Krispy Kreme Applies Blue Ocean Strategy

It has been seven years since W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne came out with a book called The Blue Ocean Strategy.  In the Philippines, it is still relatively new.

It is rather odd that a few companies have invested in adopting a strategy that would allow them to get out of a situation where many businesses are competing in the same market with very similar products, where profits are eaten up by the costs of competition.  This situation is called a Red Ocean.

In their book, Kim and Mauborgne  chart out in detail how businesses can achieve high growth and profits by creating new demand in an uncontested market space, or a “Blue Ocean”, rather than by competing head-to-head with other suppliers for known customers in an existing industry.

Most would think that applying Blue Ocean Strategy would mean creating a new product or finding a new market — activities which could be as costly or even more costly than head-to-head competition.  But this is not the case.

John Baybay, the senior strategy consultant and Blue Ocean Strategy expert of Impetus, describes how Krispy Kreme applied this business strategy and came out on top without having to come out with a new product or engage in different market:

While others try to compete with the closest competitors, it begs to ask: “Are we really in the business to make the best donuts? Knowing that we already make the best donuts, do we even stop there?” The answer for Krispy Kreme Philippines is a loud and resounding NO!

This focus on the big picture demonstrates how Krispy Kreme has adapted the principles and practice behind Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS). It started with the awakening that they are not competing with competitors drawn along similar categories (where their brand simply leads), but rather on alternatives. Rather than focusing on core donut users, they took a broader look into analyzing the non-customer’s perspective. Key managers took to the field to gather insights from other establishments that their industry would not consider as competition; here they realize that they are simply not competing for a larger share of a segment but rather competing for everyone else’s share of time and wallet.

With this perspective they learned that there is a large and uncontested market out there that their industry simply ignores and now has become the subject of courting.

Instead of bringing emphasis on internal processes, they turned their attention towards the actual Human Experience. Using tools such as the Buyer Experience Cycle and the Buyer Utility Map (BEC/BUM)**, managers were able to empathize with what is going on with the customer Before, During and After the use of their service offering. This developed a greater sense of empathy for their customers. Also by using the Buyer Utility Map, their managers were able to identify customer problems even before they happen.

While many companies are familiar with Blue Ocean Strategy, there still remains a misconception that BOS is about abandoning everything that we are doing now for something totally new and untested. The case proves however that BOS is a matter of changing the perspective away from competition towards things that create true value back to the customers (both existing and future customers). By using tractable tools and frameworks, managers are awakened towards a bigger picture of opportunity and an in-depth understanding of customer needs.

But how exactly did Krispy Kreme make long standing and well known donut brands in the Philippines irrelevant through its adoption of Blue Ocean Strategy?

Well, that’s something you have to hear John talk about and you can reach him by clicking “here”

“We are facing ever-increasing competition, and we have to reduce our prices and increase our advertising just to keep up.”

The Philippine business environment is characterized by something which is playfully referred to as the “Shawarma Effect”: Back in the mid-1990’s, “shawarma” (the Filipino version bears only a passing resemblance to the Levantine original) became a popular snack and shawarma stalls sprouted like mushrooms all across the country.

The fad is repeated every few months or so when new ideas hit the marketplace and is not necessarily limited to the lower, consumer end of the business spectrum; while micro- and small-business entrepreneurs play “monkey see, monkey do” with neighborhood convenience stores or the latest food or style fads, big businesses do the same thing with real estate development, transportation, and media and telecommunications.

Red Ocean, actually, is a term often used in articles on Blue Ocean Strategy and the way out of it is, basically, for companies to make “competition irrelevant” through innovation.

While innovation has been seen as a random/experimental process where entrepreneurs and spin-offs are the primary drivers – as argued by Schumpeter and his followers – BOS offers systematic and reproducible methodologies and processes in pursuit of blue oceans by both new and existing firms

If you want to learn more about Blue Ocean Strategy, one company that can help is Impetus — a company known for its bold brand of management seminar workshops “Playful Intellection”.

Consultants are Impetus can be reached for free consultation through their web site here.

(For the full transcript, go to Gelo Lopez’s blog.)

First of all, let’s state the obvious. Revillame had every right to say whatever he felt he should say to defend himself. No problem there. We are all just exercising our rights to speak out.

