In 2013 freshman Sam Beary established an International Justice Mission (IJM) chapter at Ouachita after hearing about the organization at the Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
IJM is a global, Christian organization that fights against violence and human injustice throughout the world, such as human trafficking and child labor. Much of the work they do is centered in developing nations where people are at a higher risk of experiencing violence and human rights abuses. In first world countries, such as the United States, they have moved their focus to eliminating modern-day slavery and human trafficking.
The Ouachita IJM chapter is just a small piece of the big picture of fighting human injustice. Led by junior nutrition and dietetics major Sydney Van Scyoc as president along side junior communication science disorders major Madeline Rowe as vice president, Ouachita’s chapter is currently the only college chapter in Arkansas. In order to stay focused, Van Scyoc outlined three main goals that act as foundational building blocks for the organization.
“Our first [goal] is to raise awareness that human trafficking and slavery is still a problem in the U.S. today. The second goal is that we believe prayer is a huge part of combating human trafficking, so we dedicate a lot of our time to that. Then lastly, we also try to financially support I.J.M. through fundraisers,” Van Scyoc said.
Van Scyoc got involved in IJM after seeing the Stand for Freedom event that the Ouachita IJM chapter hosts every year to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
“I was just walking by and saw the Stand for Freedom and some of my friends were doing it. I walked up to them and started talking to them about it,” Van Scyoc said. She began attending all their meetings and joined the chapter fully in her sophomore year.
The chapter holds bimonthly meetings every other Tuesday night in Lile 338 at 8 p.m. The first meeting for the fall semester will be on Oct. 18, the Tuesday after Tiger Tunes. The Ouachita chapter does not restrict club membership to certain times of the year and welcomes students’ involvement all year round.
This semester the Ouachita IJM chapter will hold a movie screening of “Caged No More” as their fall event, and Stand for Freedom in the spring. They use events like this to raise awareness and fundraise the work IJM is doing around the world, while also giving students the opportunity to join the club. Van Syoc will organize this semester’s events, but will eventually pass her role as president to Rowe while studying abroad in the spring. Rowe will head the planning for the Stand for Freedom event.
Rowe got involved with the organization through Stand for Freedom, as well.. This annual event, organized by IJM, consists of students physically standing for 24 hours to raise awareness about human trafficking.
“I fell in love with [IJM]…and I’ve been involved for three years. It’s so awesome because I get to be a part of something that is bigger than myself and talk about something I’m passionate about to people on campus,” Rowe said. “I think it’s just a really great opportunity to get involved and make a change.”
The IJM chapter at Ouachita is a great way for students to practically get involved in an important, global issue and make a difference in the lives of people impacted by social injustices around the world.
For more information on IJM and Ouachita’s chapter, visit ijm.org or contact Sydney Van Scyoc at van58622@obu.edu.
– By AJ Stambolie, Student Writer
