Jane Mosbacher Morris - 29 Jan

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[Work] is about a search, too, for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying.

LOUIS STUDS TERKEL, AUTHOR OF WORKING: PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT WHAT THEY DO

In the spring of 2013, I found myself trekking down a narrow, poorly paved alley in the heart of bustling, chaotic Kolkata. Id never been to India, but I thought I knew what to expect. Id traveled pretty extensively, even to tough environments not set up for tourists, like Afghanistan. But I certainly didnt expect to meet a scrappy, young American working outside the largest red light district in Asia, and to begin reformulating my lifes purpose in that place.

I went to India as part of my job with the McCain Institute for International Leadership, a new nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded by Senator John McCain and his wife, Cindy McCain, a businesswoman and humanitarian. Id just started at the institute and wanted to do well. It was just the two of us from our organization traveling together, Mrs. McCain and I.

Wed been invited by the International Justice Mission, a leading anti-trafficking nonprofit that works in India and around the world. We were scheduled to be in India for a week, traveling through red light districts and visiting aftercare facilitiessafe houses where people get medical treatment, food, psychological support, and a place to sleep after exiting the sex trade. Many of them are girlstwelve-, thirteen-, or fourteen-year-olds who have been sold by their families into slavery, or kidnapped, or otherwise forced into prostitution. Aftercare facilities, often run with the support of an international or local nonprofit, are critical for helping survivors and also, ideally, protecting them against re-exploitation, such as from a trafficker who thinks he owns the girls working for him.

In many places, survivors of human trafficking are also at risk from their own families. In rare but heartbreaking occasions, a family member might resort to violence, throwing acid in the face of a girl who has been sexually exploited in an effort to reclaim the familys honor, which they believe has been soiled by the girls lack of purity.

This book is about what I learned on that trip, which altered my life path and career. I saw in India not only survivors but also a real working model of something Id long thought aboutthe private sector being harnessed to help address long-standing social problems. This book shares my story and the ways we all can help improve other peoples lives through our purchasing power (without even changing careers).

So many of us want to help change the world yet feel overwhelmed by the problems we see. Contemporary media and technology bring home the worlds struggles in a new and vivid way. We see images of Bangladeshi citizens walking through thigh-high water, and Syrian refugees washing up on the shores of Europe. Their plight is brought into our homes, yet we dont know how to help. We can feel just as powerless reading about tragedy in our own country. We may post about a cause on social media, but ultimately feel that were not really making a difference.

Its easy to get analysis paralysis and to default to inaction. I can sometimes hardly read the news (and instead cheer myself up by looking at animals on Instagram). But what Ive found is that the best way to take action is to remind myself of the tools that are at my disposal right now to make change. As Ive grown older and developed a better understanding of my own sphere of influence, I see one clear way I can make a difference: harnessing my purchasing power for good.