Contributor

Rani Hong

Rani's Voice CEO

Rani Hong is a survivor of child trafficking and one of the world’s leading voices in the fight against modern-day slavery. At the age of seven, Rani was stolen from her mom and sold into the slave trade in India. By age eight, her physical condition and emotional state were so dire that she was near death. No longer of any value to her slave owner, she was sold into illegal adoption. Rani was adopted into a stable American home in Washington State, where she began to find healing and a sense of personal freedom. She was finally reunited with her mother in 1999, and began her advocacy work against human trafficking. In 2006, Rani founded the Tronie Foundation, a non-profit global organization focused on driving awareness of human trafficking and slavery, with her husband Trong Hong, also a survivor of human trafficking. Since then, the Tronie Foundation has been at the forefront of an international effort to eradicate the use of slave labor in all aspects of business. It has worked on behalf of people at risk of exploitation – protecting and empowering vulnerable groups, and educating businesses and consumers about modern day slavery. Rani and the Tronie Foundation created the Freedom Seal, the world’s first visual marker companies can use to clearly communicate to consumers they are actively taking steps to prevent forced labor and human trafficking in their practices. Rani’s tireless efforts includes over seven speeches before the UN General Assembly and many more to various world leaders, acting as special advisor to the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, and establishing the first ever World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. She has helped Washington state to become the first in the nation to pass anti-trafficking legislation, and has appeared in numerous broadcast and media interviews including The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, BBC, Euro News and other international media. She also leads an alliance to help other survivors speak up against slavery. Most recently, Rani spoke at the Vatican on the effects of human trafficking on sustainability efforts. She met with the Pope and inspired a new wave of international corporations and world leaders to fight against human trafficking. Today, Rani dedicates her time and energy to efforts that lead toward a greater global understanding about human trafficking and continues to speak for those without a voice and for those who are imprisoned, enslaved and silenced, and unable to tell their own stories. Rani’s ability to overcome trauma, loss and grief has inspired leaders from all over the world to join the global movement against human trafficking. Rani lives in Olympia, Washington USA with her husband and children.