Ricky Martin Goes To Washington
His fans know his light side, but pop star Ricky Martin – a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and the head of a foundation to prevent child exploitation – was quite serious as he testified before the House International Relations Committee at a hearing on efforts to stop human trafficking.
Martin arrived in Washington Monday to promote his foundation's fight against human trafficking, a problem he called "horrendous" as he told House lawmakers Tuesday how he got involved in the issue.
The 34-year-old Puerto Rican singer says the Ricky Martin Foundation's People for Children program was launched after he encountered three Indian girls living on the street and was struck by the thought that they were likely "days away from being sold into prostitution."
Human trafficking, which affects an estimated two million people around the world each year, includes sexual exploitation, organ extraction, sweat shop and forced labor, forced marriage and forced military service.
Women and children are disproportionately affected by human trafficking, which is the focus of a campaign by People for Children, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Organisation for Migration.
"Llama y Vive" [Call and Live!] hotlines to prevent human trafficking and advertisements to raise awareness are among the initiatives of a campaign that began in Peru four months ago and is to be expanded to Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Latino communities in and around Washington, D.C.
The hotlines, according to Elena Suarez of the Inter-American Development Bank, are having an impact.
"In Peru, for instance, the campaign has triggered an average of a thousand hotline calls per month, police investigations of 23 new trafficking cases and at least ten lives saved," says Suarez.
Martin, who is one of Latin music's most successful crossover acts, is best known to U.S. audiences for his 1999 dance hit "Livin' la Vida Loca."
The Latin Recording Academy is honoring Martin as the 2006 Person of the Year for his humanitarian work. Martin will receive the honor for his professional accomplishments and humanitarian work at a tribute dinner on Nov. 1, 2006.