Youths gather vs human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines - Around 4,000 students from different colleges and high schools as well as public officials of Mati, Davao Oriental attended the International Day Against Trafficking Blue Heart Formation held at the Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (DOCST) last Friday.

The event was one of two simultaneous activities done by #Malaya, a human trafficking campaign by the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) launched last June. The other one was held at Bicol University in Luzon.

Inspired by the United Nations campaign on human rights, the Blue Heart Formation aims to gather a total of 10,000 individuals all over Bicol and Davao Oriental to show the youth taking part in combating modern day slavery.

The activity began with a parade around the DOCST campus followed by a short program at the quadrangle where the Blue Heart formation was done.

Students who participated in the program will become members of the Student Warriors Against Trafficking or SWAT, who will then spread the advocacy to their respective campuses and promote awareness against this phenomenon.

The program, the first in Mindanao, was done in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands, Inter Agency Council Against Trafficking, Bicol University League of Liberal Reformists and the Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology Student Council.