Did you know that traffickers go to suburban shopping malls to find young girls they can victimize? Women, young girls, and even boys can be trafficked right here at home—it doesn’t only happen in developing countries where the poor are exploited routinely.

Since returning home from mission in Kenya after almost 30 years, and after fulfilling my wish to write a history of Maryknoll in East Africa, I am now a human rights activist with Maryknoll’s Office of Global Concerns. I serve as our representative at the United Nations where we have consultative status with the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council.

The fate of children, especially in light of current immigration policy, is my chief concern. This month, on November 20, the United Nation’s will observe Universal Children’s Day. This annual event provides a good platform for me to tell you more about Maryknoll’s efforts to end human trafficking, the detention and treatment of immigrants, and the trauma of family separation.

My interest in these issues goes back to my earliest days in Africa when I became involved in a network of Catholic groups focused on peace and justice issues. While I was opening schools, getting kids vaccinated, and celebrating the Sacraments, I became keenly interested in social justice issues in other African nations and in the United States, too.