In a small office next to the Sons of Norway in Fargo, a team of six is making waves around the world. They are Unseen, a non-profit organization started in Fargo that has joined the worldwide fight against human trafficking.

They do so through story-telling.

“What we do with Unseen is introduce the problem, and then introduce the solution,” said Unseen’s co-founder and executive director Than Baardson.

The problem, he said, is staggering. Right now there are 30 million people in slavery around the world, according to a 2014 report by the BBC. Directly related are reports that an estimated 153 million children are orphans, and over 795 million people go hungry daily.

Those numbers can be numbing, Baardson said. But Unseen tells a story of hope.

“There’s so much good work going on in the world,” Baardson said.

Work like that of John and Annie in India, who started Grace Care as a way to rescue children from starving on the streets. Or Home of New Beginnings, a group in Thailand that rescues girls out of prostitution and gives them shelter and scholarships for highschool and college.

The problem Baardson saw was that the people doing good work often could not afford the materials needed to share their story.

“When we started Unseen we thought, what if we just did that for them, and work with mission groups and non-profits around the world?” he said.

This is the vision of Unseen. Since its foundation in 2011, Unseen has partnered with over 30 different groups that are fighting human trafficking and its root causes. Currently they work with 16 groups in 10 different countries. They aid them by building a fundraising strategy, creating professional websites, and sharing their story through video and photography.

“What we’re doing is telling a story that already exists,” Baardson said. “It’s the story of redemption that these kids are seeing in their lives.”

Unseen & Giving Heart’s Day 2016

Of course, limited resources means that Unseen can’t help everyone. Over 30 groups from all over the world are currently on their waiting list, Baardson said. By participating in fundraisers like Giving Heart’s Day, which is this Thursday on February 11, Unseen hopes to continue growing and aiding more groups.

This year, Unseen has a matching donation of $40,000  from four different families. It’s their biggest match yet, Baardson said.

To raise awareness, Unseen team members popped into local hotspots carrying a large red heart costume, and kindly asked people to put it on and say a few words. The video results can be seen all over social media.

“It’s been fun to get our donors and community members directly involved in Giving Hearts Day antics,” Baardson said.

They also managed to find the man with the world’s largest heart, as reported by World News.

 

Come hear more from Unseen and celebrate Giving Heart’s Day this Wednesday, at 1 Million Cups Fargo. Join us at 9:15 am – 10:15 am at the Stage at Island Park!

 

Photos courtesy of Unseen.