A Word From Our Founder

In 2012 God blessed me with a call on my life to organize, establish, and bridge the ministry of the CT Church to the anti-trafficking movement. Not knowing anything about human trafficking or how I could do this work, God assured me He would lead me, and I heard & recorded these instructions from the Lord on August 25, 2012:

The little list below provided 10 years of guidelines for us to follow in developing a Christ-centered offering for the anti-trafficking field. It is only by the grace of God and to His glory that these assignments have been completed.

As it is now, UGNE has solidified a vision for our work; we have prayed since 2012 for all aspects of the anti-trafficking movement and especially for victims and survivors’ freedom; CT churches are well engaged in ministry to victims & serving the State Agencies of CT; there are two safe homes in CT & UGNE developed independent living through the Mentor Program where survivors are standing in freedom; and finally, UGNE provides job opportunities for survivors to advocate on platforms, train leaders and law enforcement, and professionally mentor victims who are seeking to exit exploitative environments.

Leading the Underground has been one of the best experiences of my lifetime as there is nothing like watching the movement of God. I believe in what the Underground NE stands for: bringing light and hope into dark and broken places. I believe in the power of the Church and in the power of the collective stakeholders and that when we raise our voice as one, we can create change. And I believe that when we pray, God hears our prayers and that our prayers will change the atmosphere.

I am grateful to the many women and men who have helped establish a legacy agency called UGNE as we could not have emerged as a non-profit without you. As for my piece of this work, I stepped back as ED so that a new leader could move forward. As a founder of UGNE, I provided support as we transitioned leadership for as long as the Board saw this as beneficial.

It has been my greatest privilege and my joy to lead the churches and the Underground over the years. I know full well that the Lord has great plans for this work to continue and I will always be with the wider anti-trafficking initiative in prayer.

With gratitude and hope,

Annmarie Boulay