Zonta salutes WGCU Public Media for Peabody Award

 by SUE DENHAM

POSTED: May 2, 2011, Sanibel-Captiva Islander Newspaper

When Amy Tardiff of WGCU Public Media learned that she was to receive a 2010 Peabody award for her one-hour radio special “Lucia’s Letter,” members of the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva not only delighted in her success, but also reflected on their personal connection with this particular human trafficking story.

Named for George Foster Peabody, businessman and philanthropist, the Peabody is the world’s oldest and most prestigious prize for excellence in electronic media. It is rare for an individual PBS station to earn one.

Originally broadcast in January 2010, “Lucia’s Letter” is the story of a “letter” written home to her mother by a young woman (“Lucia” is a pseudonym) who had been sent by her family to the United States in hopes of a job and education, and instead found herself the victim of slavery. The brainchild of Dr. Genelle Grant, a former migrant educator, the letter describes Lucia’s trials and begs the mother not to send Lucia’s young sisters to a similar fate. Tardiff created a masterful review of the horrors of human trafficking and the very human story behind Lucia’s rescue.

“Dr. Grant came to us with the story of the woman we call Lucia,” said Zontian Nola Theiss. “She had met and befriended Lucia after her rescue, and was anxious to educate others about the dangers facing young women in Guatemala.”

The answer was “Lucia’s Letter,” which originally played as a PSA on Guatemalan radio, and was later translated into six languages and more widely disseminated through production assistance from WGCU radio and financial assistance from Zonta and Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships (HTAP), a non-profit founded in 2006 by Theiss. The funds were to raise awareness of human trafficking and used in part to fund the production of CDs of “Lucia’s Letter.”

Sadly, the situation described is only too familiar for many young women, not only from Central America but from any struggling economy. The local Zonta club learned about human trafficking in 2004 when club members attended the Zonta International convention in New York. Members’ eyes were opened to the global problem of trafficking of children, especially young girls, and this became the motivation for the club to join the effort.

Zonta works by identifying individuals or groups already performing work that relates to the Zonta mission, and providing seed money so the work can continue and grow. The club first partnered with the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, founded by Floridian Anna Rodriguez. Later, the club collaborated with Naples-based Miracles in Action, founded by Penny Rambacher, and Dr. Grant who created GRACE, or Guatemalan Rural Adult and Children’s Education.

Club grants have helped Miracles in Action and GRACE, both of which strive to improve the lives of rural women in Guatemala so they will be less likely to fall prey to human smuggling and ultimately human trafficking.

Featured in the radio special along with Rodriguez, Grant, Rambacher and others was Florida District Attorney Doug Molloy, who has been a powerful advocate for finding and convicting traffickers, as well as rescuing young victims.

Theiss, through HTAP, has traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada teaching leaders of Zonta clubs and other organizations how to create awareness in their own communities. She has also disseminated “Lucia’s Letter” among law enforcement and human service providers through her trainings and has produced a guide for its use.

The Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva continues to promote awareness through its human trafficking service project, supporting HTAP, GRACE and other organizations.

“The world needs to hear that human trafficking and sexual slavery are still very much alive and a real danger to women and children,” Theiss said. “We salute Amy Tardiff and Dr. Grant for their important work and hope that through this award the story will reach a wider audience.”

The Zonta Club is a service organization of professional women working together to provide hands-on assistance, advocacy and funds to strengthen women’s lives on the islands, in Lee County and around the world through Zonta International. For more information, visit www.zontasancap.com.