On the matter of whether or not Revillame’s rant held valid points, well, that would entail a bit more analysis. If we are to listen carefully to his statement what he said can be broken down as follows:

• I have done nothing wrong.
• This is the handiwork of those who want to put me down specifically ABS-CBN.
• I can afford to retire from the industry. It is my followers and my staff in the show who stand to lose if I go off the air.
• I have been doing a lot of charitable works. Have my detractors done the same?

Let’s dissect these one by one.

I have done nothing wrong.

It really is debatable if Revillame did or did not commit child abuse. As far as I’m concerned that is an issue best left sorted out in a court of law. In case you want an intelligent argument against the accusation, you can find one over at Indolent Indio.

I can understand Revillame’s insistence that he committed nothing wrong. The main accusation, which has become the major basis for the current indignation bandwagon, is child abuse. It would be utterly stupid of him not to react to that.

However, I feel Revillame is deliberately avoiding one other issue, for which he is clearly guilty without question. I suspect he himself knows this. I’m talking about his apparent lack of good judgment and responsibility as an influential media personality. As was pointed out in my first blogpost about this issue:

It could have passed off as nothing serious, but Revillame’s misplaced thinking that it was cute of him to have the little boy repeat the performance over and over again clearly showed an absence of good judgment on his part.

As it is, Revillame seems to be glossing over this particular issue. It’s simply not correct of him to say that he did nothing wrong.

This is the handiwork of those who want to put me down specifically ABS-CBN.

I don’t know if this whole thing was started by ABS-CBN or any specific group that has for its main goal the downfall of Willie Revillame. What I do know that I’m very sure of is that not everyone who expressed indignation over this issue is affiliated with ABS-CBN or any anti-Willie group.

I can only speak for myself. As a blogger, one of my advocacies has always been to get media to shape up. In fact, as early as the May 2010 elections, I have been writing about what I believe to be Philippine media’s tendency to make dumb people out of Filipinos.

It is actually quite dishonest of Revillame to make this out as nothing more than a concerted effort by groups with vested interests to bring him down. It is not.

Now in fairness to Revillame, it is possible that ABS-CBN is now riding on the issue. Well, I think Revillame shouldn’t worry about that too much. If ABS-CBN wants to get involved then so be it. The truth is ABS-CBN does have a lot to do with this issue considering the kind of crap programming it has been serving the Filipino people for some time now. Let’s not forget also that Revillame is largely an ABS-CBN creation.

Again, this issue is not just about the alleged child abuse. It is also about media responsibility, a fact that even TV5′s president Ray Espinosa and consumer goods company Unilever acknowledged.

1) To temporarily suspend effective Monday, April 11, 2011, our participation in all reality-based live game shows across all networks. This measure will be in place until we observe stricter and objective self-regulatory guidelines across networks and proper enforcement by the relevant government agencies of existing content regulations.

I think Revillame said it perfectly.

Kung sususpindihin niyo kami, suspindihin ninyong lahat yan.

I can afford to retire from the industry. It is my followers and my staff in the show who stand to lose if I go off the air.

There’s no denying the fact that Revillame is a very rich man. I can imagine that he can very well not do anything related to work anymore yet he’d still be comfortable many times over.

He does have a point when he said it is those in his production staff who stand to lose in case his show is taken off the air. I can’t say the same about his viewers though.

Contrary to what Revillame has been saying all these years, his program is not a public service endeavor. Just think about it. Of the hundreds if not thousands of people who line up to be part of his program’s live studio audience, how many of them really get money from Revillame? How much on average do they get? Is money distributed to them automatically or does it happen under some random or whimsical selection process?

Let’s acknowledge the fact that for the poor, the demographic which Revillame claims to be the main “beneficiary” of his program, a few thousand pesos is a big deal. Still, are they really being helped by this dole-out set up being promoted by Revillame?

Now assuming that Revillame is indeed doing a lot of good for his staff and his followers, doesn’t it then become more important for him to be more responsible and to keep out of trouble so he can continue his good deeds?

Revillame shouldn’t be blaming anyone for putting his program in danger of being taken off the air temporarily or permanently. He could have avoided this.

I have been doing a lot of charitable works. Have my detractors done the same?

It might seem a distasteful assertion to some, including myself, but it cannot be denied that Revillame raised a valid point. But what Revillame failed to realize is that if being charitable comes to him naturally then it shouldn’t matter whether or not his program exists. If he has the means and he feels like doing it then he can continue using his wealth to help others. It’s as simple as that.

