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BEHIND THE STRIPES

Maanya Madan

By Atlanta United FC

March 16^th, 2022

March 16 is a date that Maanya Madan and the students of Atlanta International School (AIS) circle on their calendars each year.

It isn’t prom night, midterm exams, or the birthday of her favorite Atlanta United player–though that day may be circled, as well. It’s much bigger than all those things.

Since enrolling at AIS in 7th grade, Maanya has been involved in the fight against human trafficking. March 16, also known as #MyFreedomDay, has become synonymous with the school and within her community. It has also become synonymous with her.

“Every year on #MyFreedomDay, we would see the big things that the group was doing,” Maanya said.

For over a decade, that group–AIS Against Human Trafficking–has been working with local organizations, as well as a global network of student-activists, to end human trafficking. #MyFreedomDay, which started in 2011 as a part of CNN’s My Freedom Project, has been a focal point for that work.

It’s a day of action in which schools and organizations band together to shine a light on the many forms of modern-day slavery that take place around the world and in our own backyards.

AIS Against Human Trafficking is a high school group, but each year, the students enlist the help of the entire K-12 student body to not only learn about the issue themselves, but also to educate their parents and teachers, as well.

Maanya recalls her first #MyFreedomDay vividly. She and the rest of the school participated in several activities to inform the them about the scale of human trafficking and what preventing it looks like in practice, from spotting the signs to knowing the hotline to contact when someone, or you yourself, is in danger.

After that, she remembers walking out to the soccer field with hundreds of other students.

“Everyone spelled out #MyFreedomDay, which is a picture that you see a lot if you just search up #MyFreedomDay,” she said.

By 9th grade, Maanya was not only ready to join the group, but be a leading voice for change.

“She brought a bunch of kids to the meeting, and they’ve all stayed, just to give a sense of Maanya’s leadership role,” said Veronica McDaniel, the group’s faculty leader.

Maanya’s first #MyFreedomDay as a member of the group was in March of 2020.

“That #MyFreedomDay,” McDaniel remembers, “was the day the World Health Organization declared that we were in a pandemic. So, we remember that day really well for that reason.”

But she also remembers it well because of the poise Maanya showed that day. She and a few of her classmates did a live interview on CNN International, explaining what freedom meant to them and their reasons for joining AIS Against Human Trafficking.

“Today’s a day to understand all of the things that are going on in the world,” Maanya told CNN International’s Lynda Kinkade in 2020–sporting her Atlanta United jersey as she often does.

“She was always really courageous and confident as a freshman,” McDaniel said. “As a junior, she’s not only found her voice, but she’s commanding the room in every meeting.”

Maanya’s peers voted unanimously to make her junior leader of the group. With that comes the duty of reaching out to advocacy organizations like Street Grace and YouthSpark, other local and international student groups and the AIS faculty to help bring the group’s robust plans to life.

“We started sticking to a theme for every #MyFreedomDay because there are so many forms of human trafficking,” Maanya explained. “So this year, we focused on fair trade and raising more awareness about the different kinds of products that are fair trade and those that are not and the importance of using products that are fair trade.”

2022 #MyFreedomDay at AIS will begin with a virtual discussion with other schools, learning how AIS Against Human Trafficking can get involved in the fight beyond Atlanta, where anti-human trafficking messaging has become increasingly part of public discourse. After that, Maanya said they have a scavenger hunt planned, so that students can learn small facts and information in an active exercise. Then, they’ll cap things off with a fair-trade fair.

As one of the leading anti-human trafficking student groups, other schools have often turned to AIS Against Human Trafficking for guidance.

“A lot of schools have reached back out about the training and asked how they can apply it in the same way,” Maanya said. “We've been having calls over the past couple weeks with different schools, exchanging our #MyFreedomDay plans. I think one of the things that we were able to bring to them was making sure that we are raising awareness in a way that people can apply what they’re learning.”

The work, however, extends much further than just this one day. “Recently, we did a training with our 11th graders... just basic things that you should know about human trafficking and the signs of it, for example vetting job proposals to make sure it’s real,” Maanya said.

On Sunday, Maanya and AIS Against Human Trafficking partnered with Atlanta United’s Supporter Groups and local anti-human trafficking advocacy groups to raise awareness ahead of the club’s inaugural match against Charlotte FC.

After providing educational materials to fans on ways to get involved on #MyFreedomDay, Maanya was recognized as the club’s Honorary Captain for her outstanding work, a moment that meant a great deal to her and her family who have supported Atlanta United since Day 1.

“The first time it was announced that Atlanta was possibly getting a soccer team, my dad and I went insane and bought season tickets immediately,” Maanya said. “Just the environment of being in the stadium and being around everyone and the way you can easily connect with other people who are Atlanta United fans is just amazing.”

You can take a stand alongside Maanya by taking the #MyFreedomDay pledge.

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