How a Human Trafficking Survivor Turned Her Story Into a Global Mission | Shandra Woworuntu

Welcome to the Legacy All-Stars Podcast. We feature inspirational stories from people who dedicate themselves to helping others. Here is your host, Alan Pavlosky.

Welcome back to the Legacy All-Stars Podcast. Today we celebrate a person who took her most difficult chapters and turned them into a mission that protects others. In 2001, today's guest left a career as a financial analyst in Indonesia and came to the United States chasing job opportunity. One that turned out to be a lie and led her into an experience of exploitation that no one should ever face. What sets Chandra Wawaruntu apart is everything that came after. She helped bring traffickers to justice, then dedicated her life to making sure other survivors never have to navigate that road alone. In 2014, she founded Mentari, an organization that has grown from cooking classes taught out of her own home into a survivor-led network of programs spanning the globe. Chandra's leadership hasn't stopped at direct service. She was appointed by President Obama as the first survivor to serve on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, later served as Commissioner on Human Trafficking for the State of New Jersey, and has chaired the International Survivor of Trafficking Advisory Council to the OSCE, shaping how governments around the world listen to and learn from survivors themselves. Today, she's building her next legacy project, a trauma-informed comic book designed to teach children around the world how to recognize danger and stay safe long before they're ever at risk. Chandra, so good to have you and welcome to Legacy All-Stars.

Thank you, Alan, for welcoming me, and I'm honored to be in this podcast with you.

Well, I am thrilled to have you, and I just really want to make sure our audience gets something out of this and really understands the risks and the opportunities to protect people against human trafficking. Let's just talk first, your path from a career in banking to founding one of the most respected survivor-led organizations in the country is truly remarkable. When did you first realize that you wanted to turn what happened to you into a mission for others?

It was one day that I traveled 2, 3 different states in the United States in one day because of speaking. When I came back, actually, he was my boyfriend. You cannot do this. You need to have something concrete. And then I was thinking, why don't you make a foundation? So at that time, I was very angry with the system. I was upset why this crime getting bigger and No such solid protection to the community. No such solid social services. So with this is, I was thinking, I couldn't sleep. What should I do? I know my voice will make changes, but I want something that is impactful to my community. They are victims and survivors of human trafficking. So I was thinking hard. I didn't get enough housing and then I was homeless and I feel like I need to take the opportunity to enter this network and have a special program that everybody don't have it, which is cooking class. So cooking class, it was the first in the United States specifically designed for human trafficking survivors. And 2014, I didn't have anything, no money. I juggle, I got fired all the time because of— I work, but when my passion raised up, I want to speak. So I educate people, and when I take off day, company didn't like it. So I lost my job. I sacrifice, my children stay with a babysitter. to make sure that my voice will be loud and bold, that people hear. And finally, without money, we established our organization from my dining table. So it was the story.

I mean, that takes so much courage to do that in the face of not having the financial resources. It's just amazing what you were able to do. What was the moment you decided survivors themselves needed to be at the table shaping the solutions?

I learned so much. So maybe, maybe I'm one kind of person that is very critical, outspoken, and bold. So I see that why you always invite people to tell story. Without telling what is the message that you want to give to your audience. We are not entertaining people. So I start thinking that way, and then why are you tokenizing me? I'm not giving my time. I'm not giving my energy for free. Uh-huh. I have to work. I have the kids. I have, I have a family that need food on the table. So I started speaking when they invite me to tell story. Chandra, can you tell story for an hour or 45 minutes? The first, I was angry, and then the second is I changed myself into strategy, which is, okay, how much you want to pay me? So I negotiate, and then what I did, I told my story only the skin. Understanding what is human trafficking through fraud, force, and coercion. And then the rest is my message. My message is more important after they listen to my story. It's not only entertaining, but I want people get out from this room online, they know something, they can share about the education that they listen from me, they learn from me. So I decided to introduce just survival inclusion. Inclusion is not only invite them to speak at the panel keynote, but at the table to design program, policy, regulation, and law. And they supposed to be at the beginning until the end, until the decision maker. What happened until now, they invite survivors and tokenize us, and they just take us at the end. Oh, what do you think about this? And then, oh, this is a survivor input. No, it's not how the way it works. So many times I have to educate the community, stakeholders about what is the right way to say inclusion. So I was honored to sit at the US Council. I was testifying for the law and the law passed and I was appointed and I was like, yes! And at that time, at that time I was thinking, who actually shunned her? And I was in the White House. And I said like, wow, this is something that God put me into a bigger purpose. So I thank God about what happened and then I was appointed into a bigger network, 57 countries supported by 11 countries and make changes on best practices and survivor inclusion shall be enforced to make sure that They practice correctly.

