Me

truth is that I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Remember: In life, everything arrives in its moment, and not before or after. I met those girls at the exact moment I needed to meet them, because that was when I was ready to give more. I worked hard ever since I was a little boy toward something I adored, music. And I did it because I wanted to do it, not because I was forced to. My childhood was amazing and unique. If I chose this cause it is because it appeared on my path and touched me deeply. It moved me. And I feel that if I see something I don’t agree with, and don’t do anything about it, then I am somehow allowing it to happen; it’s like I am an accomplice. If we, who are all here together on this earth, don’t take care of one another, then who else will? It is our duty. All of us have some responsibility on the spiritual path. It could be fighting against human trafficking; helping the elderly; assisting the helpless; fighting for the rights of the LGBT community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender); or feeding the hungry—but we all have the obligation to stand up for what we believe in and help the less fortunate and take care of the neediest.
    So we started to make some noise. I began to do more and more because I wanted to create a consciousness: I wanted the whole world to listen to what I have to say, and to believe that together we can fight against this epidemic. And it seemed that making noise worked, because after a very short time, many well-known and credible organizations took interest in forming alliances with the Ricky Martin Foundation. These alliances were very important, because I knew there wasn’t a whole lot I could do on my own. In the world of nonprofits, alliances are crucial. Even though I may have a very clear idea of what I want to do, it doesn’t mean I necessarily know how to do it. It’s one thing to say, “I want to help the girls,” and it’s something entirely different to go out into the field and help them. That’s why I had to find other organizations that had experience working for the causes that most mattered to me. From that point on, we began to work with such institutions as the Inter-American Development Bank, UNICEF, Save the Children, ATEST (Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking), Johns Hopkins University, the International Organization for Migration, the University of Puerto Rico, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, and even Microsoft.
    One of the programs we developed with Microsoft was aimed at a specific problem. Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to traffic children is through the Internet. Traffickers make their way into chat forums and the children begin chatting with them and making friends, of course without knowing they are chatting with an adult. And while the parents think their kids are chatting with their friends, they are really talking with a trafficker right from the living room of their own home. It’s completely terrifying. To raise awareness about this problem, we joined forces with Microsoft to create a program called Navega Protegido (Navigate Safely), with the purpose of protecting children in cyberspace. Navega Protegido is a campaign that educates parents and teachers alike, regarding all the risks that exist for a child when they are surfing the Web.
    Even though we cannot completely prevent this type of thing from happening, at least we can raise awareness. We placed ads in public transportation systems that said: “Do you know who is chatting with your daughter?” And in airports, where kidnapped children are boarded on planes to other countries, we placed ads that say: “Do you know where you are traveling to? Did you meet this person on the Internet?”
    After that, we launched a project called Llama y Vive (Call and Live), a toll-free hotline where victims of human trafficking can call for help. We conducted media campaigns to promote the phone numbers and received an amazing response. One day, a woman arrived at one of the radio stations on which the numbers had been advertised, and said: “Hi, I heard about your Llama y Vive campaign, and I don’t have a phone. But I am a victim.” Of course, the radio station personnel called the authorities right away, who in turn got in touch with us to help this woman with her rehabilitation. And just like that, we saved one more. Every single life matters.
    The efforts of the Ricky Martin Foundation continue to expand, and we’re always looking for