Well, okay, let’s acknowledge that fact that Revillame was just so offended he felt compelled to get back at his detractors specifically those among his colleagues in the industry. Again that is his right.

I now wonder what Jim Paredes, Aiza Seguerra, Agot Isidro and the others that Revillame identified have to say about that.

PinoyBuzz wrote something interesting in his article Willing Revillame Goes On Leave After Advertisers Pull-Out.

But, what I do hope for is that the outrage movement that was sparked by the sexually suggestive dancing of a six year old didn’t come to be just because of a shared hatred for Willy Revillame.

Indeed, this whole indignation bandwagon should be motivated by something bigger than mere contempt for Revillame. The television host is just one person. There are much bigger fish to fry such as the whole broadcasting industry.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Revillame continue his work as a television host as long as he makes some major adjustments. I sincerely hope he would spend the next two weeks in serious reflection. He already has the influence. He might as well use that for something that would benefit an even bigger number of people in ways that go beyond providing a diversion and a few thousand pesos that wouldn’t even last a week.

Here’s a portion of Willy Revillame’s monologue:

Ngayon po, nakipagusap po ako sa presidente ng  TV5, Atty Rey Espinosa. Nagusap kami na hanggang ngayon na lang po ako sa Willing Willie. Magpapahinga na muna po ako, hindi po ako magpapaalam. Starting po today ang live namin , bukas ho nakatape na po kami. Lalabas ho yon mapapanood niyo. Starting ho ng Monday hanggang Holy Week, pagiisipan ko ho kung ako po ay babalik pa sa industriyang ito. Bigyan niyo lang po muna ako ngpagkakataon sa sarili ko. Masyado ho akong binintangan ng binintangan ng wala ho akong ginawang masama sa akin. Sa mga tao hong gumawa niyan sa aki, ang isipin niyo yung mga matanda na nasa labas, mga bata, mga mahihirap sa labas. Wag ako. Instrumento lang ako ng mga tao. Wag niyo akong kainggitan dahil hindi ako lumalabas ng ibang lugar. Lagi lang ako nandito sa studio na to sa bahay ko o nakikipagpaligsahan sa inyo. Kung kayo ang magaling, magaling kayo. Basta ang puso ko, nandito sa mga mahihirap.

Willy Revillame goes on leave after advertiser pull-out

Somewhere in the monologue, Willy Revillame threatened to sue all those who bashed him on twitter.

Tsaka yung mga tumitira sa akin sa twitter., kung idedemanda ka ng TV5, idedemanda rin kita. Magdedemandahan tayo. Idedemanda ko lahat ng tumira sa akin sa Twitter, lahat ng personal. Tandaan nyo yan.

The monologue, or rant, came after more advertisers announced that they would be suspending advertising on the program.

There’s some rah-rahing going on because it would seem that the movement to chastise Willy Revillame has succeeded in certain respects.

I don’t know if anybody has started printing a shirt that says “In my country, everyone is a hero” (a reference to the hurrah-for-me-I-am-a-hero-for-tweeting-blogging about Ondoy).  But I do hope no one attempts to “brand” the movement as his or hers and then tries to sell his expertise at creating massive online movements (a reference to Big Bad Bloggers and fake digital PR God-men/shamans).

Then again, if we are to take the point of view that the online campaign sparked by the sexually suggestive dancing of a six year old on Willing Willy has succeeded, I’d like to ask: How exactly did it succeed?

Is it because the letter writing campaign to advertisers and government agencies resulted in the advertising pull out?  Is it because Willy Revillame, in a way, acknowledged that he is vulnerable to an advertising pull-out?  Is it because, also, that advertisers have responded in the way that they have?

I really have no way to gauge if any of the answers we can give to these questions are going to be right or wrong.

But, what I do hope for is that the outrage movement that was sparked by the sexually suggestive dancing of a six year old didn’t come to be just because of a shared hatred for Willy Revillame.

I hope that, finally, those who know better are actually going out of their way and teaching those who don’t know better that it isn’t all right to be treated crudely in exchange for a few thousand pesos… that decency should be a hallmark of all TV shows… that pandering to base and vulgar tastes shouldn’t be the norm for marketing TV shows…

More importantly, that the media industry here in the Philippines should LIFT people up, rather than, as Willy Revillame says, dragging them down.