That's so great that you— I mean, it's so great you were able to leverage that and creatively come up with a way to get involved on a level where you were just in demand, so much so that they were including you on the biggest opportunities. That's wonderful. Let's shift gears a little bit and talk about Mentari, because I really want to dive into that. You've built what you call the DREAM model: direct services, resources development, empowerment, advocacy, and mentorship. Tell us how that framework came together.

It came in 3 minutes.

Wow.

The dream came in 3 minutes, Direct Services, because we want to serve them directly. Not they come only, they come to us, but we come to them as a servant because of the situation of trafficking. victims and survivors, sometimes they are hidden. So we went to the street. We go for the outreach and find victims and research them. And then resource development, we design individual and collectively. What is the meaning individual? If they need food, we have to provide food. If they need clothes, we have to provide clothes. Often what I learn, organization or service provider just give, give, give, give, give. It's not efficient and effective. You have to listen what they need instead of you just give. Give, give. Sometimes they overwhelmed and they run away because of this is not what I want. But if we truly listen, we will be able to develop, to design resources for this person so this person will be able to fulfill the need. And then E, empowerment. Empowerment. We need to empower them. From the victim into survivor, and then independent living, and be a good healthy citizen in United States that they can decide what they want. They have choices to choose. And then after that is advocacy. Advocacy means we will fight for them. We will fight for victims and survivors, and we fight for the best practices, also legislation, to make sure that the legislation will benefit victims and survivors of human trafficking. Because many of legislation doesn't benefit us, you know. So I want to make sure the legislation will benefit our population. Because they need to be protected, not the perpetrator to be protected. So this is what we do. And of course, mentorship is— this is breaking down. We mentor them individually and collectively, how they enter into the society. And then from there, we empower them To pick and choose what they want to see in the future, not us. You have to go here. You have to. No, we don't practice that. No, no, no, no, no. I often see. I often know that many organizations forcing the program to make sure everybody go there. No, not us. We empower them through. Choices. We help them to choose with the healthy and safe choices for their life that make sure the future will be bright, and we will work with them as a company and help them to achieve their goal. So this is what we do— empowerment, mentorship. And after this sit in the second level, have the job, solid housing, and then they enjoy their life, we invite them to be a mentee for our new client. So it is tricked down, and then we give opportunity to our client to sit in our— Chair. organization as the advisor, as the board member, as the leadership position, because we believe that they can grow. It will be fruitful for us to have them. So that's why we don't call them survivors. We ask them how we call this individual. Mostly I suggest that we Call them by their name. Example, Paula, Anita. Not, hey, you are my client. We don't call them like this because we respect. Unless for publicity, we protect them through this empowerment system. We have alias, we have many different names that they want. So we discuss with them, are you safe with this? Your name or you want to change your name, if it is dangerous, we mentor them to go to the avenue of changing their name for the safety. And we work with lawyer to make sure they can protect them through their identity. So this is compiling. If the dream come up, everybody will live happily after ever. That's

very comprehensive. I love the fact that you have such an organized system there. I wanted to jump into one other thing, and that is you were appointed by President Obama to the first-ever U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, and then later, of course, became the Commissioner of Human Trafficking for New Jersey. What did that experience teach you about how policy gets made and how survivors can influence it?

First of all, I was invited by the Autre Général in New Jersey to apply to be a commissioner because they saw I was so bold and I was outspoken. When I spoke at Homeland Security about many different things, they found me and I said like, I didn't have citizenship. I said, I'm green card holder. I said, that's okay. So I applied. And then I thought, is this a paid position? And then they said, no. Oh, this is exploitation. I said, this is exploitation. So the agent, the leader from the agency, actually spent her own money to help me to travel New York to New Jersey. And my experience became commissioner was interested. And I was speaking a lot, just gave my idea, like my recommendation. This is the best, this is not the best. And I believe it was impactful because some of the legislation that they have actually formed from the meeting that I have. I felt that, thank God, that my voice was incorporated into the policy. Hmm. I was working so hard for Survivor Empowerment Act with Professor Courtney Smith and also National Survivor Network. And I was chosen to testify at the Senate about policy. I was excited and I just spoke about the policy. This is important to avoid the exploitation by the government, by the organization, by anybody. We need this law. So the law passed and Obama signed, and I was Getting a call from unknown number and I said like, wow, what is this? So I was teaching cooking and then they called me and I was on the phone. We invite you to be a part of the advisory council and then they investigated me. So it was a little bit tough because of the question is really, really— Tough. Like hitting me hard. Do you have babysitter? Yes, I babysit for my son. How much you pay babysitter? I said, I pay one day $30 because of only few hours and I work part-time. And then I said like, I know it is not right, but it is mutual need. Actually, you know, I paid the babysitter is Lower than minimum wage, but it was my ability. So I was so afraid that I will be you know I will be judged because of that. Actually, the interview passed, and I learned something to pay my babysitter properly. And then I still didn't get paid, but they provided. Transportation and hotel accommodation. Because I spoke very hard about paying expertise, not tokenizing. Now the US Advisory Council members get paid.

