Leadership Council Members

  • *Ruby

    Ruby is a gentle yet outspoken advocate against sexual abuse and exploitation of children who dreams of building a community free from violence. Ruby is a survivor of Online Sexual Abuse of Children (OSEC) and has shared her experience widely in hopes of building a community where there is no violence. She is an incredible advocate for others trapped in exploitation and has won awards for sharing her story boldly on various platforms.

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  • GODWIN DOGBEY

    Godwin is a survivor of labor trafficking, and he shares his story to advocate for the rights of children who suffer violence on fishing boats. In 2015, a trafficker lured him onto a fishing boat. He was enslaved and forced to work instead of going to school for three years. Within 24 hours of his own rescue, Godwin courageously led the Ghana Police and IJM back out onto the water to help authorities identify nearly 30 other children and arrest over a dozen suspects.

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  • LILIAN ACEN

    Lillian is known within her community as a passionate advocate for women’s rights. Lillian is a survivor of Intimate Partner Violence. She left an abusive marriage after nine years and filed a legal case against her husband in a society that believes that Intimate Partner Violence is a family matter. Today, she operates a small charcoal business in Gulu, Uganda. Because of her experiences, she is a strong advocate within her community for women’s rights and women’s empowerment. Lillian spends her free time connecting with women in violent relationships and reminding them that they are not alone.

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  • SIVA KUMAR

    Kumar is a passionate advocate for his community and anyone who has suffered violence. Kumar is a survivor of bonded labor trafficking. He was 7 years old when he was rescued by Indian police from slavery in a brick factory, and with support from IJM’s aftercare program he completed schooling. He is part of the  Released Bonded Labor Association which is part of the Global Survivor Network. In his free time, he enjoys performing classical Indian folk dances and creating art.  

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  • *SJ

    SJ is a gentle, shy, and artistically inclined survivor leader, who is bravely speaking out about his experiences with violence in an attempt to bring change to his community. SJ experienced sexual violence when he was only 11 years old. After almost ten years of going through a rollercoaster of emotions and trials, SJ's family and IJM Bolivia achieved justice.

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Founding Members

  • David Makara

    Makara is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. He chose his career as a lawyer after he was brutally shot by a police officer, wrongfully accused of a crime, and imprisoned. When the charges were finally dropped, Makara decided to go to law school.

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  • Jakelin Mayen

    Jakelin is the Coordinator of Survivors Network for IJM Guatemala, and she is currently a law school student.

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  • Josephine Aparo

    Josephine is a social worker with a passion to serve women, children and families who have survived violence. Josephine was orphaned as a young girl in Northern Uganda, and she lived through a two-decade civil war that tore apart her family and her country. Her own story of struggle and triumph fuels her desire to help other women stand strong.

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  • M. Raja Ebenezer

    Raja is a practicing Advocate at the Honorable Madras High Court and other courts across the state of Tamil Nadu. Raja is a survivor of bonded labor, and he regularly shares about his own story of restoration with other survivors in a local survivor mentorship group.

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  • Pachaiyammal Arul

    Pachaiyammal is a cluster coordinator for the State Rural Livelihood Mission, a pilot project to increase access to government programs for survivors of bonded labour. Pachaiyammal was enslaved in a rock quarry in South India for twelve years, and she is passionate about ending modern slavery across her state and nation.

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  • Charito

    Charito works as a Medical Social Worker in a Cebu hospital. Charito is a survivor of trafficking, and she shares her story of strength with other survivors and to groups or school programs that support ending violence. She is part of the S.M.A.R.T. group in the Visayas Region, which is part of the Global Survivor Network. On her day off, Charito loves spending time with her family and volunteering in the shelter where she once lived.

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  • Vanessa Bautista

    Vanessa is a creative and bold advocate for survivors of violence around the world based in the US. She grew up in the Philippines and is a survivor of sexual abuse. Vanessa has served as one of the survivor leaders in the advocacy group, “Standing Together to Advocate Rights”, in Manila.

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  • VICTORIA NYANJURA

    Victoria is a women’s rights advocate based in Uganda. She is a survivor of Lord’s Resistance Army abductions and has shared her story and amplified the stories of other survivors from local, national, and international platforms.

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