Rani Hong was just 7 years old when she was kidnapped from her mother's home in southern India and sold into the international slave trade.
"A friend of my family came and said 'Hey, I can help you get good a education, food, I'll give you everything that's best for your daughter,' that's what they told my mother," Hong told HuffPost Live. "But what happened, this woman was undercover, recruiting children into the slave trade."
Hong said she was forced to work in factories and was later sold for international adoption. On HuffPost Live Friday, she called the experience disorienting at her young age.
"I was alone, and I was afraid," Hong said.
Twenty-seven million people are considered modern-day slaves. On Human Trafficking Awareness Day, recognized last Friday, nonprofits urged President Barack Obama to renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which would provide resources for those trying to protect the the individuals engaged in forced labor and sex. Congress allowed the act to expire in 2011.
Hong, who co-founded the Tronie Foundation, an organization that works to expose the human cost of slavery, said it's time for the leadership in this country to step forward and fight on behalf of the victims.
"Every 15 seconds, a person is sold into slavery," Hong said. "We need, with cabinet members of Congress and the president, we need to join together and make a stronger team, create greater partnerships, so victims like myself can get help to rebuild their lives. We need funding to do that."
Watch the Full Segment on HuffPost Live.