Nice. It is awesome.

Yeah, thank God that it works well with Our sacrifice, not only me, many survivors that worked for this cause, feels the changes that we made.

That's great. I want to jump into a new project that you're working on. You're developing a trauma-informed comic book to teach children around the world about safety and awareness. What led you to focus on reaching kids specifically at such an early age?

In 2014, it was the start. We developed one comic book with GaussVision. And at that time, I didn't learn about the gamma inform, I didn't learn about sensitivity, I didn't learn about many other things because I was new in this universe. So So we printed 25 copies of comic book and benefited 250,000 people. Wow. And we need a new one because why? Some of the pages in the first comic book They are not trauma-informed. It was graphic. So the second comic book, actually, we planned before the pandemic, but the pandemic, we lost funding. We lost about $200,000 funds, and we decided to hold on. And I say like, now is the time. I said, we cannot delay. Because of now, the technology, the AI take place in children life and so many AI faces, persona, like actor in the porn site, in the CSAM, and in the profile also. They stole the profile and I have to stop this. I cannot delay. And I want to make sure the comic book will be trauma-informed and child-friendly. Educate them to be aware, not to be afraid, but to be aware that people is out there. So be aware, you know what to do when you experience, and you will stay from the dangers because, you know, Alan, they are our future. I am getting old, but the kids will grow up and they will replace our work. They will be our future. And I want to make sure that they are safe and they can live a better life in a safe world. So approaching children is the best solution. Because why? Children is easy to learn. We don't need to talk about the awful human trafficking, but how we empower through the story and they can catch it and say it like, yes, this is bad. I have to make sure. Like we teach some example, don't touch my phone, don't touch my— So it is something that easy song and easy movement for the kids that they will be able to protect themselves. So this is why we decided to develop a new comic book, and we already got calls from Cambodia and Thailand, can we be a part of this network? So first, we just want to have English for America and Canada, and also Indonesia, and Indonesia and Malaysia. But we just got confirmation from organization partner, can we have the comic book in Thai and Cambodian? So I said, oh my gosh, but I need funding. I said, I need funding. So we tried to fund this without bothering our money to specifically develop this, and I am sure that it will be benefiting children and also family. I just feel like kind of this is how do we go. Adults will be educated from the comic book also. When the kids bring back home the comic book, oh, what is this? And then they start learning. And the book will stay there in the library. And we will distribute them for free.

Right, right, right. Well, you know, this is Legacy All-Stars, and I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't talk about legacy a little bit. So looking ahead, what does legacy mean to you? What do you hope this next chapter of prevention work makes possible?

The legacy is not about Shandra. The legacy is about The successful work that I did. My legacy is to create, to develop material that will benefit people and impactful. And also, my legacy is not about my own leadership to find a follower, but how my legacy will attract more survivors to be leaders. And my hope, our prevention, not only from the book, the government through Blue Campaigns, from the United Nations, from all the organizations, from all the governments across the world, make sure the prevention is proactive. And also comprehensive, holistically designed with trauma-informed to make sure people understand and be aware. And I believe the more prevention we do, the more people aware and safe from human trafficking and exploitation.

Wow.

So that's my hope.

That's wonderful. That is a wonderful way to end the show. I'm really excited that you came on the show today. I want to thank you for showing us what it looks like to turn survival into service at the highest levels, from a kitchen table in New York to the White House, State of New Jersey, and the international policy tables around the world. Your commitment to protecting the next generation before harm ever happens is one of the clearest examples of legacy we've featured on this show. For our listeners, we'll include links to Mentari so you can learn more about their work and how your organization or community can get involved. I'm Alan Pavlosky, signing off for Legacy All-Stars.