As part of our Unloosing the Chains of Slavery conference, our March and April Iron Sharpens Iron events will also be on the theme of thinking, praying and acting on modern slavery.

Dr Caitlin Lance Hope and Mick Pease, both of SFAC, will talk about the links between modern slavery and orphanages. Between 80 and 90% of children in global orphanages are not orphans as many understand that term, but rejected, abandoned or ‘sold’ due to poverty or social disgrace. Orphanages can be a conduit for child exploitation and trafficking, unbeknown to the thousands of NGOs, churches and Christians who support them. How can we guard against this and what better solutions are there to the ‘orphan crisis’?

Caitlin, a UK-based Aussie, manages the therapeutic team at SFAC – a small UK children’s charity with a global reach. She has also lived and worked with trauma survivors and vulnerable children in India and Kenya. Caitlin enjoys the challenge of translating academic research and concepts into accessible, everyday language that anyone can connect with and apply in their daily life. Especially if it means she can get out her pencils and paint and add in an illustration or two.

Mick, SFAC’s founder, is a Yorkshire coal miner turned social worker with Leeds City Council and global child advocate. He has had a life of unexpected twists and turns! After he and his wife, Brenda, spent a year volunteering at an orphanage in Brazil, he found he had some questions. Why were so many of the children living in an orphanage when most had family members? He started digging around for answers and accidentally found himself on a journey, a pioneer in what is now a global movement. Just over 20 years later he’s now a published author (“Children Belong in Families – A Remarkable Journey Towards Global Change”) and the charity he started has worked with organisations in over 40 countries. 

Iron Sharpens Iron is all about sharpening up as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are inspired by Proverbs 27:17,

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Iron Sharpens Iron is completely free and open to anyone, although we invite you to donate towards our work (with a suggestion of £5 per event). If you wish to donate an amount not given below, or set up a regular donation, you can donate online (opens in a new tab),

Each event starts at 8pm when our speaker presents a short talk, and then we discuss the topic in hand. We want everyone to contribute to the discussion. We encourage heated debate. We want to learn from each other so we can bear fruit for Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. Join at 7.50pm to chat with other participants.

Meetings take place on Zoom. The invitation link and meeting details will be in your order confirmation emails which will be sent to you when you complete checkout of your order. If they do not arrive within a few minutes then please check your promotions, clutter, ‘other’, spam or junk folders (you may have multiple of these depending on your email provider) as order confirmations often get intercepted.