Visit to IJM

This morning Scott, Pete, and I had the chance to visit the International Justice Mission office in Bangalore. I've been impressed with the work of IJM for several years and they spoke last fall at our PBC missions conference. So I was eagerly looking forward to seeing one of their offices in action. And I wasn't disappointed.

We expected a few people in a cramped office. But what we found was a team of almost 30 people working in an unmarked 2 story house. IJM's goal is to provide justice to those who are victims of injustice by working within the existing legal systems of the countries they work in. Offices usually specialize in one or two focus areas in order to best use their resources. The office in Bangalore focuses on the issue of bonded labor, the equivalent of modern day slavery. The most common type of bonded labor is when an individual receives a cash advance or loan which he agrees to pay off through an agreed period of labor. However, he or she is then required to work through force in order to pay off the debt which often collects interest faster than the person can work to pay it off. Bonded labor often involves physical and/or sexual abuse and sometimes carries into succeeding generations or envelopes other family members in the service of the same debt.

We were able to join IJM for their morning devotion and prayer time. Their office starts with an hour of prayer time. The first 30 minutes is reserved for personal stillness (what a great idea!). The next 30 minutes is for devotion and prayer. What a cool way to start every day. After our devotion time with them, we were able to learn about their work in Bangalore and meet everyone on their team.

Their office has three components which follow the flow of their work. The investigations team receives referrals of clients that need rescue or discovers information on their own. They collect as much evidence and information as they can to make the case as compelling as possible to the local authorities. Then the legal team works with local authorities to schedule a rescue operation. Once an individual has been rescued, they work with the court system to provide a document called a "release certificate" which guarantees that individual's freedom. Then the aftercare group helps the client to receive services to reintegrate them into their community, provide job training and/or equipment, and educate them about their rights.

One of my favorite parts of the process occurs 2-4 weeks after an individual has been rescued from bonded labor. IJM puts on a "freedom training" seminar, teaching their clients how to be free. What a great program. Some of us still need some freedom training.

We learned lots more details and met some really incredible people. But overall we were thoroughly impressed with IJM and their office in Bangalore. Praise God that His people are doing such significant and important work.