Two or three weeks ago, I caught the beginnings of what would turnout to be a fairly large online outrage movement over the sexually suggestive dance number of a six year old in the TV Show “Willing Willy”.  Even at this early stage, there were already suggestions to write the advertisers of Willing Willie to express disgust over what would later be alleged as child abuse and lack of media responsibility.

Having been in touch with Mr. Macapagal since last year, I sent him a text message about the incident on Willing Willy and he responded saying that Unielver was already acting on the matter.

Yesterday Mr. Macapagal asked me to come over to Unilever Philippines to sit in a special briefing with members of Para Kay Jan-Jan (Shame on You Willie) Peachy and Froilan. In that special briefing, Mr. Macapagal appraised us of Unilever’s statement on its sponsorship on Live Game Shows.

Below is the full text of Unilever’s Statement:

8th April 2011

Press Release: Unilever’s Sponsorship on Live Game Shows

This is to make public a set of actions taken by Unilever Philippines after an incident in a popular TV show a few weeks ago.  The incident features a 6 year old boy doing a dance number as part of a reality game show.

We recognized that this incident has drawn mixed reactions from different sectors in the society.

In Unilever Philippines’ view, it was a serious incident and as a result, we actred by immediately engaging the network authorities, expressing our serious concern and demanded assurance that similar incidents would not happen again.

TV 5, the network, has apologized to us and committed to a series of “self-regulation” measures including the appointment of an internal ombudsman to supervise stricter program guidelines and impose a moratorium on the presence of kids in their live reality shows until a complete investigation is finished.  This seems to have been validated by MTRCB as per article published in Philippine Daily Inquirer on April 6, 2011, Page F3.

We see all these actiosn as positive steps, but we also look forward with great interest to the prospect of MTRCB strengthening regulations on content across all live game shows and making clear the potential sanctions for erring programs.

In support of the above, Unilever Philippines has decided:

1) To temporarily suspend effective Monday, April 11, 2011, our participation in all reality-based live game shows across all networks.  This measure will be in place until we observe stricter and objective self-regulatory guidelines across networks and proper enforcement by the relevant government agencies of existing content regulations.

2. We actively seek for PANA’s (Philippine Association of National Advertisers) involvement and leadership to help the networks develop a strict and consistent self-regulatory framework. We expect this to be in place no later than on month.

3. In all these, Unilever Philippines’ actions are oriented to:

a. protect the rights of contestants (especially women and children),

b. provide responsible content for TV viewers, and

c. ensure a safe communication environment for sponsors and brands.

With these actions, we expect something good will come out of this incident.

Unilever Philippines will continue to positively influence the media landscape and work on strengthening our long-standing successful partnership with all TV networks.

Chito Macapagal

VP for Corporate Affairs

There are some companies actively targeting the youth market. Visit their offices and you will see that most of the people attending their seminars are kids as young as 16 years old.

Starting kids early in business is good but there’s a problem in this particular situation. What if the companies I described above are actually engaged in an unethical and possibly illegal scheme?

On the surface, the marketing approach of these companies seem harmless. They market to kids specifically college students because they see this demographic as “hyperactive.” According to their analysis of the market, college-level kids are the best group to market to because they spread information fast and they are very interested in making extra money.

I’m not buying it. I can see there’s something devious going on here. In my opinion, these companies are actually exploiting the fact that kids are much easier to convince with promises of easy cash. In short, these companies are out to dupe these kids.

I would suggest that the parents of these kids find time to help their children figure out what’s going on.

I’ve checked out these companies and I saw a number of red flags. For starters, their products are overpriced and their starter kits are padded to compensate for headhunting fees.

I’m confident an honest-to-goodness review of these companies’ operations would support my assessment. Unfortunately, until such a review is conducted these companies would just continue to operate.

A CALL TO MY FELLOW ARTISTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
by Monique Wilson on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:12am

The debate is no longer whether it was child abuse or not. The facts are plain to see. No one with a sense of respect for another human being can dispute that. The discourse now is how we, as Filipinos, as artists involved in the same industry that created Willy and shows like his, could have allowed this to go on for as long as it has. And what is our individual and collective participation in it?

