Kelly Mallon Young and Sr. Franca Oqua Empower Sisters to Combat Human Trafficking

Sisters Rising Worldwide’s COO Kelly Mallon Young had the opportunity to meet SRW PeaceRoom member Sr. Franca Oqua from the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Sr. Franca was visiting New York City to attend a United Nations meeting on behalf of her congregation. The two met in Brooklyn and discussed how SRW can empower Sisters to combat human trafficking in their communities through collaboration with each other on their cutting-edge platform called the PeaceRoom.

Originally from Nigeria, Sr. Franca is now the full-time representative of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland. There, she partners with other NGOs to shape policy by providing statements and oral testimony and sharing best practices collected firsthand. Before arriving at the UN, Sr. Franca spent ten years in Africa doing mission work.

Kelly and Sr. Franca discussed collaboration strategies and how Sr. Franca’s congregation can best leverage knowledge from Sisters around the world to address the threat of human trafficking commonly found in communities served by the Daughters of Charity. SRW has previously worked with Sr. Franca to fund programs in Ghana that provide counseling services and other support to women at risk of exploitation. “Sr. Franca is such an inspiration,” Kelly said. “I’m so grateful I could meet with her to hear first hand how SRW and our donors have helped the Daughters of Charity make a lifesaving difference in the world.”