To set the oppressed free

An interactive theatre is providing an opportunity for participants to briefly experience the situation facing many hidden people across the world.  

People who become victims of human trafficking are often vulnerable — usually those without the necessary government or social support needed to survive. Global Experience was created to bring awareness to various types of needs around the world, with human trafficking being one of them.

Kara Junck (USA), Global Experience Director, said, "We use interactive theatre to recreate these different situations of world needs and we put people into those situations for a short period of time so they can live it for themselves.

“We find that doing this helps people to understand what it's like to live in those situations. We find that when they experience it with both their heads and their hearts they're often more deeply impacted and more motivated to want to do something about it and to get involved.  

“We've had actually really positive reactions. We've had people come to us and say: ‘You know you've opened my eyes. I thought I knew what trafficking was, but this has shown me what it's really like.’ We've had people who actually work in the anti-trafficking field come to us and say: 'This is this is the work that I do. But you've helped me understand better those I serve.’

“So Global Experience exists to help people understand the needs of the world and God's heart to reach into those needs and to show His love by giving whatever is needed in that situation. But we do it in a very unique way.”

Immersive experience

The simulation takes place in a custom-built set. On arrival, participants are told that they are part of a family experiencing financial difficulties, for example, due to a flood destroying their farm, or a sick grandmother who desperately needs medication.  

Participants are told that in their current circumstances, they can not afford to pay for everything they need. Enter in 'The Company' promising high wages and the ability to reach their financial goal in a short period of time.  

“The Company is a high-end luxury jewellery company and there are three different departments in the company which represent different phases of jewellery making,” Kara explained.

“The first is the mining department, where they mine for the gold. The second is the production department where they put the bracelets together. Then third is the sales department, where they cater to VIP clients and try to make a sale, sometimes resorting to less-than-appropriate methods to make those sales. Participants get into their roles and they stay in one department the entire time that they're in the simulation.

“But they realise when they get there that the work is not what they thought it was and they're being spoken to very harshly, treated very badly. They see colleagues being treated badly and they realise that they’re trapped. When they get to payday, they realise they're not making the amount of money they were promised. And so suddenly the dream has become a nightmare right in front of their faces."

The simulation runs for 45 minutes, and even though it is hard to go through, the team makes every effort to make it emotionally and physically safe for all participants and is followed by a debriefing. "This is the most important part of the simulation and gives people time to process what they went through and decompress because it's not easy to go through our simulations,” Kara said. “We help people see what's happening in the real world with regards to that situation, and how God wants to enter into those places and bring His hope and His life to those situations that are often very dark.”

Participants receive information about OM and local anti-trafficking organisations and learn how they can be part of the solution.  

“The Lord's hand has been all over this,” Kara said. “His heart breaks for trafficking. I think it is probably one of the worst things that one human can do to another. He came to set the captives free and human trafficking is definitely captivity that He wants to break.“

Travelling roadshow

The project has taken three years to come to fruition, and Kara hopes it will be the first of several experiences covering a range of different issues and topics. Up to 100 people can go through the simulation at a time, and, although the team is based in Athens, Greece, it has been designed so that it can be used anywhere around the world.  

The team has prepared two versions of the simulation — a larger, more immersive version with a full set, and a ‘suitcase version’ that packs into a few suitcases and can be carried as excess baggage on flights. Both versions are available to travel all over the world.

Participant quotes

“I enjoyed being given the information about human trafficking. I was aware of trafficking, but not how to stop it. This was an informative experience.” (New York, October 2021)

“This experience was very well done. It helps bring the issue to the point of trying to do something to help in God’s strength.” (New York, October 2021)

“I really enjoyed the new perspective it gave. The realness of the actions and the words spoken to us added to the experience. I have such a new sense of empathy and understanding….This was an unforgettable experience that has definitely helped open my eyes.” (Athens, May 2023)

To enquire about Global Experience email:

Please pray for more team members, from creatives to administrators. Pray for funding to be able to take the experience around the world and to be able to support clients as they run it. Pray also for wisdom and sensitivity to the Lord's voice.