stir in the hearts of Micah, Zoe, and Anne Briggs. We had no idea how to execute these dreams, but we trusted that God could lead us step by step. We were very encouraged when He gave us 1 Corinthians 3:17 as our core verse: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
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Soon after we decided to take action, our attention became focused on Ghana, the home of many people in our Sunday fellowship. We learned from our friends that innocent, vulnerable children were trafficked to Ghana's Lake Volta and forced to work long hours doing various kinds of intense work. As we began to research the problem, we were astounded by the awful conditions these kids had to endure. Being so far away from Ghana, how could we possibly help? We heard of and supported several organizations working to help these kids, including the International Justice Mission (IJM), but we didn't know how we could get involved, so we continued to pray and ask for God's guidance. We knew God had put this desire to stand for justice in our hearts, so we trusted that He would lead us.
One of our first designs
A few weeks later, our close Ghanaian friend invited us to speak at a meeting hosted by the China chapter of the National Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS). We jumped at the opportunity to present to a group of Ghanaians. At the meeting, we met Felix, the president of NUGS, who was very encouraging and became a 3D-FREE supporter. We also made friends with Nii, who works for the First Lady of Ghana and has an extensive network of government connections. He opened many doors for us and gave us an avenue to contact the Ghanaian government.
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Our latest project has been writing a proposal to partner with the Ghanaian government and let recovering children participate in designing the next round of T-shirts. The approval process has been delayed since Ghana's government understandably shifted their focus to the virus, so we are continuing to wait for a response with patience and anticipation.
A few months later we settled on the name 3D-FREE, which reflected our longing to see the boys and girls on Lake Volta experience freedom on 3 dimensions: spiritual, physical, and mental. We started to design T-shirts that could raise both awareness and money.
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Then, in March of 2019, we decided to look for a fourth team member to contribute additional skills and bring a fresh perspective. We chose Hudson Pylate, one of our enthusiastic, energetic friends. Working together we settled on our favorite T-shirt design and were finally ready to print. Our first visit to a factory seemed like a great success, until we realized that this was not the best option. Local friends pointed us to another factory owner named Lynn, and on the day we met her we knew she was going to be God’s answer to our prayers. She has been extremely helpful and supportive of our cause.
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We considered adding this as our first T-shirt design
In the fall of 2019 we were persistently asking our Sunday fellowship to allow us to present about child slavery and hold a T-shirt sale. Just before Christmas, they gave us the green light! We hosted our first sale, selling X shirts and raising $X. For the time being, government restrictions related to COVID-19 have kept us from hosting more sales, but we are using this time period to do all we can to further this cause.
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For example, our required quarantine gave us time to focus on building a website! We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Our hearts ache for the boys and girls in Ghana, and we are eager to step into more opportunities to speak to groups and spread this message. We trust we will soon discover more of those open doors!
If you're interested in joining in this fight for freedom, please visit our Contact Us page or send an email to Team3Dfree@outlook.com. Your voice and talents can help make a difference!