Let’s talk honestly about our TV networks. The culprit now is TV5 – with its’ blatant lack of decency by even hiring someone like Willy Revillame – a callous, insensitive individual who preys on the needs of poor, uneducated Filipinos. They hired him for ratings and money at the expense of the integrity, dignity and self-respect of the most vulnerable in our society. Now wasn’t channel 2 guilty of the very same thing? Let’s observe very closely many other game shows and reality shows across all the networks – can we not deduce very overt similarities? That networks are propelled by greed – ratings, money? Is there really, in all honesty, a local network, that can claim they put human values above all that? I don’t think so. I turn on the television to watch local shows and I feel uncomfortable. We have news reports that are horrifyingly biased and sensationalist, we have noon- time variety shows that exploit women and insult our intelligence, we have talk shows that are intrusive, subjective and tasteless – the list goes on and on. I am not saying, of course, that all shows fall beneath our standards of human decency – there are some TV shows that go against the grain, break the boundaries and give us quality – but they are so few. Even how the networks create the demarcation lines – A and B for middle and upper class, C and D for lower class? What kind of senseless segregating is that? It’s like saying, depending on what “class” you belong to, you cannot “appreciate” certain kinds of shows. This insults me as it should insult everybody. This is one of the roots of the problem. ALL our TV networks dumb down audiences in one way or the other. They keep the lines segregated. TV, like any other cultural form – and let’s face it, TV has become our common culture in the Philippines – should be used to EDUCATE, EMPOWER, INSPIRE, AWAKEN. But when you see shows like “Willing Willie” – and many other similar shows – they do the opposite. They dumb down audiences. They disempower them by creating a mendicant society with game shows that promise “quick money”. They keep them dependent on hand- outs, instead of creating opportunities for them to build skills. There is nothing inspiring about this.

And now, we can all rant and rave, but unless we do something concrete about our rage – we will just be passive bystanders. Sometimes it does seem insurmountable and overwhelming because the problem is huge. But we can play our part. We can do just ONE thing. That is better than doing nothing at all. Whether that be creating an online petition to deliver to TV5, CRH or DSWD, or whether we boycott the sponsors of the show/s, or write letters to all our newspapers, or make your voices heard with your local congress representatives and let them know this is unacceptable to you. I think we all need to take a good, long, hard look at our local shows – and if we feel they exploit our fellow Filipinos, whether they be children or women – then we MUST boycott the sponsors that enable them. Boycotts are effective. They hit where it has a tangible monetary, economic effect. That is how apartheid South Africa crumbled. That is what is supporting the Palestinians right to self-determination with the BDS campaign now. In the process we need to look at what we ourselves value. If we expect people to treat us with respect, decency, integrity and dignity – we must INSIST and DEMAND that everyone else should be treated in the same way. And as artists, our responsibility is GREATER. We are part of this problem. When we remain silent, we allow this to continue. When we turn a blind eye, our apathy also abuses the vulnerable in our society. When we don’t demand artistic excellence in our fields and settle for mediocre entertainment, we are just as bad as the networks who just do things for profit. As artists, we must REFUSE to play. We must DEMAND more from our industry.

So this is a call to my fellow artists from television, film and theatre. Please let your voices be heard. Don’t sit on the fence because you fear you won’t be given work. It is this fear that networks also rely on to keep their machineries in place – machineries that not only lack some very basic human values, but also aesthetics. We keep saying Filipinos artists are world class – well let’s prove it now. There are international standards we must insist on when it comes to our local entertainment industry – film, theatre, tv, etc – why should we settle for anything less? We are part of the creation of our artistic culture – we must protect it and demand more for it. We must not allow it to be used for the continued exploitation of our fellow Filipinos.

Art and culture have value in our society.

They awaken minds

They nurture thought

They inspire courage

They open up compassion

They give us possibilities

They excavate the texture of humanity

They teach us humility and love

They open paths

They give us freedom to explore

They teach us how to listen

They keep us connected

They allow us to take in

They teach us to be involved

to defy

to demand

to be full

to live

to stay awake

to be present…..in the moment.

But most of all

They demand that we SERVE.

So please don’t waste these possibilities with your silence.

That’s how you get out of trouble when you’re in a country where STUPID rules. Just appeal to the lowest sensibilities. That’s what Willie Revillame did, no doubt about it. And as before, he depicted himself again as a victim.

What Willie clearly did — probably on the advice of some crisis management expert — was to let the blame shift from himself to the father.

The sad thing is a lot of people bought this sorry excuse for an apology.

It’s clear now. Willie is God. The god of a clueless nation.

It may be difficult to establish a clear correlation between many of our country’s ills and the influence of broadcast media especially television, but it’s quite clear even to the casual observer that most TV programs today do not promote proper values and that can certainly pose a problem down the road.

