How does an individual change the world?

“I’m selfish,” said Linda Drazkowski, a housewife and mother of two who moved to Clearwater 12 years ago with her husband, Michael, a real estate developer. They wanted to be near the Church of Scientology international retreat in downtown Clearwater.

But selfishness takes on a bit of a different meaning when you look at Linda’s daily life. She cleans her house, does laundry, and drives her kids to ballet class or skating or to visit their friends. She also traveled to Haiti to help educate children about their Human Rights, figures out ways to distribute necklaces in the USA made by Uganda former child soldiers who were brutalized by war, and has written a play based on Cinderella to educate children on the right to be free from slavery.

Why Cinderella?

Linda explains that there are two sides to human slave trafficking. The supply side and the demand side.

The supply side – criminals who kidnap, enslave, and prostitute out their captives – is handled by law enforcement. But the demand side – those who would use the enslaved prostitutes or child laborers who are not paid, like Cinderella – can be battled by education on human rights starting from a young age.

The prime target ages for human trafficking is 12-15 years old. So Linda wants to use her Cinderella play to educate children about human slavery before they hit those most vulnerable years. The plan is for the play to be shown at church groups, schools and in theaters.

“When you educate kids that slavery is not acceptable, that people cannot be owned, when they learn their own rights, they not only stand up for their own rights, they also stand of for the rights of others,” Linda said.

Linda is the Founder and President of the Human Rights Group, Inc., a Clearwater-based group committed to human rights awareness. Besides being a mom and wife, she has made a career as a volunteer, networking with and doing what she can to facilitate many human rights advocacy groups such as Youth for Human Rights, Community Tampa Bay, the Florida Coalition Against Human Slavery and the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope.

"I was ignorant of human rights until Linda made me aware. Now I am a soldier for human rights,” said James Evans, Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope. "She displays a sense of humility that compels you to get involved."

So Linda has no hesitation in proclaiming that she is selfish. Her commitment to human rights is very personal, as is her drive to increase awareness of human rights violations and elicit help to eradicate them.

“This is my world and I don’t want to see it blow up or people treated badly,” she claims. “I want my world to be filled with people who treat each other with respect. That’s the kind of world I want for my children. This is an activity about mankind. It takes all of us as individuals to change the world. You can’t just say everyone else is going to do it.”

To find out more about the many ways you too can be selfish, contact the Human Rights Group at ……