Hawaii advocates to march on Jan. 11 for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and on Jan. 11 from 4-6 p.m., non profit Ho’ōla Nā Pua will host peaceful marches across the state to raise awareness about sex trafficking and care for children who have been exploited, For more information, visit this page.

On Hawaiʻi Island, a march will take place on the Hilo Bay Front on the corner of Bishop Street & Kamehameha Ave. In Kona-Kailua, marchers will start on the sidewalk in front of Walmart, 75-1015 Henry Street.

On Kauai, marchers will meet in Lihue, off of Rice St. on the County Lawn Historical Monument and Garden.

On Oahu, marchers will begin at Bishop Square (1003 Bishop St.) and walk to the Hawai’i State Capitol. Among them -- a young entrepreneur with Hawaii ties who is helping raise awareness one bag of coffee at a time.

Mid-Pacific Institute graduate Simone Ispahani started Social Brew after working with human trafficking survivors in India.

She sources coffee from Hawaii including 100% kona single origin from the Big Island and donates half of her profits to Ho’ōla Nā Pua and other non-profit organizations that help survivors. She just launched a line of pancake mixes.

“I feel like you hear a lot of businesses say, oh, it will give 1% 2% which is great. But I don’t want this to be focused on profitability for me, but I want it to be very transparent in my process, that I’m giving it solely to the organizations that support survivors and have all these wonderful services,” she said. “It’s been a challenge. That’s for sure. I feel like every entrepreneurship journey has its ups and downs. But I feel like my family and my friends have been my biggest support system and my faith, of course, too.”

To support Social Brew, you can buy products at the Kahala Hotel & Resort gift shop and online at SocialBrew.us.

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