Take the case of the ever-popular show of Willie Revillame. What does it provide its viewers, really? Obviously, it’s all entertainment.

Now the problem isn’t so much that Willing Willie showcases nothing but entertainment. People do need the occasional diversion from life’s more serious aspects. The problem really is the crassness of it all.

Of course, those who enjoy this type of entertainment could easily argue that there are all kinds of entertainment. There’s high brow like ballet, theater and classical music and there’s the more pedestrian ones like game shows, reality shows, and showbiz gossip programs. Different products for different markets. Fair enough.

The problem really is when the medium becomes dominated — in terms of number and prominence — by programs that offer no real value to the public. Just check how many educational programs there are compared with the number of Willing Willie-style variety shows, telenovelas and showbiz talk shows. The difference is quite glaring. Consider too that even local TV news and so-called current affairs and public service shows are also becoming more showbizy by the minute as special emphasis is now being given more to sob stories and feel-good dramatics rather than real, useful information.

The concerned TV networks should really take a step back and reassess their purpose and role in our society. Are they here to turn us into smarter, thinking people or are they here to make us dumb? Are they going to raise the bar or are they going to lower it even further?

The answer to that last question is actually quite obvious. Just consider the latest booboo involving the 6-year old boy named Jan-Jan who was repeatedly made to perform a dance that is quite questionable as a talent showcase for a child.

It could have passed off as nothing serious, but Revillame’s misplaced thinking that it was cute of him to have the little boy repeat the performance over and over again clearly showed an absence of good judgment on his part. As expected, not a few people were compelled to raise a howl over the whole thing.

It can be assumed that the local TV industry is made up of adults so there’s probably no more need to elaborate on why this Jan-Jan controversy should prompt its executives to rethink what they’re doing. In case they still fail to realize what’s wrong, the following video should help them figure it out.

(There was an embedded video here, but the one who uploaded it on YouTube has changed the settings to private. The video showed an adult teaching two children how to gyrate like Jan-Jan. That video was embedded here to stress the point that unacceptable behavior shown on TV are emulated by some people, both by children and adults.)

Now, do we even need to wonder why even Jan-Jan’s family didn’t feel offended by any of this?

(Update: Willie Revillame issued an “apology” last night. Click on the link to see the video.)

Support Zonta Club of Makati Ayala and The Visayan Forum THE RUN AGAINST TRAFFICKING Race Sunday, 13 MARCH 2011 1K, 3K, 5K, 10K McKinley Hill, Taguig City Assembly 5:00 AM Gun Start 5:50AM Registration Sites: R.O.X and Chris Sports For more info call: Ida Ayesa 0916-418-7257

Over the past year, I’ve seen all sorts of races being run for all sorts of causes and while I generally brush off these events as gimmickry or as a poor substitute to direct action.

I am not a big fan of big showy, celebrity driven calls for mass actions that get blasted on TV, Radio, and Print.  It’s the Holden Caulfield in me that gets me snarking about such ‘events’.

However my almost automatic prejudgment of  ’events for a cause’ was challenged last week after meeting Vicki Abaraham, President of Zonta Club of Makati Ayala.

A mutual friend introduced me to Vicki  at a coffee shop at Rockwell and that’s when she started telling me about “The Run Against Trafficking” race being organized by the Zonta Club of Makati Ayala and Visayan Foundation Forum.

One of the things she told me that kinda struck me is this, “It seems a lot of people don’t give a second thought about saving whales or saving rain forests, but few people are raising a fuss about saving people.”

Right now, thousands of Filipinos are caught in a bad jam in Libya and the government is straining to find ways of evacuating them from the terrible mess.

The thing is, in other parts of the world, there are Filipinos that are suffering as unwilling workers in the sex trade, abused domestic and factory workers, or unsuspecting pawns in the drug trade.

Before I could blurt out that most of the Filipinos who leave the country under dubious circumstances probably deserve what they are getting, Vicki told me of the story of a three year old Filipina child who was recovered from Africa where she was made into a sex slave.

A three year old child!  I mean, how could a three year old kid even know under what circumstances she was being taken out of the country?!!

That really got me riled up and what is even more shocking are the statistics: “at least 400,000 women and at least 100,000 children victims of exploitation”

Anyway, all things considered, what Vicki told me was enough to get me to sign up for “The Zonta Rat Race” and help in building up awareness as well as encourage more action against the $32 Billion illegal trade.